JAMES TAYLOR - FIRE AND RAIN

FIRE AND RAIN,

JAMES TAYLOR

SONGWRITER: JAMES TAYLOR

HOW: LIVE 1970

COUNTRY: U. S. A.

ALBUM: SWEET BABY JAMES

LABEL: WARNER BROS

GENRE: FOLCK ROCK

YEAR: 1970

James Vernon Taylor(born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the No. 3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first No. 1 hit in 1971 with his recording of "You've Got a Friend", written by Carole King in the same year. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. Every album that he released from 1977 to 2007 sold over 1 million copies. He enjoyed a resurgence in chart performance during the late 1990s and 2000s, when he recorded some of his most-awarded work (including Hourglass, October Road, and Covers). He achieved his first number-one album in the US in 2015 with his recording Before This World.

He is known for his covers, such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and "Handy Man", as well as originals such as "Sweet Baby James".

"Fire and Rain" is a folk rock song written and performed by James Taylor. Released on Warner Bros. 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. After its release, "Fire and Rain" peaked at number two on RPM's Canada Top Singles chart and at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Fire And Rain" was released in February 1970. Several events and incidents in James Taylor's life are reflected in this song, including the suicide of his friend, Suzanne Schnerr, the failure with his band and his drug addiction.

Carole King, who played piano on this song, later wrote and recorded a song "You've Got a Friend"(1971) which was inspired by the line "I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend."

This song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

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

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 got to help me make a stand

You just got to see me through another day

My body's achin' 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 walkin' 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 comin' my way this time around now

Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you

Fire and rain.