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.
Frozen Man
James Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is the freezing cold water
Reaching up just to swallow me whole.
Ice in the rigging and howling wind,
Shock to my body
As we tumbled in, mercy from God.
My brothers and the others
I alone am returned to tell thee.
Hidden in ice for a century to walk
The world again, Lord have mercy
On the frozen man.
Next words that were spoken to me,
Nurse asked me what my name might be.
She was all in white
At the foot of my bed,
I said angel of mercy
I'm alive or am I dead?
My name is William James McPhee,
I was born in 1843.
Raised in Liverpool by the sea
But that ain't who I am,
Lord have mercy
On the frozen man.
It took a lot of money
To start my heart,
To peg my leg and to buy my eye.
The newspapers call me
The state of the art,
And the children,
When they see me, cry.
I thought it would be nice
Just to visit my grave,
See what kind of tombstone I might have.
I saw my wife and my daughter
And it seemed so strange,
Both of them dead and gone
From extreme old age.
See here, when I die
Make sure I'm gone,
Don't leave 'em nothing to work on.
You can raise your arm,
You can wiggle your hand,
Not unlike myself,
And you can wave goodbye
To the frozen man.
I know what it means
To freeze to death,
To lose a little life
With every breath.
To say goodbye to
Life on earth
And come around again,
Lord have mercy
On the frozen man,
Lord have mercy
On the frozen man.
James Taylor's "Frozen Man" is a haunting song that tells the story of a man who was lost at sea but miraculously survived, only to be frozen in ice for over a century. The first verse describes his harrowing experience of being swallowed by the cold water and battling ice in the rigging and howling winds. He experiences a shock to his body but somehow manages to survive.
The second verse reveals that this man was the only survivor of his group, and he has been hidden in ice for over 100 years. He is questioned by a nurse about his identity, and he tells her that he is William James McPhee, who was born in 1843 in Liverpool. However, he also states that he is not the person he was born to be. He has been granted a second chance at life, and his experiences have made him feel disconnected from his former life.
The final verse imparts his final wishes - he requests that his body is not to be studied nor worked on when he dies, and he urges those left behind to be grateful for their lives. He knows what it means to lose one's life and to be frozen in time, and he doesn't want that fate for anyone else. The song is a reminder of the fragility of life and the impact that harrowing experiences can leave on someone's identity.
Line by Line Meaning
Last thing I remember
My last memory is
Is the freezing cold water
The cold water which freezing me
Reaching up just to swallow me whole.
It seemed that water is trying to kill me
Ice in the rigging and howling wind,
The ship was covered in ice and wind was extremely wild
Shock to my body
The experience was shocking to my body
As we tumbled in, mercy from God.
I barely survived with God's mercy
My brothers and the others
All others including my brothers
Are lost at sea,
Died or lost in the sea
I alone am returned to tell thee.
I'm the only survivor to tell the story
Hidden in ice for a century to walk
I've been frozen in ice for a hundred years
The world again, Lord have mercy
Brought back to life, need mercy from God
On the frozen man.
A reference to me, the frozen man
Next words that were spoken to me,
The first thing I can remember after waking up
Nurse asked me what my name might be.
A nurse asking for my name
She was all in white
The nurse was wearing all white clothes
At the foot of my bed,
She was standing near my bed
I said angel of mercy
I thought the nurse was an angel sent by God to save me
I'm alive or am I dead?
I was confused if I'm still alive or already dead
My name is William James McPhee,
My name is William James McPhee
I was born in 1843.
I was born in the year 1843
Raised in Liverpool by the sea
I grew up in Liverpool near the sea
But that ain't who I am,
But that's not who I really am anymore
Lord have mercy
Asking for mercy from God
On the frozen man.
Repeated reference to me, the frozen man
It took a lot of money
It cost a lot of money
To start my heart,
To revive my heart
To peg my leg and to buy my eye.
To replace my leg with a peg and my eye with an artificial one
The newspapers call me
Media refers to me
The state of the art,
Using state of the art technologies to save me
And the children,
Kids
When they see me, cry.
Crying when they see me
I thought it would be nice
I decided it would be a good idea
Just to visit my grave,
To visit my own grave
See what kind of tombstone I might have.
To see what kind of gravestone I have
I saw my wife and my daughter
I saw my dead wife and daughter
And it seemed so strange,
It felt strange to see them again
Both of them dead and gone
Both my wife and daughter are dead
From extreme old age.
They died from old age
See here, when I die
Listen to me
Make sure I'm gone,
Ensure that I'm completely dead
Don't leave 'em nothing to work on.
Don't give anyone a chance to revive me again
You can raise your arm,
You can lift your arm
You can wiggle your hand,
You can shake your hand
Not unlike myself,
Just like I can do now
And you can wave goodbye
You can wave your hand to
To the frozen man.
Goodbye to me, the frozen man
I know what it means
I have experienced it
To freeze to death,
The feeling of dying because of the extreme cold
To lose a little life with every breath.
Losing life with every breath
To say goodbye to life on earth
Leaving this world
And come around again,
And come back again
Lord have mercy
Again asking for mercy
On the frozen man,
Again referring to me, the frozen man
Lord have mercy
Another asking for mercy
On the frozen man.
Another reference to me, the frozen man
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Arlen Roth
A truly great song! One time while James and I were backstage, I asked him how come he never does this tune live? He then grabbed his guitar and sang and played the entire tune just for me.....he's a special guy.....
voicetube
OMG! Fantastic - that would be like a dream (come true).
Gary Carr
@voicetube James Taylor
X
😊😊
Kerry Forrest
A man and musician in every right! ☺️☺️☺️
Blue Glass
What a beautiful song, been listening to this good man for 40 years and his songs still move and resonate with me ❤️
Gary Carr
James Taylor
Michael Ransom
One of my favourite James Taylor songs. Perfect setting and performance. Enigmatic story and plenty of room for personal interpretation. For me '..don't leave nothin' to work on ' really nails it.
jettrink50
It's about the Artic expeditions.
Cecil Phillip
This song got me crying in front of my children