One of my all-time favorite singers is James Taylor. For those who don’t know him, he’s the guy who sang “You’ve Got A Friend”, among other popular tunes.
James had a good number of certified hit songs. One of my favorites is “Fire and Rain” which was released in early 1970.
The song carried a message and it was rather personal for James. He wrote it at a time when a childhood friend named Suzanne Schneer committed suicide. Hence, the opening line.
Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone
Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you
I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song
I just can’t remember who to send it to
At around the same time, James was also battling drug addiction, a common experience among singers who had difficulty handling sudden and unexpected fame. The lines below described the pain that James went though to be cured of his addiction.
Won’t you look down upon me, Jesus
You’ve got to help me make a stand
You’ve just got to see me through another day
My body’s aching and my time is at hand
And I won’t make it any other way
The chorus of the song talks of hope, the one thing that inspires us to continue wanting to live. Amidst sunny days, lonely times, fire, and rain, we always look forward to better times. For James, it was the thought of seeing her again that kept him going.
I’ve seen fire and I’ve seen rain
I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end
I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend
But I always thought that I’d see you again
Are you missing someone or just smply feeling nostalgic? Share the feeling with James Taylor here:
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