And I'm not entirely sure why. But I couldn't help but grin through this entire performance. It's by the band Goose House, which added a banjo to its normal repertoire. This version of the song is just a bit different from this performance of it by John Denver while touring in Japan. No matter who sings it or where, everyone wants to go back home to West Virginia.
-via American Digest
Yes the lyrics is the one in Whisper of the Heart. I've watched the movie more than ten times, since I first got a fansubbed VHS tape in 1996. I have the Japanese version of Country Road burned in my memory. Beautiful anime, it's my second favorite Ghibli movie (after Ocean Waves).
(I just checked Wikipedia, it has an audio clip of Shizuku singing the Japanese version of Country Road.)