Episode 3: Fire and Rain by James Taylor

James Taylor has a catalogue that has probably permeated your soul more than you think. One song that has impacted me is "Fire and Rain". This episode explores the meaning behind the lyrics and how it continues to affect me every time I hear it.

Does this song also make you feel some type of way? Email comments to [e-mail]!

Episode Transcript

(00:02):
Episode three. Fire and Rain byJames Taylor. Fire and Rain by James
Taylor is one of those songs thatwe've all heard in our lives, but
probably have no idea just how extensivewe've been exposed to it. This song
has been on grocery stores and doctor'soffices playlists for years, and its melody

(00:23):
is one that has the ability tolurk in the background in a countless number
of settings and not be noticed,which is a crime. This is just
a really beautiful song with a sweetsummer on a porch swing kind of melody
and plain honest lyrics. Music andlyrics are intertwined in our popular culture.

(00:45):
The songwriters bear their souls, butsometimes there are words have meanings unique to
us, the listeners. Here weexplore those meanings. I'm Keith Greeve and
this is interpretations. According to anarticle by Noah Adams on NPR dot Org

(01:07):
in two thousand, the song iscomposed of three verses, each about a
complimentary part of Taylor's life. Complimentaryhere meaning not in a nice way.
In nineteen ninety seven, I wasa student at Sunny Cortland and one day
they had invited Dave Binder to dohis show, which he had toured around
the country for decades doing. Andhis show was basically, he sounded like

(01:32):
James Taylor, and he played hissongs and he told the stories behind the
music. Like your own personal invitationinto the history of James Taylor. This
song, if you stop and listento the lyrics, is just as sad
as you think. The first versestarts out with a sledgehammer to the face.

(01:52):
Just yesterday morning, they let meknow you were gone, Suzanne.
The plans they made put an endto you. Yes, they're really Suzanne,
someone Taylor had become close with inone of his attempts at drug rehab.
It's well known about taylor struggles withaddiction, but apparently, according to
the Adams article, he had beenrecording with the Beatles and no one wanted

(02:14):
to get James off his game,so they held back the news of Suzanne's
passing for like a month or so. So when he says they let me
know you were gone, not onlyis it getting the news of a friend's
passing, but the fact that it'snow too late to even pay respects or
do anything about it. The lossis punctuated by the acknowledgment of the lost

(02:37):
connection. I always thought that I'dsee you again. The second verse,
according to Adams, is more directlyabout Taylor's fight with heroin addiction, crying
out to a higher power for assistance, feeling like you won't make it through.
To me, it's the memory ofthat experience in rehab where he met
Suzanne that this news is conjuring upin his memory, ending with that refrain

(03:01):
that I always thought that I'd seeyou again. And the third verse refers
to a time in a mental hospital, and as Binder told it, Taylor
was making plans with former bandmates toget back together and make another go at
it. The band's name the FlyingMachine. Those plans fizzled out, and

(03:23):
when you hear the line, well, there's hours of time on the telephone
line to talk about things to come, sweet dreams and flying machines and pieces
on the ground. Knowing the earliercontext, that's to me a call back
to plans, putting it into things. When my son was born, I
remember seeing a sign on a wallin the hospital that said, man plans

(03:46):
God laughs. Whatever your belief ina higher power, it's hard not to
sympathize with that. Sign. Weall make these wonderful plans for our lives,
especially in our youth, and I'dbe hard pressed to find anyone who
had those plans work out to onehundred percent accuracy. You don't have to
go through addiction or rehab. Whohave heard someone from your past that you

(04:08):
were close with may have passed onThat unfortunate life experience is universal, and
when I hear this song, it'sthe only thing going through my mind.
How much time do I really haveleft to get in touch with people that
have been lost to time. Thispoint was hammered home in twenty twenty three

(04:29):
when I was diagnosed with lymphoma.Of course it was a fight, but
to be honest, based on thestories I've heard, I had it easy.
But even so, I wouldn't wishmy twenty twenty three on anyone.
But it didn't have to go thatway. I could have been someone else's
Suzanne or that friend that people herepassed away, and they go, shit,
I should have called when I hadthought about them. I think back

(04:51):
to that concert at Sunny Courtland alot. I think about the friends who
were sitting with me that day.I think how close we were, and
I think about how far we allare now. Sure there's Facebook and Insta
and all that, but you neverreally get that same feeling you had when
you were in each other's presence.Was it unavoidable? Sure? But I

(05:17):
always thought that I'd see you again. This has been Interpretations Podcast. I'm
Keith Greeve, your host. Sendall comments and emails to Interpretationspod at gmail
dot com. Follow us at interpretpodon Twitter, and also find us on Facebook