☀️ WELCOME TO MY MORNING – THE LIGHT AFTER THE STORM
There’s a quiet peace in the way John Denver greets the morning.
The soft guitar, the gentle voice, the opening line—“Welcome to my morning, welcome to my day”—feels like sunlight touching your eyelids after a long night.
But beneath that serene melody lies a deep story: one of rebirth, spiritual searching, and a man trying to find himself again after his world had fallen apart.
“Welcome to My Morning,” released in 1976, came at a pivotal moment. It wasn’t just another love song or travel ode; it was John Denver’s attempt to rediscover who he was—after fame had turned from blessing to burden, and after his marriage to Annie was starting to break under the weight of success.
🌄 THE MAN WHO LOVED THE SKY TOO MUCH
By the mid-1970s, John Denver was everywhere.
“Take Me Home, Country Roads,” “Rocky Mountain High,” and “Sunshine on My Shoulders” had made him one of the most beloved voices in America. He was the smiling face of simplicity—clean-cut, peaceful, a man who could make you believe the world was still beautiful.
But inside, Denver was restless.
Fame had brought him everything—money, recognition, adoration—but also isolation. His schedule was relentless; his marriage was strained; and the image of the perfect country boy began to feel like a costume he couldn’t take off.
He would look out the window of his Aspen home, surrounded by the peaks he once wrote about, and feel… lost.
That’s when he started writing again—not for the charts, but for his soul.
🌞 “WELCOME TO MY MORNING” – A SONG OF AWAKENING
In 1976, John was introduced to est (Erhard Seminars Training), a popular self-awareness program founded by Werner Erhard.
It was intense—emotional, even confrontational—but for John, it cracked something open. He began to see life not as something happening to him, but something he could choose to embrace, moment by moment.
Out of that awakening came “Welcome to My Morning (Farewell Andromeda).”
The song is simple in melody but profound in spirit. It’s not about love or heartbreak—it’s about presence. About waking up not just from sleep, but from illusion.
He sings:
“Welcome to my morning, welcome to my day.
Yes, I’m the one responsible, I made it just this way.”
It’s John talking to himself—to the part of him that always wanted more. The song isn’t written to Annie, or to the audience—it’s written to the sky, to life itself.
🌤️ THE SOUND OF PEACE, THE SHADOW OF PAIN
Musically, the song floats like the Colorado air—acoustic guitars, soft percussion, harmonies that feel like wind through pine trees.
But listen closely, and there’s something bittersweet beneath the calm.
“Welcome to My Morning” wasn’t the song of a man who had found eternal peace—it was the song of someone seeking it.
You can almost hear him trying to convince himself that everything’s fine, that the world still feels good. And maybe, for a few minutes, it truly did.
Denver later said that writing the song was one of the most liberating moments of his life. It didn’t come from fame or applause—it came from stillness.
🍃 GOODBYE, ANDROMEDA
The song was included in his album Farewell Andromeda, which itself felt like a turning point. The title track spoke about saying goodbye to the imaginary, to the things that kept him from being real.
By calling this song “Welcome to My Morning,” he was also saying “Farewell” to his old self. To the boy who thought happiness was something to chase, not something to live.
Denver once said:
“I used to think success would make me free. But the more I got, the more I realized freedom doesn’t come from things—it comes from letting go.”
🌈 LOVE, LOSS, AND LEARNING TO BEGIN AGAIN
The years after “Welcome to My Morning” were both beautiful and brutal.
His marriage to Annie Denver eventually ended in 1982.
He continued to make music, but his personal life often seemed caught between peace and turbulence.
And yet, even in those moments, he held onto the same belief that shaped this song—that every sunrise is another chance to start again.
In interviews, Denver often returned to the idea of mornings. To him, it wasn’t just a time of day; it was a metaphor for forgiveness. For beginning again, no matter how dark the night had been.
“Welcome to My Morning” captures that perfectly—it’s a man looking at the world, a little older, a little wiser, and still choosing to believe.
🌻 THE SPIRITUAL SIDE OF JOHN DENVER
Denver’s connection to nature was never just poetic—it was spiritual.
He believed mountains and rivers had souls. He talked about God, but not in a churchly way. For him, God was the quiet connection between all living things—the wind, the sunlight, the kindness of a stranger.
When he sang “Welcome to my morning,” it wasn’t just about the dawn outside his window—it was about the dawn inside his heart.
He was welcoming peace back into a place that had forgotten it.
🌅 LEGACY OF A MORNING SONG
Today, “Welcome to My Morning” isn’t as well-known as his biggest hits. It wasn’t a massive radio success, nor did it define his career commercially.
But for true fans, it’s one of his most intimate, revealing works.
It’s the sound of John Denver stripping away fame, ego, and expectation—just to say: I’m here. I’m alive. And that’s enough.
That message has aged beautifully.
In a world still spinning faster every day, “Welcome to My Morning” feels like a gentle reminder: pause, breathe, be thankful for the light coming through the window.
🌞 THE MAN WHO KEPT SAYING HELLO
When John Denver died in a plane crash in 1997, people remembered him for his kindness, his songs, his laughter.
But they also remembered his mornings—the way he made everyone feel seen, heard, and connected to something bigger.
“Welcome to My Morning” was more than a song—it was his invitation to the world.
An invitation to step out of the noise and meet the day with gratitude.
Even now, when his voice drifts through the speakers, you can feel him smiling.
Somewhere above the mountains, still saying:
“Welcome to my morning, welcome to my day.”