John Denver's "Take Me Home, Country Roads" has been an unexpected hit among fans, with US matches culminating in 70,000-strong sing-alongs.Evoking a kinder, gentler America of a bygone era, the ringing renditions have stirred emotions in a country riven by sharp political division under President Donald Trump."You can all kind of unite under how it's, you know, America the beautiful and everyone can kind of sing it in harmony no matter who you are," said US fan Drew Bastinelli, who came from Oregon to attend celebrations in Washington for America's 250th birthday.Packed stadiums singing as one about home being "the place I belong" feels like a breath of fresh air at a time when Americans are deeply anxious over concerns like inflation, health care and an unpopular war with Iran.Trump-backed "Freedom 250" festivities in Washington have drawn partisan crowds, with thin turnout for a much-touted Great American State Fair on the National Mall. World Cup stadiums, in contrast, have been filled day after day with jubilant fans.The "Country Roads" appeal lies in the way it conveys "a kinder, simpler era with less conflict and division," said Doug Hartmann, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota."It is not just nostalgia that is at work in this song but also its ambiguity, its vagueness -- the fact that 'country roads' and 'home' are not clearly defined...means that everyone can hear and place and feel themselves therein."'Impossible not to sing'