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.
Far Afghanistan
James Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Civilized and socialized they teach you right from wrong
How to hold your liquor and how to hold your tongue
How to hold a woman or a baby or a gun
But nothing will prepare you for the far Afghanistan
You can listen to their stories and pick up what you can
You listen to their stories maybe read a book or two
Oh the Hindu Kush, the Band-e Amir, the Hazara
They tell you a tradition in the hills of Kandahar
They say young boys are taken to the wilderness out there
Taken to the mountain alone and in the night
If he makes it home alive they teach him how to fight
They fought against the Russians, they fought against the Brits
They fought old Alexander, talking ‘bout him ever since
And after 9/11 here comes your Uncle Sam
Another painful lesson in the far Afghanistan
I was ready to be terrified and ready to be mad
I was ready to be homesick, the worst I've ever had
I expected to be hated and insulted to my face
But nothing could prepare me for the beauty of the place
No matter what they tell you all soldiers talk to God
It's a private conversation written in your blood
The enemy's no different, badass holy wind
That crazy bastard talks to God and his God talks back to him
In James Taylor's song Far Afghanistan, he explores the foreign and unfamiliar territory of Afghanistan as a soldier. He speaks about his experiences back in Indiana and how they have prepared him for life, but nothing can prepare one for the unknown. There is no amount of stories you can hear, books you can read or preparation you can have, that can truly prepare one for what it's like to be in a war-torn land that is worlds apart from anything you have ever known. In the song, he mentions how soldiers talk to God, and it's a private conversation that is written in their blood, which makes him understand that no matter the differences in belief or culture, soldiers are all human and have the same fears and feelings.
The song also highlights the traditions of the people of Afghanistan, specifically the Hazara community, who take young boys to the wilderness in the mountains to toughen them up for battles. The Hazara people have a rich and unique culture, and despite the fact that they have been victims of mistreatment and discrimination, they have managed to maintain their identity and traditions. The song also touches on the historical conflicts in Afghanistan, from fighting the Russian and British invaders to fighting Alexander The Great and now the American army after 9/11, which shows how the country's fate has been intertwined with various historical events.
Overall, "Far Afghanistan" is a poignant song that explores the experiences of a soldier in a foreign land, his fears, doubts and struggles, and how despite all the differences, there is a shared humanity that connects them all.
Line by Line Meaning
Back home Indiana, we just learn to get along
In my hometown of Indiana, we learn how to live together in harmony
Civilized and socialized they teach you right from wrong
Our culture helps us learn what is right and wrong
How to hold your liquor and how to hold your tongue
We learn how to control ourselves and our actions
How to hold a woman or a baby or a gun
We learn to handle various responsibilities and roles
But nothing will prepare you for the far Afghanistan
No amount of training or learning can prepare you for the realities of war in Afghanistan
You can listen to their stories and pick up what you can
You can try to learn from their experiences and stories as much as you can
You listen to their stories maybe read a book or two
You can read books and other resources to try and understand more about the war
Until they send you out there, man you haven't got a clue
But until you're actually sent there, you won't truly understand what it's like
Oh the Hindu Kush, the Band-e Amir, the Hazara
These are all names of places in Afghanistan
They tell you a tradition in the hills of Kandahar
There is a tradition in Kandahar where young boys are taken to the wilderness to learn how to fight
They say young boys are taken to the wilderness out there
The tradition involves taking young boys out into the wilderness
Taken to the mountain alone and in the night
They are taken to a mountain alone at night
If he makes it home alive they teach him how to fight
If a boy survives the experience, he is taught how to fight
They fought against the Russians, they fought against the Brits
The Afghan people have a long history of fighting against outsiders like the Russians and the British
They fought old Alexander, talking ‘bout him ever since
They even fought against Alexander the Great, and still talk about it to this day
And after 9/11 here comes your Uncle Sam
After the September 11th attacks, the US became involved in the war in Afghanistan
Another painful lesson in the far Afghanistan
This experience has been a painful lesson for those who have fought in the far-off land of Afghanistan
I was ready to be terrified and ready to be mad
I was prepared to be scared and angry
I was ready to be homesick, the worst I've ever had
I was prepared to feel very homesick, worse than ever before
I expected to be hated and insulted to my face
I thought that the people there would treat me with hostility and disrespect
But nothing could prepare me for the beauty of the place
However, I was surprised by the surprising natural beauty of Afghanistan
No matter what they tell you all soldiers talk to God
No matter what people may say, all soldiers have their own personal conversations with God
It's a private conversation written in your blood
This conversation is deeply personal and often earned through great sacrifice
The enemy's no different, badass holy wind
The enemy soldiers are no different in this regard
That crazy bastard talks to God and his God talks back to him
The enemy soldiers also have their own conversations with God, and their God responds to them as well
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