“Sunshine on My Shoulders” (sometimes titled simply “Sunshine”) is a song recorded and co-written by American singer-songwriter John Denver. It was originally released as an album track on 1971’s Poems, Prayers & Promises and later, as a single in 1973. It went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. in early 1974.
Denver described how he wrote “Sunshine on My Shoulders”: “I wrote the song in Minnesota at the time I call ‘late winter, early spring’. It was a dreary day, gray and slushy. The snow was melting and it was too cold to go outside and have fun, but God, you’re ready for spring. You want to get outdoors again and you’re waiting for that sun to shine, and you remember how sometimes just the sun itself can make you feel good. And in that very melancholy frame of mind I wrote ‘Sunshine on My Shoulders’.”
From the album Poems, Prayers & Promises
A-side “I’d Rather Be a Cowboy” (original)
B-side “Around and Around” (reissue)
Released May 1973 (original)
October 22, 1973 (reissue)
Recorded 1971
Genre Folk
Length 3:18 (Single version)
5:10 (Album version)
Label RCA Records
Songwriter(s) John Denver, Dick Kniss, Mike Taylor
Producer(s) Milt Okun
John Denver – Sunshine On My Shoulders Lyrics
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high
If I had a day that I could give you
I’d give to you a day just like today
If I had a song that I could sing for you
I’d sing a song to make you feel this way
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high
If I had a tale that I could tell you
I’d tell a tale sure to make you smile
If I had a wish that I could wish for you
I’d make a wish for sunshine all the while
Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy
Sunshine in my eyes can make me cry
Sunshine on the water looks so lovely
Sunshine almost always makes me high
Sunshine almost all the time makes me high
Sunshine almost always
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://whentcowboysings.com/john-denver-sunshine-on-my-shoulders/&media=https://whentcowboysings.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/John-Denver-YouTube-Channel-1.jpg&description="Sunshine on My Shoulders" (sometimes titled simply "Sunshine") is a song recorded and co-written by American singer-songwriter John Denver. It was originally released as an album track on 1971's Poems, Prayers & Promises and later, as a single in 1973. It went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. in early 1974.Denver described how he wrote "Sunshine on My Shoulders": "I wrote the song in Minnesota at the time I call 'late winter, early spring'. It was a dreary day, gray and slushy. The snow was melting and it was too cold to go outside and have fun, but God, you're ready for spring. You want to get outdoors again and you're waiting for that sun to shine, and you remember how sometimes just the sun itself can make you feel good. And in that very melancholy frame of mind I wrote 'Sunshine on My Shoulders'."From the album Poems, Prayers & PromisesA-side "I'd Rather Be a Cowboy" (original)B-side "Around and Around" (reissue)Released May 1973 (original)October 22, 1973 (reissue)Recorded 1971Genre FolkLength 3:18 (Single version)5:10 (Album version)Label RCA RecordsSongwriter(s) John Denver, Dick Kniss, Mike TaylorProducer(s) Milt Okun){kind=link}