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.
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
James Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stopped off at the North Pole to spend a holiday
I called on dear old Santa Claus
To see what I could see
He took me to his workshop
And told his plans to me, so
[Chorus]
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
He's making a list and checking it twice
Gonna find out who's naughty and nice
Santa Claus is comin' to town
He sees you when you're sleepin'
He knows when you're a wake
He knows if you've been bad or good
So be good for goodness sake
Oh! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Santa Claus is comin' to town
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Now Santa is a busy man, He has no time to play
He's got millions of stockings to fill on Christmas day
You'd better write your letter now
And mail it right away
Because he's getting ready
His reindeer's and his sleigh. So
[Chorus]
With little tin horns and little toy drums
Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums
Santa Claus is comin' to town
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo
Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too
Santa Claus is comin' to town
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee
They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
So! You better watch out, you better not cry
Better not pout, I'm telling you why
Santa Claus is comin' to town
The song "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" was originally written in 1934 by John Frederick Coots and Haven Gillespie. The lyrics are about the excitement and anticipation of Santa Claus's arrival on Christmas Day. The singer of this version, James Taylor, tells of his journey to visit Santa at the North Pole, where he is shown the toys that Santa is planning to bring to children around the world.
The chorus of the song issues a warning to children to behave themselves and not be naughty, since Santa Claus is keeping an eye on them and will know if they have been bad or good. It adds that Santa is "making a list and checking it twice," implying that he won't be fooled by any last-minute attempts to behave well.
In the second verse, Taylor lists some of the toys that Santa is preparing to bring, including little tin horns, drums, dolls, elephants, boats, and cars. He also suggests that when the children receive their toys on Christmas morning, they will be so excited that they will want to build "Toyland" all around the Christmas tree.
The final verse reinforces the idea that Santa is very busy and has a lot of work to do, filling millions of stockings on Christmas Day. The singer urges children to send their letters to Santa right away, so that he can begin preparing in advance. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, encouraging children to behave well and look forward to Santa's arrival.
Line by Line Meaning
I just came back from a lovely trip along the Milky Way
I took a journey through the galaxy and I'm now back on Earth
Stopped off at the North Pole to spend a holiday
I made a stop at the North Pole to have some fun and relax
I called on dear old Santa Claus
I met with Santa Claus
To see what I could see
To see what was happening at the North Pole
He took me to his workshop And told his plans to me, so
He showed me his workshop and told me his plans
You better watch out, you better not cry Better not pout, I'm telling you why Santa Claus is comin' to town
You should behave because Santa is coming to town and he knows if you've been bad or good
He's making a list and checking it twice Gonna find out who's naughty and nice Santa Claus is comin' to town
He is making a list of who's been good or bad, and is coming to town to reward or punish you accordingly
He sees you when you're sleepin' He knows when you're a wake He knows if you've been bad or good So be good for goodness sake
He knows everything about you, so you should be good just for the sake of it
With little tin horns and little toy drums Rooty toot toots and rummy tum tums Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa will bring little toys and instruments to make children happy
And curly head dolls that toddle and coo Elephants, boats, and kiddie cars too Santa Claus is comin' to town
Santa will bring various toys, including dolls, elephants, boats, and cars, to the children
Then kids in Girl and Boy land will have a jubilee They're gonna build a Toyland all around the Christmas tree
Children will be very happy and excited, and will build a new toyland around the Christmas tree
Now Santa is a busy man, He has no time to play He's got millions of stockings to fill on Christmas day
Santa is a busy man who has a lot of work to do, filling all the stockings with gifts on Christmas day
You'd better write your letter now And mail it right away Because he's getting ready His reindeer's and his sleigh. So
If you want to receive a gift, you should write a letter to Santa and send it quickly, because he is getting ready to deliver gifts with his reindeer and sleigh
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Coots, Haven Gillespie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind