Fire And Rain

Well, my life got better, I grew up, and this song made me smile to know that the fates hadn't taken me nor my strength. This past August 29th, , however, my youngest daughter took her own life at the young age of I had recently moved away from Washington State, where my entire family lives to be with a man that I almost married in We kept in touch but, in I went to visit him in the Marine Corps in San Diego where he was stationed and we realized we were in love and wanted to be together. Well, I headed back home, to Washington, and, at the age of 18 got 'cold feet', called him and broke up over the phone.

Didn't speak to him again until early when my sister found him on Facebook and I contacted him, and, here I am, four years later living not too far from that little town where we met. And, we are happily married. I share my story because, in a way, my daughter thought I had 'abandoned' her by moving so far away and, even though I visited at least every 6 months and she and I talked on the phone almost daily she was bitter, and I had to listen to her almost constant expressions of wanting to take her own life.

How she just never felt right. How she felt like a bad mother to her two beautiful kids. How she wanted so much to just FEEL 'normal'. She had made several attempts to take her life and, after the third one I told her it was FATE that she was never successful with those attempts, and that God still had a plan for her. She was on a lot of meds, she suffered from Bi-polar disorder and was horribly plagued by sadness. In October of her children were taken from her and were awarded to her father and his wife until she could show that she was at least TRYING to 'get it together'.

She couldn't seem to be able to keep appointments or do the things that were asked of her, to get the children back, and she missed them, she wasn't whole, in her heart, without them. Her own ex-husband was in jail for not having a green card from India, so he could not help.

Story Behind The Song: “Fire & Rain” by James Taylor

On August 29th of that year she took a lethal dose of her sleep medication, Ambien, after she had a taxi take her to the bay of the Puget Sound, to a beach, and there she went for a swim and fell asleep and never woke back up. They found her the next morning, washed-up on the beach, on someone's private beach.

She had no ID on her, they had to identify her by the manufacturing code on a metal plate in her ankle from a surgery that she had. Her dad and stepmom were notified by a visit from the Medical examiner at their doorstep later that day, and her stepmom called and asked me in a panicked voice where my husband was? And, I told her at work, and she said to call him and then, right then, I knew that my baby was gone. She left several letters and notes on the table in her apartment. Her sister, my eldest daughter, was and still is beside herself.

My two beautiful grandchildren do not have their beloved mother anymore. I flew to Washington State the morning after I got the phone call and was in pieces at the airport, a blithering, blubbering, bawling mess. It took everything in me to just get through that flight. Prior to her funeral, after all of the family sat gathered in a room the day prior making arrangements and finalizing everything my sister and I got my daughter ready for all of the people that loved her to say their "Good-byes".

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I combed her hair, put on her makeup like she always wore it, painted her nails. If you should see this comment. I hope each day gets a little better as we all know no amount of time can ever heal these wounds. This site has helped me by expressing myself. Huge hugs to you: Flag oasisness on September 30, General Comment when i first heard this song, about 5 months ago which was a little bit after september 11, i thought it sounded like it was written about the attack because i only heard the first verse.

General Comment ever since i first heard this song i always thought it was about his wife dying General Comment I read in a biography on Taylor's friend Carol King that the song is about a friend of James' named Susanne who he knew from this mental institution-rehab-y place. Earlier, during his senior year of high school, Taylor had entered McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, where he spent several months being treated for depression.

After leaving that facility he traveled to New York and hooked up with childhood friend Danny Kortchmar, where they formed the aforementioned group The Flying Machine, a venture that ended badly for Taylor both professionally and personally:.

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The nadir of the nadir for The Flying Machine was a booking in the Bahamas at a failing nightspot called the Jokers Wild Club in Freeport; after three weeks of bad food and no pay, the group used their return tickets to flee. They disbanded once their flight landed in New York. The James Taylor Story. James Taylor and Carly Simon. Long Ago and Far Away: James Taylor — His Life and Music. Producing reliable fact-checking and thorough investigative reporting requires significant resources. We pay writers, editors, web developers, and other staff who work tirelessly to provide you with an invaluable service: 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.

James Taylor wrote and sang this song, which was inspired by a friend of his who died. After it was recorded, this song elevated him to a pop star at 22 when it became a hit. Taylor stated that he wrote this song three different times throughout Then wrote more of it while he stayed in a Manhattan Hospital.

Although he finished it when he was at the Austin Riggs Center, where he was staying for drug rehabilitation. In Taylor stated:. The first verse is about my reactions to the death of a friend. The second verse is about my arrival in this country with a monkey on my back, and there Jesus is an expression of my desperation in trying to get through the time when my body was aching and the time was at hand when I had to do it And the third verse of that song refers to my recuperation in Austin Riggs which lasted about five months.

Although he wrote this at only 20 years old, it touches people of all ages, and is still relevant forty plus years later. Just yesterday morning they let me know you were gone I just can't remember who to send it to Susanne the plans they made put an end to you I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song. When he refers to Susanne, he is actually referring to Susanne Schnerr. Taylor states he used to get high with her and knew her quite well.

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He met her in New York during , and hung out with her quite often when he was part of a group called The Flying Machine. The Flying Machine was the group where he began to become successful as a musician and writer. Susanne, or who Taylor affectionately refers to as Suzie, committed suicide.

He was living in London with mutual friends. Since his career began lifting off and his fame grew, his friends waited until later to give him the news, since they knew he was so excited about his upcoming record deal. He actually didn't find out about her suicide until six months later. He also states in one interview that he always felt bad about the line, "The plans they made put an end to you," because people have made assumptions to whom "they" are.

He intended 'they' to be the Fates. His greatest fear was that her parents thought he blamed them.

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. This verse was written in after he stayed in a mental hospital. He was battling a heroin addiction. This was a plea to Jesus, as in Jesus Christ, to help him 'make a stand' against his drug addiction.

This really portrays how much of a hold the addiction had on him, especially when he belts out, "I won't make it any other way. Although it would be nice to say that in he finally kicked the habit, he did not kick the habit until much later. Fortunately, unlike many like him, he was finally able to make a stand against his addiction in , when he became sober.

He has been sober ever since, but still feels that he is a recovering addict. Has 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. Earlier, during his senior year in high school, he had been treated at a hospital for depression.

Fire and Rain (song)

He and a friend, Danny Kortchmar, began a band called the Flying Machine. It was a blessing in disguise when the band failed just a few months after it started, and he began his solo career. The last line is referring to this band and his earlier attempts at finding success as a writer. This remains and probably always will be one of my favorite songs. It touches me on a deep level. Although I've never experienced depression or drug addiction, I still know how it feels to be on the bottom, hoping for a moment to arise. Life is like a roller coaster, many ups and downs, scary at times, exhilarating, and sometimes just plain boring.

Sign in or sign up and post using a HubPages Network account. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites. He has such a distinctive voice, you can always tell it's him when he helps out a friend or even plays an instrument. He plays the banjo part on Neil Young's Old Man. I wish he stayed with Carly Simon, she loved him so much. I found your hub from one of the "Related Hubs" on another hub I was visiting.

What a lovely hub! I adore James Taylor and have since I first heard him in the 60s when my son in high school was following his work. Thank you for bringing out this 'history' of one of his most beloved songs.

It gets my votes! I tried for a good while to play his songs on piano. They're not very adaptable to it. One time, though, it just came to me and I was able to do a fairly good job of it. I adore James Taylor and have since I first heard him in the 60s.

James Taylor Lyrics Explained

I had no idea he wrote the verses so far apart. I just finished a song I started many years ago, so I do understand how that happens. I read once that when he heard people say that his songs all sounded the same that he was surprised. He said he works to vary his songs and structure of the music but that he just has a narrow lens they all come out of and so it just sounds like that.

I agree with him, his songs are not as easy to play as you might think if you actually play them as he does. That's a bit of genius there. I remember listening to this song as a young child. I always thought the whole song was about "Susan" and the line "the plans they made put an end to you" referred to some conspiracy in which she was murdered. Now I know the real story. Thanks for a great hub. James Taylor is one of my all-time favorite singers.

Fire and Rain (song) - Wikipedia

I could listen to him sing all day long. I think he is one of the few celebrities that I would lose all verbal functioning around! I'd just stand there in awe! Have to say I've always liked the song, yet never read or new anything about the singer