Meaning Fire And Rain James Taylor

The susan mentioned in the lyrics fire and rain wasn t a love interest of taylor s but merely an acquaintance he had met as a teenager in new york who just as he had an addiction problem.

Meaning fire and rain james taylor. Both quote james from a few interviews where he s explained the songs. James taylor explained the song in an interview with david mikkelson this way. The first verse of the song was written for a close friend suzanne schnerr who committed suicide while taylor was working with the beatles in london in 1968.

James taylor s fire and rain. James taylor an iconic american folk rock artist and five time grammy award winner released emotional track fire and rain in 1970 from his second album sweet baby james. The second line suzanne the plans they made put an end to you refers to suzanne schnerr a childhood friend of his who com.

Timothy white s excellent james taylor biography long ago and far away and joel risberg s the james taylor encyclopedia both make it pretty clear what the song is about. Records as a single from his second album sweet baby james in february 1970 the song follows taylor s reaction to the suicide of suzanne schnerr a childhood friend and his experiences with drug addiction and fame. She now hopes to share the good news with the world.

Gentle plaintive and compelling fire and rain was the hit that launched the career of james taylor one of the 1970 s premier singer songwriters. Released on warner bros. Fire and rain actually has multiple meanings with each verse speaking to different struggles taylor has faced in his life.

The interviews are a few decades old so it s funny that the legends still persist. James taylor performing at tanglewood. Wiki on the vh1 series story tellers taylor said the song was about several incidents during his early recording career.

Taylor however was on the road promoting the album and when fire and rain was released as the second single it took off. Fire and rain is a folk rock song written and performed by james taylor. However despite the success of the track the song is extremely emotional and very personal to taylor.