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.
I Was A Fool To Care
James Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was a fool to care,
I was a fool to care,
But I don't care even
If I was a fool
I'm still in love with you.
Had I listened to the grapevine,
I might have had my doubts.
Just to block them out.
Cause love is so unwise
And love has no eyes,
And it took a while
For a fool to see
What his friends were on about.
I was a fool to care,
I was a fool to care,
I was a fool to care,
But I don't care even
If I was a fool
I'm still in love with you.
Imagining your face,
It almost fills
The empty space before me.
I can see your eyes
And almost hear your lovely lies.
I wish I was an old man
And love was through with me.
I wish I was a baby on my mama's knee.
I wish I was a freight train
Moving down the line,
Just keeping track of time
Without all these memories
I was a fool to care,
I was a fool to care,
I was a fool to care,
But I don't care even
If I was a fool
I'm still in love with you, babe, yes, I am.
I could have opened my eyes,
I could have seen through your lies,
I could have stood for no more,
I could have walked out the door.
But I was a fool to care,
I was a fool to care.
But I was a fool to care,
I was a fool to care.
You weren't nothing but a fool to care,
Just a country fool to care.
You weren't nothing but a fool to care,
Just a country fool to care.
In James Taylor's song "I Was A Fool To Care," he talks about being in love with someone despite knowing that it may not be the wisest choice. The repetition of the line "I was a fool to care" emphasizes the singer's awareness of their foolishness. He admits that he could have avoided getting hurt if he had listened to the warnings of others or paid closer attention to this person's deceitful behavior. However, the singer is unable to shake off his love for this person, as evidenced by his daydreams about them and his willingness to forgive even in the face of betrayal. The song concludes on a note of resignation, with the singer wishing he were either too young or too old to feel the pain of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I was a fool to care,
I made a mistake by caring for you and investing my time and energy into a love that didn't turn out the way I hoped.
But I don't care even
If I was a fool
I'm still in love with you.
Despite recognizing that I may have made a foolish decision, I cannot help but love you.
Had I listened to the grapevine,
I might have had my doubts.
But I did my level best
Just to block them out.
Others may have warned me about you, but I chose to ignore their advice because I was deeply in love.
Cause love is so unwise
And love has no eyes,
And it took a while
For a fool to see
What his friends were on about.
Love can be irrational and blind, making it difficult for me to see what my friends were trying to tell me about you.
Imagining your face,
It almost fills
The empty space before me.
I can see your eyes
And almost hear your lovely lies.
I still have vivid memories of you, even though you're not present. I can see your face and hear you tell me things that I now realize may not be true.
I wish I was an old man
And love was through with me.
I wish I was a baby on my mama's knee.
I wish I was a freight train
Moving down the line,
Just keeping track of time
Without all these memories
Sometimes I wish I didn't have to deal with the pain of love and could instead live a simpler life without all of these complicated emotions.
I could have opened my eyes,
I could have seen through your lies,
I could have stood for no more,
I could have walked out the door.
Hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, I could have avoided this heartache by recognizing the warning signs and leaving.
You weren't nothing but a fool to care,
Just a country fool to care.
Despite realizing that caring for you may have been a mistake, I still hold on to the belief that it is the right thing to do, even if others see me as a fool for doing so.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
wtwrush
“I wish I was an old man, and love was through with me,
I wish I was a baby on my mama’s knee,
I wish I was a freight train moving down the line, just keeping track of time, without all these memories”
One of my favorite sets of lyrics ever.
Lilly Lovejoy
How grateful I am to have lived in the era of these great singer songwriters.
David MacDougal
It is great to be greatful--
Ann Farmer
Lilly Lovejoy I agree!
deborah roberts
Me too, music feeds the soul, hot wired to our emotions and memory.
Lake Granny Walker
So true. James Taylor is a Poet without a heart.
Ancient one
Those chords are so magical.. Its touches my heart .. I'm in tears :-)
Ramona Feisley
Me too saw him in concert and it was amazing!
Lake Granny Walker
Don’t be fooled. J T is a poet without a heart.
Beauregard da 4th
I have this CD, and I play it every morning on my way to work. Love this song.