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His music leaves imprints upon our hearts…

John Denver, then a relatively unknown 23-year old musician in the Los Angeles folk scene, wrote the song during a layover at Washington National Airport in 1966.

In one of his BBC Radio specials, Denver said about the song:

This is a very personal and very special song for me. It doesn’t conjure up Boeing 707s or 747s for me as much as it does the simple scenes of leaving. Bags packed and standing by the front door, taxi pulling up in the early morning hours, the sound of a door closing behind you, and the thought of leaving someone that you care for very much. I was fortunate to have Peter, Paul and Mary record it and have it become a hit, but it still strikes a lonely and anguished chord in me, because the separation still continues, although not so long and not so often nowadays.

Though not written about the Vietnam War, the Peter, Paul and Mary cover of the song was interpreted by at least one writer to be a protest song about a soldier’s impending deployment.

In 1969, folk group Peter, Paul and Mary‘s version hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, their most successful single. It also reached number one in Canada and number two in the United Kingdom.