I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend/
But I always thought that I’d see you again.
Pre-internet, there was a lot of lore about the meaning of James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” and the events that led to James Taylor writing it. The story was mostly right. It concentrated on how he wrote the song about his stay in a mental hospital. Supposedly that is true, but the more interesting part about the song is that he wrote this after hearing about his friend dying. The song makes a lot more sense in this context.
“Fire and Rain” is about a guy who has seen everything—perhaps been leading a fast lifestyle—but felt there was one certainty in his life. He could always call up his friend Susan and she would be there to share memories with. Or just to talk to. We take it for granted that people in our lives will always be there. In Taylor’s case, his friend committed suicide and he never had the chance to see her again.
A little bit of rock minutiae—that is Carole King playing piano in the background. Supposedly she was inspired to write “You’ve got a friend” when she heard this. He would go on to cover that song. One thing I like about this song is the bass—it is upright and bowed. I would like to hear that more in rock. It is a unique sound.
Fire & Rain Lyrics
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
written by James Taylor