Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the No. 3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first No. 1 hit the following year with "You've Got a Friend", a recording of Carole King's classic song. 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 popular covers of other people's songs, such as "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and the aforementioned "You've Got A Friend", as well as originals such as "Fire and Rain".
Taylor's four siblings (Alex, Livingston, Hugh, and Kate) have also been musicians with recorded albums. Livingston is still an active musician; Kate was active in the 1970s but did not record another album until 2003; Hugh operates a bed-and-breakfast with his wife, The Outermost Inn in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard; and Alex died in 1993 on James's birthday.
After his divorce from Carly Simon in 1983, Taylor married actress Kathryn Walker on December 14, 1985 at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. She had helped him get off heroin, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1996.
On February 18, 2001, at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston, Taylor wed for the third time, marrying Caroline ("Kim") Smedvig, the director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra.[81] They had begun dating in 1995, when they met as he appeared with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Part of their relationship was worked into the album October Road, on the song "On the 4th of July". The couple reside in the town of Washington, Massachusetts, with their twin boys, Rufus and Henry, born in April 2001. Henry shares James' intrest and talents.
Sally and Ben, his children with Carly Simon, have also embarked on musical careers. After they were born, Taylor moved with his family to Lenox, Massachusetts.
Chanson Francaise
James Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tout au fond de mon cranem pas encore exprime.
Et donc je manque des ides Anglaises,
Paratre, peut-tre, quelque chose, je n'ai pas pens.
Si je dis que je t'aime, ce n'est pas tout fait
La vielle mme chose, car les mots que je dis
ne viennent pas du meme esprit
Et me voici, baby, etranger nouveau
Que je n'ai pas assez de Franaise
Mais qu'est ce qu'on peut dire il faut finir
Suffisant dire, je ne vais jamais crire
Encore une chanson Franaise
Au revoir mes ami, je vous aime beaucoup.
In James Taylor's song Chanson Francaise, the singer talks about finding a French song that he has stored in a corner of his mind, unexpressed. He confesses that he is lacking in English ideas, and maybe that's why he feels compelled to try and write a French song. He admits that even though he wants to say "I love you," it's not exactly the same as usual, because the words don't come from the same place. He feels like a stranger trying to write a French song because he just can't seem to find the right words to express his feelings.
The singer is aware that he is struggling to write a French song, but he must finish it. He has learned enough to say "Au revoir", and he loves his friends much. The message of the song is about the difficulties of expressing yourself in a foreign language, and how the challenge can make you feel like an outsider in your own skin. Overall, the song is a mix of self-doubt, linguistic barriers, and love.
Line by Line Meaning
J'ai trouv cette chanson Franaise, mise dans un coin,
I stumbled upon this French song, tucked away in a corner of my mind.
Tout au fond de mon cranem pas encore exprime.
Buried deep in my brain, yet to be expressed.
Et donc je manque des ides Anglaises,
And so, I lack English ideas.
Paratre, peut-tre, quelque chose, je n'ai pas pens.
Perhaps to seem like something, I haven't thought of.
Si je dis que je t'aime, ce n'est pas tout fait
If I say I love you, it's not quite
La vielle mme chose, car les mots que je dis
The same thing, because the words I say
ne viennent pas du meme esprit
don't come from the same place.
Et me voici, baby, etranger nouveau
So here I am, baby, a new stranger.
J'essaye et j'essaye mais je sais
I try and I try but I know
Que je n'ai pas assez de Franaise
That I don't have enough French.
Mais qu'est ce qu'on peut dire il faut finir
But what can we say, we must finish.
Suffisant dire, je ne vais jamais crire
Enough to say, I won't ever write
Encore une chanson Franaise
Another French song.
Au revoir mes ami, je vous aime beaucoup.
Goodbye my friends, I love you very much.
Writer(s): TAYLOR JAMES V
Contributed by Claire T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.