"Annie's Song" (also known as "Annie's Song (You Fill Up My Senses)") is a song in time written and recorded by American singer-songwriter
John Denver. The song was released as the lead single from his eighth studio album ''
Back Home Again''. It was his second number-one song in the United States, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974. "Annie's Song" also went to number one on the
Easy Listening
Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...
chart. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the
No. 25 song for 1974.
It went to number one in the United Kingdom, where it was Denver's only major hit single. Four years later, an instrumental version also became flautist
James Galway
Sir James Galway (born 8 December 1939) is an Irish virtuoso flute player from Belfast, nicknamed "The Man with the Golden Flute". He established an international career as a solo flute player. In 2005, he received the Brit Award for Outsta ...
's only major British hit.
Background
"Annie's Song" was written as an ode to Denver's wife at the time, Annie Martell Denver. Denver "wrote this song in July 1973 in about ten-and-a-half minutes one day on a
ski lift
A ski lift is a mechanism for transporting skiers up a hill. Ski lifts are typically a paid service at ski resorts. The first ski lift was built in 1908 by German Robert Winterhalder in Schollach/Eisenbach, Hochschwarzwald.
Types
* Aerial ...
" to the top of
Aspen Mountain in
Aspen, Colorado
Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census. Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Moun ...
, as the physical exhilaration of having "just skied down a very difficult run" and the feeling of total immersion in the beauty of the colors and sounds that filled all senses inspired him to think about his wife. Annie Denver recalls the beginnings: "It was written after John and I had gone through a pretty intense time together and things were pretty good for us. He left to go skiing and he got on the Ajax chair on Aspen mountain and the song just came to him. He skied down and came home and wrote it down... Initially it was a love song and it was given to me through him, and yet for him it became a bit like a
prayer
Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deified ...
."
"The first time I heard 'Annie's Song,' I told John it had the same melody as
Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony, Second Movement," says
Milt Okun
Milton Theodore Okun (December 23, 1923 – November 15, 2016) was an American arranger, record producer, conductor, singer and founder of Cherry Lane Music Publishing Company, Inc. Okun transformed the careers of a dozen or more major U.S. a ...
. "He walked over to the piano, sat for an hour and came back, and the only thing remaining from Tchaikovsky was the first five notes. It was fantastic."
Critical reception
Shawn M. Haney of
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
noted the song's expressive emotionality, calling it an "ever so romantic tearjerker". Haney praised "Annie's Song" as "one of Denver's finest achievements".
''
Billboard'' called it a "fine love song."
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Ville Valo cover
On July 4, 2016,
Ville Valo
Ville Hermanni Valo (; born 22 November 1976) is a Finnish singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist of the gothic rock band HIM.
Born and raised in Helsinki to a Hungarian mother and Finnish father, Valo began hi ...
released a cover version of "Annie's Song" in
Finnish
Finnish may refer to:
* Something or someone from, or related to Finland
* Culture of Finland
* Finnish people or Finns, the primary ethnic group in Finland
* Finnish language, the national language of the Finnish people
* Finnish cuisine
See also ...
, titled "Olet mun kaikuluotain" ("You're My Sonar").
The lyrics were by
Hector
In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
, and the song had previously been recorded in 1976 by
Freeman
Freeman, free men, or variant, may refer to:
* a member of the Third Estate in medieval society (commoners), see estates of the realm
* Freeman, an apprentice who has been granted freedom of the company, was a rank within Livery companies
* Free ...
.
Ville Valo's version was released as a tribute to Finnish label
Love Records
Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...
, who celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2016.
Valo's version was also the first release from the label in over 30 years.
Valo commented on the song, stating: "'Kaikuluotain' is a childhood favorite of mine, to the beat of which many a sleepless night ended up in tears. To this day it gives me cold shivers and goosebumps."
The song would go on to reach number one on the
Finnish Download Chart.
Valo's version also received a music video, directed by Ykä Järvinen.
Released on July 11, 2016, the video features scenes of Valo walking around
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
, done in tribute to
Aki Kaurismäki's film ''
Calamari Union''.
The video received the
Emma Award for Video of the Year in 2017.
Adaptations
Supporters of
Sheffield United
Sheffield United Football Club is a professional football club in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . They are nicknamed "the Blades" due to Sheffield's history of cutlery production. The team have played home games at ...
use the melody of Annie's Song as
The Greasy Chip Butty Song
"The Greasy Chip Butty Song" is a football chant sung by the supporters of Sheffield United football club to the tune of "Annie's Song", glorifying life in Sheffield, in chief the eponymous chip butty but also nightlife, beer and tobacco products ...
, a football chant with recast lyrics humorously extolling the virtues of life in Sheffield and as supporters of the club.
See also
*
List of RPM number-one singles of 1974
This is a list of the weekly Canadian '' RPM'' magazine number one Top Singles chart of 1974.
See also
* 1974 in music
* List of ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number ones of 1974
* List of ''Cashbox'' Top 100 number-one singles of 1974
References
;N ...
*
List of number-one singles of 1974 (Ireland)
This is a list of singles which have reached number one on the Irish Singles Chart in 1974.
See also
* 1974 in music
* Irish Singles Chart
* List of artists who reached number one in Ireland
{{Irish Music Charts
1974 in Irish music
19 ...
*
List of number-one singles from the 1970s (UK)
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby uni ...
*
List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1974 (U.S.)
These are the ''Billboard magazine'' Hot 100 number one hits of 1974.
That year, 25 acts earn their first number one song, such as Steve Miller Band, Al Wilson, Barbra Streisand, Love Unlimited Orchestra, Terry Jacks, John Denver, Blue Swede ...
*
List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)
Adult Contemporary is a chart published by ''Billboard'' ranking the top-performing songs in the United States in the adult contemporary music (AC) market. In 1974, 35 songs topped the chart, then published under the title Easy Listening, base ...
References
External links
Annie's Songon YouTube
{{authority control
John Denver songs
Glen Campbell songs
1974 singles
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
Cashbox number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
RPM Top Singles number-one singles
UK Singles Chart number-one singles
Songs written by John Denver
Song recordings produced by Milt Okun
1974 songs
RCA Records singles
Football songs and chants