John Denver - Saturday Night in Toledo, Ohio.

[M1KESHOT]

ok i live in toledo and so do almost 1million other ppl if u try makin a song about toledo like this then ur makeing fun of alot of other citys wayyyyyyyyyyy smaller then toledo becuz its really not small. if you cant find anything to do on saturday in toledo then ur just a fucking loser who needs to go make some friends.

[MrTopvillain]

I live in Toledo and it is a shithole that's why people call it little Detroit

[MyGlittergurl]

@pondrat18 HEY DUMB ASS Sylvania is Toledo and why the hell would you want to be in a bedroom town

[BradinPhilippines]

The good die young.

[zleereed]

I live in Toledo... It's ok.

[fourwindsmw]

Thanks for sharing all of this. I am partial to the version of This Old Guitar that he sang on this show, for the way he ells the store by beginning by saying that his Grandma gav him the guitar "about 12 years ago". Do you by chance have that?

[michaeldonegan]

@fourwindsmw Thank you for your kind comment. I'm sorry about the absence of This Old Guitar.

[colonosabio]

What does "wive and wet wive" mean in 1:44?. Does anybody know?

[michaeldonegan]

@colonosabio I think John was being a bit rude here.

Here are the lines as he sang it:

"So smile and be thankful next time you get weighed!

And "wiv and wet wiv", let this be our motto"

John was playing with "weighed" in the previous line. Randy Sparks' original lyric followed with 'live and let live'.

By changing the 'l' to a 'w' in these words John was playing with "weighed", It changed the meaning. to

" So smile and be thankful next time you get laid! "

That was the joke.

[colonosabio]

@michaeldonegan Thank you very much. I have really tried to find our the answer for a long time. And I think you got it! A few weeks ago I asked my English teacher but she didn't know exactly. Although she is from Colorado and she told me her father used to play with John Denver when the latter "used to go out to grandma's house every month end or so". She is also fond of John's songs and said that it might have been a joke from him. Thanks again. I'll tell her too.

[michaeldonegan]

@colonosabio My pleasure! Always glad to help!

I think very few people listening to John down the years ever really got the joke, and certainly few would have expected a joke like this from him. I think that it was his clean image that helped him get away with it.

[bsteinagel]

@michaeldonegan Personally, I first heard this song in high school over 10 years ago and got the joke immediately. I don't understand how anyone couldn't get it. It's the same sense of humor that comes out in his other song "Baby, You Look Good to Me Tonight" about a sexy waitress he meets in a restaurant in the verse "Thought I must be in a dream when she asked me if I wanted cream..." Another obvious sexual innuendo.

[michaeldonegan]

@bsteinagel It took me a lot longer to figure out the joke. The difference between the joke in 'Toledo' and the one in 'Baby You Look Good To Me Tonight' is that the joke in 'Toledo' is John's. John didn't write either song, but he did add that joke in 'Toledo'.

[Lillithmoon1]

@colonosabio it is a purposeful mis-pronunciation making fun of the way people in Ohio talk. He is actually saying "live and let live."

[colonosabio]

@Lillithmoon1 Thanks again to all the comments. And to answer @michaeldonegan, those jokes would be rather easy to English speakers. But I'm not. And even my teacher, who is a young woman from Colorado, didn't either. One has to be witty to catch them...

[michaeldonegan]

@colonosabio Thanks again for your comments.

[pondrat18]

Sylvania, for the win. Toledo is yucky.

[graycloud057]

He's right Toledo sucks. Michigan won, it got the upper penninsula. Ohio got...Toledo. Tony Poccos you are alright though.

[hybanks2000]

I love Toledo, it's an acquired taste.

[wemakeemrunagain1]

You, Mr. Denver, are a genius!

[IrishInColumbus]

@wemakeemrunagain1

He wasn't the writer.

[aapold]

Randy Sparks wrote it

[Traindriver577]

Love the song, a true rendition of my visit to Toledo, Ohio.

[jmp5255]

I don't care who wrote it. Nobody could do it like John Denver. A true master and a very under rated artist.

[wcbriggs2000]

thank you for this hilarious memory. i miss him more as time passes.

[michaeldonegan]

@wcbriggs2000 Thank you for your comment.

[maxride1000]

this one is for Mike

[ajfklim]

Im from Toledo also. It has gotten worse. The city is dying.

[weekdayWARRIOR]

Im from toledo, great place to live. Cut your hair and get some contacts, and maybe you will be invited out for a good time.

[Cluin]

Actually John Denver didn't write this song. Randy Sparks (of The New Christy Minstrels fame) did after a rotten non-night on the town there. But John Denver made it semi-famous for doing it on the Tonight Show back in '72 or '73.

[michaeldonegan]

@Cluin Thank you for your comment.

Yes, John did not write this song, even though many people associate it with him.

[raspberrybaggio]

i bet they love john in toledo!

[dare2dream23]

Such a funny song! Thanks for posting this.

[michaeldonegan]

@dare2dream23 My pleasure.

[pickerman4]

Thanks Michael, this is great!! I've forgotten all about this one. Nice to be able to see it again my friend!

~George~

[michaeldonegan]

@pickerman4 Thasnks George. Your comments are always appreciated.

[snokidin]

Where do you find this old stuff? I wish it would be released on DVD, all John's old TV shows and specials! Thanks for making me laugh this morning! Loved it.

[michaeldonegan]

@snokidin Thank you! I also hope that this will be released on DVD.