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.
Runaway Boy
James Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't make me remember the Alamo, I'm feeling like a little bit of Cotton Eyed Joe.
No raging Cajun crawfish stew, fat batter coming in a Lumalamalu.
Boy howdy and howdy damn do, something like fine setting eyes on you.
Let me come down, I won't never go back up again, oh, hold me down.
Let me come home, I won't never go away no more, oh let me come down.
In a younger day back in Tennessee, the muddy Mississippi used to call to me,
Run from the farm and the family tree, run from the runaway boy.
So I've been all the places that I ever want to be, I've seen all the people that I ever want to see.
I'm sick and tired of being lonely and free, I'm ready today for what's waiting on me.
I'm gonna give up believing I was born to run, stop acting like a man that gets shot from a gun.
I'm putting down roots, I want to soak up sun and stay right here until my days are done.
Let me back down, I will never go up again. Hold me down, tie me on down.
Let me go home, I will never go away no more, oh let me come home, oh let me go down.
[Indecipherable grunting]
"Runaway Boy" is a song by James Taylor that talks about the desire to break free from the monotony of life, the yearning to run away and experience new things while still being tethered to home. The lyrics depict a restless nature that is not content with being confined to one place for too long. The song starts with the request to play a tune on the fiddle and not to have anything from the radio played, followed by the request not to remember things from the past. Rather, the singer wants to enjoy a little bit of Cotton Eyed Joe, a traditional American folk song that revolves around dancing.
The song then proceeds to narrate how the singer used to dream of running away when he was young, imagining himself floating on the Mississippi River and setting himself free. He ran away from the farm and his family and became a runaway boy. But then he grew up and has realized that he has been to all the places he ever wanted to be and has seen all the people he ever wanted to see. He is now sick and tired of being lonely and free and wants to stop running. He wants to put down roots and stay in one place. He wants to soak up the sun and stay there until his days are done.
Line by Line Meaning
Fetch down the fiddle, rosin up the bow, don't play me nothing on the radio.
Bring me my fiddle and prepare to play with enthusiasm, but don't play any songs that are commonly played on the radio.
Don't make me remember the Alamo, I'm feeling like a little bit of Cotton Eyed Joe.
Don't bring up my unpleasant memories of the Alamo, instead, play a lighthearted song similar to Cotton Eyed Joe.
No raging Cajun crawfish stew, fat batter coming in a Lumalamalu.
I'm not in the mood for a spicy Cajun dish, but I do enjoy some sort of deep-fried food.
Boy howdy and howdy damn do, something like fine setting eyes on you.
I am impressed by you and think you're quite beautiful.
Let me come down, I won't never go back up again, oh, hold me down.
I'm asking to be brought down from a high or over-energetic state, and to be held down to prevent going back up again.
Let me come home, I won't never go away no more, oh let me come down.
I want to come back home and stay there instead of leaving again, so please let me return.
In a younger day back in Tennessee, the muddy Mississippi used to call to me, float on a river and set yourself free.
When I was younger and living in Tennessee, I was called to the muddy Mississippi, where I could escape by floating on the river.
Run from the farm and the family tree, run from the runaway boy.
I ran away from my family farm and the expectation to carry on the family tradition, thus becoming the 'runaway boy.'
So I've been all the places that I ever want to be, I've seen all the people that I ever want to see.
I'm satisfied with the places I've been and people I've met in my life, and don't have a desire to go elsewhere.
I'm sick and tired of being lonely and free, I'm ready today for what's waiting on me.
I'm tired of being alone and having total independence, and I'm ready to face what comes next in my life.
I'm gonna give up believing I was born to run, stop acting like a man that gets shot from a gun.
I'm going to stop thinking that I was born to constantly move around, and instead settle in one place and be content there.
I'm putting down roots, I want to soak up sun and stay right here until my days are done.
I'm choosing to settle down and stay in one spot, enjoying the sun until the end of my life.
Let me back down, I will never go up again. Hold me down, tie me on down.
I want to come down from a state of high energy and never go up again, and need to be held or tied down to help prevent it.
Let me go home, I will never go away no more, oh let me come home, oh let me go down.
I want to go back home and never leave again, and need to come down from any extroverted state I might be in.
Lyrics ยฉ Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JAMES TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind