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.
Golden Moments
James Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They would shine just like the sun for a summer day
And after it was over, we could have it back again
With credit to the editor for striking out the rain very clean
And all it really needed was the proper point of view
No one's gonna bring me down, no one's gonna stop me now
And I gathered up the gold and I threw it all away
It all went for a good time and a song, come on
The laughter was like music, it did float my soul along for a while
And all it really needed was the proper point of view
No one's gonna reach me here, no one's gonna know I'm gone
You may think I must be crazy and I guess you must be right
But I know the way I feel today is out of sight
Do not trust my senses to remember your name
Without corrective lenses, things are never twice the same anyway
And all it really needed was the proper point of view
No one's gonna bring me down, no one's gonna stop me now
No one's gonna reach me here, no one's gonna know I'm gone
In "Golden Moments," James Taylor reflects on his experiences in life and how, if he could combine all of his "golden moments" into one, it would be as bright and beautiful as the sun on a summer day. He longs to relive these moments again but with the ability to edit out the negative aspects, just as an editor would cut out rain from a sunny day. Taylor acknowledges that these moments only require the right perspective to be appreciated fully.
The second verse of the song reveals that Taylor has sold his sorrows for gold and has thrown the gold away for a good time, particularly with laughter and music that swept his soul along for a while. He once again recognizes that the key to enjoying these moments is the right perspective.
In the final verse, Taylor speaks to the fleeting nature of human memory and how it can often be unreliable. But, he assures us that his feelings at this moment are "out of sight," and nobody can bring him down, stop him, reach him, or know he's gone. In these final lines, Taylor emphasizes his autonomy and freedom.
Line by Line Meaning
Now if all my golden moments could be rolled into one
If all the best moments of my life could be combined into one, it would shine as bright as the sun on a summer day
They would shine just like the sun for a summer day
Those moments would have a brilliant, luminous quality much like the sun on a summer day
And after it was over, we could have it back again
If we could record those moments, we could relive them over and over again
With credit to the editor for striking out the rain very clean
With gratitude to the editor who removed the negative aspects and made the memory clean and clear
And all it really needed was the proper point of view
A positive outlook is all that is needed to appreciate those golden moments
No one's gonna bring me down, no one's gonna stop me now
Nothing will dampen my spirits or hold me back
Now I gathered up my sorrows and I sold them all for gold
I let go of my sadness and exchanged it for something precious, like a golden memory
And I gathered up the gold and I threw it all away
I enjoyed the moment so much that I didn't worry about the cost and let it go
It all went for a good time and a song, come on
I spent my golden moments in pursuit of pleasure and without regrets
The laughter was like music, it did float my soul along for a while
The joyous laughter lifted my spirits and carried me through the moment
No one's gonna reach me here, no one's gonna know I'm gone
I am lost in the moment and no one can interrupt me or bring me back to reality
You may think I must be crazy and I guess you must be right
Others might view my pursuit of happiness as foolish or unwise
But I know the way I feel today is out of sight
Despite those opinions, I know that this moment of joy is beyond compare
Do not trust my senses to remember your name
I'm so focused on the moment that my attention is not directed towards recalling names
Without corrective lenses, things are never twice the same anyway
My perspective is always changing and therefore, the memory I create won't be the same as the actual reality
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind