Fire and Rain

"I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,
But I always thought that I'd see you again."

A sad one but this is my favorite James Taylor song.

It's an introspective song that speaks of heartache, personal loss, and broken dreams. This is one of the songs I love to listen to whenever I find myself in a reflective mood. I was already a student in college when I got to know and love this song. I was working on recovering from a relationship that had ended much too soon. I found comfort and, eventually, strength in the song's words.

To this day, I still listen to this beautiful song whenever life's troubles decide to spend time with me. The song's words help me face down the challenges that come my way. A lot of times, I look to its words like a prayer that will help get me through the rough times.

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.

However, it is not only during such moments that I listen to this tune. There are also times when I turn to it to simply enjoy a quiet moment.

Fire and Rain was James Taylor's first hit. Released in February 1970, the song was released as a single from his second album, Sweet Baby James. It peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts that same year. The clip above was from a live performance of the song that Mr. Taylor did back in 1970 on British TV.

I like live performances done in intimate settings such as the one in this clip. I chose it because Mr. Taylor's fine live performance was complemented by an appreciative and yet very respectful audience. The words, music, and the emotion expressed resonated with the audience.

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....