Song of the Day- Day 8 "Fire and Rain"

For today:

"Fire and Rain"
by James Taylor




Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone
Susanne 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

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

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

Oh, 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

Been walking my mind to an easy time my back turned towards the sun
Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around
Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things
to come
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground

Oh, 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, baby, one more time again, now

Thought I'd see you one more time again
There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now
Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you fire and rain, now

So far, Tori's blog has featured music by Pink Floyd, The Scorpions, The Killers, The Agape Rose, Rush, Panic! At the Disco, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Dylan.

I noticed a definite lack of folk artists on her list, so I thought, in my guest post, I'd remedy that.

I was raised on folk music--Carly Simon, the Carpenters, Simon and Garfunkel, and, of course, James Taylor.

One of the most important things that my dad has shared with me is a love of music, and James Taylor was one of the first artists he shared with me. Of his songs, "Fire and Rain" has always been particularly interesting to me, because there's so much of a personal story in it.

The rumor is that the song is about Taylor's girlfriend (Suzanne) dying in a plane crash ("Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground'). Though that story would be deep and personal enough, it is not the real story behind this song.

James Taylor, in explaining the song, divides it into three verse. The first is, in fact, about the suicide of a woman named Suzanne. Suzanne was not a romantic interest of Taylor's, but a friend from his days in New York with a band called The Flying Machines.

Part two of the song focuses on Taylor's struggle with heroin addiction following his return to the U.S. after recording his debut album for the Beatles' Apple Records in London. And part three refers to Taylor's five-month recovery process at a private psychiatric institution, Austen Riggs.

Taylor uses this compelling and plaintive song to chronicle the story of the struggles of his early career-- his struggles with drugs and depression. The lyrics are artful and his singing and playing is, as always heartfelt.

One of the best things about this song is that it's one that, whether you know the intended meaning or not (and now you do), you can find something meaningful in it.

So that's my post for "Song of the Day." Check Tori's blog at http://momentarylapseofmusic.blogspot.com/ for the earlier songs of the day and for the upcoming songs.