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My Gen X Playlist: Fire and Rain – James Taylor

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Daily writing prompt
Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?
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It’s difficult to separate the past and future because they are so intertwined. It reminds me of the quote: What’s past is prologue. Apparently, there are two different interpretations.

The sanguine interpretation is that everything that has taken place in the past is a preparation for the opportunities to come. In other words, what’s already happened merely sets the stage for the really important stuff that will lead to greatness. The alternate, more cynical view, would be that what took place in the past inevitably repeats itself because we don’t learn from our experiences and mistakes.

– nih

My preference is to lean towards the former, the past setting the stage for the future. However, we all can admit to the latter, putting our hand over the same flame again and again. Some lessons need to feel the repeated burn before it’s seared into our psyche. Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on me. Burn me a third time, what the hell? And maybe it takes a number of what the hell moments to chisel sides into a block that we can pick up and firmly stack on the pile beneath our feet. It’s a process. Some people have a higher threshold for pain before they say what the F am I doing and finally decide to stop. It’s not so easy because many times it’s driven by emotions or by the heart. But what are we to do? We’re human and we feel. It goes with the territory. I just hope to limit the scars and keep stacking those blocks one by one. I hate when I say to myself, “Ouch, that’s going to leave a mark.”

I was researching songs about fire, thinking about the imagery of a hand over a flame. I looked at the backstory of James Taylor’s Fire and Rain. Little did I know I’d find something different.

The song was inspired by three different moments in Taylor’s life. The first verse describes his reaction to a friends suicide. The second verse is about when he was sick, strung out, exhausted and addicted to heroine. The third verse refers to his brief stay in a mental institution, where he eventually finished writing the song.

Surprisingly for a song with as deep as Fire and Rain, the songwriting process was simple for Taylor, who says its creation was almost therapeutic.

“It did come very, very fast. . . it was a great relief. That song relieved a lot of . . . tension. There were things that I needed to get rid of or at least get out of me . . .or at least have some other relationship than feeling them internally, either by telling somebody else or by just putting them out in a form in front of me so that I could say, `There they are,’ . . . And that part was hard, having the feelings that needed to be expressed in that way. But it was actually a relief, like a laugh or a sigh.

– NPR

Taylor overcoming the past certainly was his prologue. Fire and Rain became his first major hit and would eventually lead to a long, successful career. What would become of him had he not found strength to survive those tragic moments in life?

Many times I’ve had to say “won’t you look down upon me, Jesus. You gotta help me make a stand – you just gotta see me through another day…” I always think of this song – about struggle, yes, but about finding strength and carrying on. Never give up.

– YouTube comment by jamesroet800

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

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'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.

35 thoughts on “My Gen X Playlist: Fire and Rain – James Taylor”

  2. Love your imagery of the “what the hell moments” chiseling into the blocks that we can put under our feet. I have also had those moments where I think, “That’s going to leave a mark!” Thankful for the scars, though. I am stronger now because of them.
    Great song choice, too! Interesting backstory.

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  3. I keep repeating what the hell moments. At least I did not repeat a what the hell lifework style moments.
    I guess I finally learned from past work experiences.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. Everything will go well! Don’t bang your head. 😊
        You know, I keep believing and hoping for the best, and that what I advice others to do as well.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. Sad that the Suzanne verse is about a suicide. I didn’t know much about James Taylor’s drug and mental health problems until I read Carly Simon’s memoir “Boys in the Trees.” It was sad – she loved him so much. Great post & song.

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  5. okay, I am completely clueless but what exactly is a genx-er? I mean fire and rain was in my teens and I am danged near ancient…one of the baby boomers. so where are you? timeline wise not trying to be rude here. just bumfuzzled

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  7. “Burn me three times, what the hell.” Can relate as parent of someone who goes in and out of addiction. Took me so long to catch on to the part I played. Still probably don’t have it all figured out but it’s a growth opportunity.

    Also, excellent song. One of his very best

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      1. Thank you. His experience is just one intersection of the web that is my family. But somehow, pretty much one day at a time, we are managing to create something beautiful out of the ashes.

        Liked by 1 person

  8. I always correlate this song to a buddy/lover/beautiful soul who was taken from this world way too soon. Thanks for your post. It gave me another “past” to think about. ♥️

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  9. I had no idea about the backstory of this song with the first part involving dealing with his friend’s suicide, but I can relate. I lost a friend to suicide 4 years ago although in this case, she tried to include me in her plans (not to take me with her but just for me to know everything to the final details and it was just too much for me). I think of her still now and then but thankfully, it’s gotten easier as time goes by.

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  10. I didn’t know any of the details about this song even though I know it word for word by heart.
    I didn’t even know it was his first hit either.
    I’m glad you included it in your blog.
    I too am familiar with ‘what the hell’ repeat life lessons. Kinda my jam😬

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  12. A classic song. Thanks for sharing the backstory… I didn’t know it, but it fits the song well and resonates for times in my life. Like others, I understand the song much better now.

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    1. Learning the backstory to the music has been really interesting. There have been times that I’ve been blown away by the inspiration. This one was particularly interesting, three verses associated with separate challenges in his life – all happening by his twenties.

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