About The Song
“I’m Sorry” by John Denver reinforces the way artists should view relationships with their significant others but also challenges the way artists should express that.
This is one of his later pieces and when he was busy with tours all over North America. As a result, over the years he was spending less time with his wife and children, eventually leading to a divorce from his wife, Annie. Like many artists when they write about relationships in a song, the tone is sad and remorseful.
The way in which this song reinforces the values of that time is that the song is about regretting not spending enough time with his wife leading to a divorce. In the 1970s divorce rates were on the rise and became normalized. Another way in which values are reinforced is that Annie takes care of kids which was really common in the 70s for the mother’s job to be a stay at home mom.
The song, which is an apology for forsaken love, “I’m Sorry” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on September 27, 1975, as well as reaching number one on the Easy Listening chart. Six weeks after topping the pop chart, the song was Denver’s third and final number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.