THE SMALLEST SONG IN THE ROOM CAN SOMETIMES CARRY THE BRAVEST HEART.
John Denver’s voice was often remembered for mountains, sunlight, and wide-open skies.
But in “The Little Engine That Could,” the sky comes closer to the ground.
It becomes a child’s room.
A bedtime story.
A small voice trying to believe it can climb the hill in front of it.
That was one of Denver’s quiet gifts.
He could take something simple and make it feel human.
Not childish.
Human.
Because the story of the little engine was never only about a train.
It was about anyone who has ever looked at a hard road and felt too small for it.
Too tired.
Too ordinary.
Too unsure.
Then came that little rhythm of belief.
Not loud.
Not proud.
Just steady enough to keep moving.
“I think I can.”
That line has lived for generations because it does not sound like victory.
It sounds like effort.
It sounds like a child whispering courage to themselves in the dark.
It sounds like an adult doing the same thing years later, only quieter.
John Denver understood that kind of courage.
His gentleness was never weakness.
It was the doorway.
He sang as if kindness still mattered, as if wonder had not gone out of style, as if children deserved songs that did not talk down to them.
That is what makes this piece linger.
It does not need grand drama.
The ache is smaller and more familiar.
A little engine.
A steep hill.
A load that needs carrying.
A world that is always asking the smallest hearts to be stronger than they feel.
And somewhere in that simple story, people hear their own lives.
The child learning to try again.
The parent holding a book after a long day.
The grandparent smiling because they remember hearing the same words long ago.
The grown man or woman who suddenly realizes they still need that little engine, too.
That is the catch in the throat.
The song begins like something for children.
But by the end, it feels like something children were wise enough to keep.
John Denver left behind many songs that looked toward the horizon.
This one looks inward.
It reminds us that bravery is not always a spotlight moment.
Sometimes it is one small voice.
One more step.
One more breath.
One more climb.
And long after the song is over, that little engine is still moving through memory, carrying anyone who needs to believe they can make it over the hill.
Lyric
There was a little railroad train with loads and loads of toysAll starting out to find a home with little girls and boysAnd as that little railroad train began to chug alongThe little engine up in front was heard to sing this songChoo, choo, choo, chooChoo, choo, choo, chooI feel so good todayOh hear the trackOh clickety clackI’ll go my merry wayThe little train went rousing on so fast it seemed to flyUntil it reached a mountain that went almost to the skyThe Little engine moaned and groaned and huffed and puffed awayBut halfway to the top it just gave up and seemed to sayI can’t goI can’t goI’m weary as can beI can’t goI can’t goThis job is not for meThe toys got out to push but all in vain alas alackAnd then a great big engine came a whistling down the trackThey asked if it would kindly pull them up the mountain sideBut with a high and mighty sneer it scornfully replied IDon’t bother meDon’t bother meTo pull the likes of youDon’t bother meDon’t bother meI’ve better things to doThe toys all started crying ’cause that engine was so meanAnd then there came another one, the smallest ever seenAnd though it seemed that she could hardly pull herself alongShe hitched on to the train and as she pulled she sang this songI think I canI think I canI think I have a planAnd I can do most anythingIf I only think I canThen up that great big mountain with the cars all full of toysAnd soon they reached the waiting arms of little girls and boyAnd though that ends the story it will do you lots of goodTo take a lesson from the little engine that couldJust think you canJust think you canJust have that understoodAnd very soon you’ll start to sayI always knew I couldI knew I couldI knew I couldI knew I couldI knew I couldI knew I couldI knew I could, yeah!