This song isn’t about the state West Virginia, but about western Virginia. The Shenandoah valley isn’t in WV, for example. Anyone who has studied the civil war at any real depth can tell you that.
Normally I don’t read ‘Pearls’ on Sundays. I slipped up this morning and was reminded why. I can’t believe there are really people who don’t despise this kind of forced gag. And it’s exactly the same joke every time: a stupid and unfunny forced gag and then Rat punishing ‘Pastis’ for it in the final panel. Why tell that joke more than once?
[Chorus]Country roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsTook me a minute to figure out “ivy’s long” and I guess Mountain Moma is mad because he didn’t work her into the song.I hate puns except Pastis does them so well!
You know, after a while, you can sense the set up from the first panel. Not the punchline, but that you are wading your way through a whole lot of guff!
I didn’t know the song, so public service:Take Me Home, Country Roads Song by John Denver
Almost heaven, West VirginiaBlue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah RiverLife is old there, older than the treesYounger than the mountains, growin’ like a breezeCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsAll my memories gather ‘round herMiner’s lady, stranger to blue waterDark and dusty, painted on the skyMisty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eyeCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsI hear her voice in the mornin’ hour, she calls meThe radio reminds me of my home far awayDrivin’ down the road, I get a feelin’That I should’ve been home yesterday, yesterdayCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsTake me home, (down) country roadsTake me home, (down) country roads
Hey, Mountain Mama, once you’ve clobbered Cartoon-Boy righteously, save a thump or two for Pig, ‘cause he’s the accomplice in this pun-funny business….
leopardglily 6 months ago
Saw that coming from the first panel.
RuinQueenofOblivion 6 months ago
Thanks Stephan, now that’s gonna be stuck in my head.
BasilBruce 6 months ago
“Almost Heaven” doesn’t describe what’s about to happen.
BE THIS GUY 6 months ago
John Denver’s estate lawyers on line 3.
zekepotato 6 months ago
Songwriters: John Denver / Mary Catherine Danoff / Taffy Nivert Danoff / William Danoff
eolan59 6 months ago
I always wondered what she looked like
hariseldon59 6 months ago
At least John Denver isn’t turning over in his grave right now. He was cremated.
DanielRyanMulligan1 6 months ago
Stephan pastis’s parents REALLY should’ve taken away his radio as a child; the world would’ve been so GRATEFUL!!!! Dan aka…
wjbryan55 6 months ago
teardrops in my eyes….
sirbadger 6 months ago
“Take me home” would work if he was from an insane asylum.
MichaelAxelFleming 6 months ago
Get out of Denver baby! Go!
Kveldulf 6 months ago
Just think of today’s horror as being part of Stephan’s recovery from his book signing tour. His shrink made him do it.
Robin Harwood 6 months ago
How long does he spend thinking these up?
darkwingdave 6 months ago
Posted to a few Fallout76 groups I’m in. Waiting for the anguished howls to begin.
enigmamz 6 months ago
This song isn’t about the state West Virginia, but about western Virginia. The Shenandoah valley isn’t in WV, for example. Anyone who has studied the civil war at any real depth can tell you that.
Cornelius Noodleman 6 months ago
I hear her bat as she cracks me in the head…
I need a burrito 6 months ago
From the fist panel i knew this would be one of his “creative” strips
itsacatsworld Premium Member 6 months ago
Howling. Wipes away tears.
hitman4cookies 6 months ago
John Denver just turned in his grave.
Bilan 6 months ago
When they got to California, Pig was so impressed that he said, Almost heaven – west, Virginia.
ecleme9999 6 months ago
Loved this one! :D
iggyman 6 months ago
John Denver is doing a 360 in his resting place right now!
iggyman 6 months ago
How many roads? “A couple two or tree”!
taxidancer 6 months ago
I always look forward to the puns. I love them!
newsbb 6 months ago
As a European I am learning lots about US culture by being a regular here.
Hamady Sack Premium Member 6 months ago
I can’t wait for Sundays.
russef 6 months ago
Oh man! They let Pastis out of jail!!!
ewaldoh 6 months ago
A little transparent for a long development; yet a nice finish.
[Traveler] Premium Member 6 months ago
This is one of his better ones
Willywise52 Premium Member 6 months ago
And it’s a looooooong road…
dlkrueger33 6 months ago
I kept trying to guess what it would be, but I didn’t. I like the ending with Mountain Mama.
Ellis97 6 months ago
Wordplay, what’re you gonna do?
Lenavid 6 months ago
Pastis at his best!
Flossie Mud Duck 6 months ago
I’ll bet Stephan almost choked while working this one out.
legaleagle48 6 months ago
I saw the pun coming from the second panel, but I wasn’t quite sure how Stephan was going to get there. Well played, Pastis!
DukeOfURL Premium Member 6 months ago
AWESOME!
grocks 6 months ago
Belly laugh over breakfast. Lucky I wasn’t drinking my tea at the time.
wuhts 6 months ago
This man NEVER disappoints.
Goat from PBS 6 months ago
I knew a pun was coming, I just didn’t know where it was going.
Denver Reader Premium Member 6 months ago
One of his lamer ones – the sentence structure at the end is awful.
Anters55 6 months ago
Good song to have stuck in the head.
Count Olaf Premium Member 6 months ago
“We’re going to attack the Witch Atoll Line, Men”
Ignatz Premium Member 6 months ago
Stephan will be visited by the ghost of John Denver tonight. He’s not happy.
chris_o42 6 months ago
That was a lot of work!
Cozmik Cowboy 6 months ago
There is absolutely no question – Pastis is a freakin’ genius!
Templo S.U.D. 6 months ago
How would Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. (1943-1997) react?
DaBump Premium Member 6 months ago
Ah, thanks for the memories.
skipper1992 6 months ago
I figured out pretty quickly that we were going to reference the #kingsmen anthem, I just wasn’t sure what the actual punchline would be.
tonicee9 6 months ago
Love it! Made my day.
That Nerdy Dude 6 months ago
I was singing in a huge choir and when we got dismissed we all sang that
WCraft Premium Member 6 months ago
Saw a pun coming a mile away. Stephan – couldn’t you just post a non-pun rerun on days like this?
MAGA Premium Member 6 months ago
I liked this one!
karenjean123 Premium Member 6 months ago
Thank you for making me laugh out loud which I rarely do. It was the “Mountain Mama” that did it!
Charles & Susan Premium Member 6 months ago
Thank you Stephan! A classic
hmofo813 Premium Member 6 months ago
Normally I don’t read ‘Pearls’ on Sundays. I slipped up this morning and was reminded why. I can’t believe there are really people who don’t despise this kind of forced gag. And it’s exactly the same joke every time: a stupid and unfunny forced gag and then Rat punishing ‘Pastis’ for it in the final panel. Why tell that joke more than once?
Otis Rufus Driftwood 6 months ago
I snickered, but this one was too labored. We needed some silliness from Pastis after he ended the week rather heavy; but this wasn’t it.
Ermine Notyours 6 months ago
Come out, Virginia; don’t make me wait. You Catholic girls start much too late.
mtrimberger Premium Member 6 months ago
Stephan really had to work for this one!
mpolo11 Premium Member 6 months ago
May be the most torturous path yet.
curtlyon19 6 months ago
funny, got an out loud laugh
raybarb44 6 months ago
Clever but deadly……
bunrabbit99 6 months ago
these get shaggier every time!
paulscon Premium Member 6 months ago
[Chorus]Country roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsTook me a minute to figure out “ivy’s long” and I guess Mountain Moma is mad because he didn’t work her into the song.I hate puns except Pastis does them so well!
Silence Dogood Premium Member 6 months ago
A triumph!
FireAnt_Hater 6 months ago
His puns are so horrible that it’s evident that he puts a lot of time and love in them.
Love them!
figuratively speaking 6 months ago
I don’t even try to figure these out anymore. I just go with it.
zeexenon 6 months ago
Darn, now I have an earworm.
stamps 6 months ago
Give the donkey a lance and a windmill and he could be Donkey Hotay.
Flatworm 6 months ago
Carry me back, old Virginnie! I’d like to unsee this.
John Jorgensen 6 months ago
This one was so elaborate that it really kept me guessing.
txmystic 6 months ago
I just saw 45K+ people belting out this song at the NFL game in Germany…
JLChi 6 months ago
No. Just no.
Lola85 Premium Member 6 months ago
That’s a biiiiiiiig stretch!
dr_suess 6 months ago
Pastis … like Jurassic Park: "just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.This was a groaner.
markkahler52 6 months ago
Pun Prison. Now!! Government, Investigate,!!
markkahler52 6 months ago
Or at least, local police…
willie_mctell 6 months ago
I had purged that song from my memory and almost erased the author. Curse you, Pastis.
brianlhathaway Premium Member 6 months ago
Thank God he’s a country boy……. he’s a funny funny riddle
GumbyDammit223 6 months ago
Apparently Pastis is out on bail to create more groaners. I’m not sure if I should be happy or sad. ;)
WF11 6 months ago
Holmes is cute, especially with the Deerstalker cap.
Carole Boshart Premium Member 6 months ago
You know, after a while, you can sense the set up from the first panel. Not the punchline, but that you are wading your way through a whole lot of guff!
P51Strega 6 months ago
LOL. Love it!
Henry R Premium Member 6 months ago
Greatness, Stephan.
Ka`ōnōhi`ula`okahōkūmiomio`ehiku Premium Member 6 months ago
I imagine it takes a lot of skill and insight to back-convert a song into a cartoon. And the work required of a build-up! Do you take requests?
rfdjr 6 months ago
Excellent one Pastis! Excellent!
MayCauseBurns 6 months ago
Stephan, please, put the crk pipe down.
Michael McKown Premium Member 6 months ago
Pity that John Denver’s dead.
MathProf2 6 months ago
I didn’t know the song, so public service:Take Me Home, Country Roads Song by John Denver
Almost heaven, West VirginiaBlue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah RiverLife is old there, older than the treesYounger than the mountains, growin’ like a breezeCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsAll my memories gather ‘round herMiner’s lady, stranger to blue waterDark and dusty, painted on the skyMisty taste of moonshine, teardrop in my eyeCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsI hear her voice in the mornin’ hour, she calls meThe radio reminds me of my home far awayDrivin’ down the road, I get a feelin’That I should’ve been home yesterday, yesterdayCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsCountry roads, take me homeTo the place I belongWest Virginia, mountain mamaTake me home, country roadsTake me home, (down) country roadsTake me home, (down) country roads
pamela welch Premium Member 6 months ago
Stephan, Stephan, OMG OMG — That is So Bad and pretty dang funny
Aladar30 Premium Member 6 months ago
Kinda hope that mountain mama has a very heavy hand.
eddi-TBH 6 months ago
John Denver is spinning in his grave.
mail2jbl 6 months ago
If John Denver knew that Cartoon Boy would make such a god-awful pun based on his song, he’d probably have been like, “You know what, never mind…”
catmom1360 6 months ago
Clever.
EXCALABUR 6 months ago
How did he get out of the pokey?
wildlandwaters 6 months ago
That was sooo bad…have at ’im, mama!
msandman1943 6 months ago
Horrible, horrible. Even more horrible than usual.
Sisyphos 6 months ago
Hey, Mountain Mama, once you’ve clobbered Cartoon-Boy righteously, save a thump or two for Pig, ‘cause he’s the accomplice in this pun-funny business….
[Unnamed Reader - 14b4ce] 6 months ago
Life ain’t nothing but a funny funny riddle===EDWARD NIGMA
Yammo Premium Member 6 months ago
Oh BOOOOOO :-D
Katje 6 months ago
Why did they ever release you? :D
einarbt 6 months ago
Run Stephan run.
cymusiker 6 months ago
Great donkey. Ours is named Solomon.
Swirls Before Pine 6 months ago
Bravo! (Sorry. Bad Steph!)