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Brian MilgateCOM 401April 10, 2017Rhetorical Analysis“Fire and Rain”IntroductionThe singer/songwriter I will am analyzing in this paper is James Taylor. This pinpoint research on James Taylor will show that his overall musical career and his one particular song, “Fire and Rain” consisted of dramatic, narrative, and lyrical modes of lyricism, and also included the musical concepts pathos and identification. It will be proven that James Taylor’s music spoke to many audiences throughout generations using these concepts. The proven research throughout this paper will briefly analyze Taylor’s career, touch on his album “Sweet Baby James”, but really focus on analyzing one particular song, “Fire and Rain”, from his notable album “Sweet Baby James” released in February of 1970. James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and also a five-time Grammy Award winner. Taylor is one of the best-selling music artists of all time and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide. Taylor’s major breakthrough occurred in 1970 with his third single "Fire and Rain". Taylor also had his first number one hit the following year in 1971 with a recording of Carole King's classic song, "You've Got a Friend”. Taylor’s 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT, Taylor still to this day has retained a large audience over the decades. Each and every album that Taylor has released from 1977 to 2007 have sold over a million copies each. After 2007 Taylor hibernated for a few years. Taylor’s chart performance had resurfaced again from during the late 1990s through the 2000s. This is the era in which Taylor recorded some of his best and most awarded work including his albums Hourglass, October Road, and Covers. Taylor’s first number one album in the United States came in 2015 with his recording Before This World. Some of Taylor’s most notable and popular covers are of other artists’ songs to include How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You), You've Got a Friend, as well as one of his originals Fire and Rain. Due to his accomplishments Taylor was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor has been active in the music industry since 1966 and is still active and relevant today ("James Taylor").A little insight to his early years, James Vernon Taylor was born at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on March 12, 1948 and was of American nationality. His father was Isaac Taylor and his mother was Gertrude Taylor. Taylor’s Alma Maters are Milton Academy and Elon University. In the 50 plus years of his musical career and being a musical genius, Taylor has written and sung a wide spectrum of genres of music, to include folk rock, rock, pop, soft rock, blues, and country. In producing and singing these various genres of music, he became well versed on many instruments, not limited to vocals, harmonica, keyboards, and of course guitar. The combination of his variation of musical ability and instrumental abilities have led to his success in being signed by multiple record labels to include Apple, Capitol, EMI, Warner Brothers, Columbia, SME, Hear Music, and Manticore to name few ("James Taylor").1970–1972: Fame and commercial successSweet Baby James was the second studio album by James Taylor. This was also one of his first hits and his first release with Warner Bros. Records. He has won a Grammy Award for Song Of The Year for this hit. Receiving such an award is a high honor for any artist. The single “Fire and Rain” was about Taylor's experiences in breaking his drug habit by undergoing treatment in psychiatric institutions and the suicide of his friend, Suzanne Schnerr. Sweet Baby James during its time was viewed as a folk-rock masterpiece. This particular album effectively showcased Taylor's talents to the mainstream public. This became a preview to the direction Taylor would take in many years to come in turn leading to the catapult of his career. The album Sweet Baby James really outlines the framework of Taylor’s poetic essence and exemplifies his evolutionary styles over his venturesome yet perilous career. This album really dissects Taylor’s career from approximately 1970-1972 (Whitesell, 2008, pgs. 14-24). This album, and James’ songs in general were complex at times, but included a convincing essence that really induced and hypnotized his listeners and audiences (Whitesell, 2008) There have been multiple different recordings of this unique song by various artists starting in 1970 continuing through 2011. Some of the notable artists, Hubert Laws (1970), Blood, Sweat and Tears (1970), The Isley Brothers (1971), Babyface (2007), Dido (2007), and Birdy (2011) ("James Taylor").1973–1976: Career ups and downsJames Taylor spent most of 1973 enjoying his new life, wife, and focused on his marriage. He did not resurface in to the recording studio until January of 1974. At this time, Taylor began sessions on recording his fifth album which was released in June. This was the only album of Taylor’s that missed the Top five ever since his contract with Warner. In 1975 James Taylor's artistic fortunes grew exponentially again when his Gold Album Gorilla reached number six and ended up as one of his biggest hit singles, a cover version of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)". In November, shortly after his Gorilla album Taylor released his Greatest Hits album which was comprised of his best work between 1970 and 1976. In due time, it became his best-selling album ever. It was certified 11× Platinum in the US, earned a Diamond certification by the RIAA, and eventually sold close to 20 million copies worldwide. Things were looking up again for Taylor ("James Taylor").James Taylor’s Biggest InfluencersTaylor states that the first major influence on his career, and the one thing that made the first big impression on him was his family’s record collection. This collection consisted of a lot of Broadway, a good deal of folk music and traditional music to include Celtic. The second major influence was his older brother Alex. He introduced James Taylor to rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and soul music. Some of the other bigger influences in James Taylor’s life were The Byrds, Buddy Holly, Simon & Garfunkel, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Smokey Robinson, The Beatles, Carole King, and Bob Dylan. Prior to this paper, “No one has given such an in-depth analysis of both James Taylor’s song “Fire and Rain” and album “Sweet Baby James” (Taylor).Literature ReviewNow that you have been given a brief introduction of James Taylor and a brief overview of the album this massive hit came from, the song I would like to analyze “Fire and Rain” is below (Whitesell, 2008, pg.57). My analysis will demonstrate how the song “Fire and Rain” portrayed four different modes of lyricism such as dramatic, which is making the audience feel like they are actually part of this song, Narrative, which is where James Taylor sings about specific periods of his life through his music, lyrical, which is a mode of James Taylor conveying his thoughts, feelings, and alternative states of mind while singing, and lastly political, which is highlighting a social problem (Whitesell, 2008, pgs. 43-47). James Taylor’s use of pathos and how he really placed an emotional state of mind on his audiences will then be discussed. How James Taylor identified with his audiences by the use of identification will be discussed as well.(Verse 1)Just yesterday Em morning they let me D know you were A gone Asus2 ASusanne the E plans they made put an G end to youI A walked out this Em morning and I D wrote down this A song Asus2 AI just can't (E) remember who to G send it to G/D(Chorus)I've seen D fire and Bm I've seen A rain Asus2 AI've seen D sunny days that I Bm thought would never A end Asus2 AI've seen D lonely times when I Bm could not find a A friend Asus2 ABut I G always thought that I'd Em see you (A) again A7(Verse 2)Won't you A look down upon me, Em JesusYou've got to D help me make a A stand Asus2 AYou've just got to E see me through (G) another dayA My body's Em aching and my D time is at A hand Asus2 AAnd I won't E make it any G other way G/D(Chorus)Oh, I've seen D fire and Bm I've seen A rain Asus2 AI've seen D sunny days that I Bm thought would never A end Asus2 AI've seen D lonely times when I Bm could not find a A friend Asus2 ABut I G always thought that I'd Em see you (A) again A7(Verse 3)Been A walking my mind to an Em easy time, my D back turned towards the A sun Asus2 ALord knows when the E cold wind blows it'll G turn your head aroundWell, there's A hours of time on the Em telephone line to D talk about things to (A) come Asus2 ASweet dreams and E flying machines in G pieces on the ground G/D(Chorus)Oh, I've seen D fire and Bm I've seen A rain Asus2 AI've seen D sunny days that I Bm thought would never A end Asus2 AI've seen D lonely times when I Bm could not find a A friend Asus2 ABut I G always thought that I'd Em see you, baby, one more time (A) again A7(Verse 4)Thought I'd G see you one more Em time (A) againThere's just a G few things coming my Em way this time (A) around, nowAd lib- (spoken or performed without previous preparation.) Thought I'd G see you, thought I'd Em see you fire and A rain, now . . . ("James?Taylor – Fire And Rain")AnalysisIn the original production in February of 1970, Carole King played piano, drummer Russ Kunkel used brushes rather than sticks on his drum kit, and Bobby West played double bass in place of a bass guitar to "underscore the melancholy on the song". The other songs recorded on the Sweet Baby James album has stark lyrics about Taylor's depression and stand out on this album which contains mostly lighter, uplifting songs (Taylor).Taylor used four different modes of lyricism in his music, particularly his mega-hit Fire and Rain, dramatic, narrative, lyrical, and political (Whitesell, 2008, pgs. 43-47). In verse one Taylor sings about hearing about his good friend being killed. After finding out he writes this verse about her. The only bad thing, he can’t give it to her because she is no longer there. Typically, in real life if you write something about somebody you usually get the opportunity to give it to the other person. That’s why in the last line of the first verse he says “just can’t remember who to send it to”. Basically, this is where the whole dramatic affect comes in. Taylor is lost without his friend Suzanne. This particular verse, and Taylor’s music is so dramatic at times that the listeners actually feel like they are part of his songs while listening. From a narrative sense, Taylor steps in to the role of the musical storyteller by singing about periods of his life through his music. In 2005 during an interview on National Public Radio (NPR) Taylor explained to host Scott Simon that this song was written in three parts ("Story Behind the Song: “Fire & Rain” By James Taylor"). The first part was about Taylor's friend Suzanne, who died while Taylor was in London working on his first album after being signed to Apple Records. Friends at home, concerned that it might distract Taylor from his big break, kept the tragic news from him and he found out six months later. The second verse is about Taylor’s arrival in this country with a monkey on his back, and there Jesus was an expression of his desperation in trying to get through the time when his body was aching and the time was at hand when I had to do it. This part really details Taylor's struggle to overcome drug addiction and depression and focuses on the high and low points of Taylor's life. The third part refers to Taylor’s recuperation in Austin Riggs, a rehab facility. This stint lasted five months. His time here helped him come to grips with fame and fortune while looking back at the road that got him there. It includes a reference to James Taylor and The Flying Machine, a band he briefly worked with before his big break with Paul McCartney, Peter Asher, and Apple Records. According to Taylor, this song is very personal, confrontational, and candid. This was Taylor’s way of getting out something hard that was weighing him down, and detailing three different episodes of hard times. The ending of Fire and Rain was not written. It was an ad lib that happened at the end of one of the takes. It was so good that Taylor decided to keep this piece ("Story Behind the Song: “Fire & Rain” By James Taylor"). When I listen I actually feel like I am really a part of his life story. From a lyrical aspect, he consistently conveys his thoughts, feelings, or alternative states of mind throughout this song. Every verse is characterized by him expressing his spontaneous or direct feelings at that point in time. In regards to Fire and Rain, it was about losing someone he loved and was very close to, and how he did his best to get help and move on. I, the listener, was literally consumed by his different perspectives on particular subjects throughout the song. I personally have lost loved ones very close to me so I was able to relate in a very emotionally way. The final aspect I would like to mention is Taylor’s ability to communicate his certain set of ethical beliefs in order to highlight a social problem. Taylor focused on this aspect in this particular song, and also did this sporadically throughout his music particularly his album Sweet Baby James. The ethical belief was that of religion. He references Jesus in the second verse and shows his audience that if you are hurting and lost it is okay to call on Jesus for help. The social problems were drugs, alcohol, and depression. This mode may only appeal to certain audiences by solidifying shared values or getting listeners to buy in to a common cause. Personally I could really relate to this mode more deeply as I currently have family members currently struggling with drug addiction, the horrible disease alcoholism, and depression.Taylor’s song “Fire and Rain” was definitely pathos oriented. Pathos refers to the emotional state of the audience, as produced by the artist (Keith & Lundberg, 2008, pgs. 35-39). I think after listening to “Fire and Rain” Taylor’s audiences really empathize with him and the loss of his good friend Suzanne. This song definitely pulls on one’s heart strings. After listening to this song for the first time, what the song was really about was rather vague. After listening to it a few more times, the meaning of the song not only became clearer but, I was able sympathize with Taylor. I also think this song has soft enough instrumental music to make Taylor’s audiences contemplative.In regards to his overall musical career, I think that Taylor definitely possessed the fundamental element of persuasion, identification (Keith & Lundberg, 2008). The more music Taylor put out, the more sympathetic and empathetic his audience became. He really knew his audience and identified with them. Throughout his career, Taylor really affirmed his true identity (labels, patterns of behavior, ways of representing himself to make up his public persona) and power (Keith & Lundberg, 2008, pg.9). Throughout his career Taylor was consistently labeled as an artist that would either have it or not have it, more often not have it. His patterns of behavior, his attitude while facing this negativity, his strive to prove his doubters wrong, and his ambition to be a success really made up his true persona. The way he held his composure while facing all this adversity really helped him better focus and catapulted him in his career. I think this really speaks to Taylor’s social power and the way he progressed regardless of how he was treated by others. His thoughts, habits, and actions could have been swayed by society, but Taylor wouldn’t let that happen. Instead, Taylor turned the other cheek and became a world- wide icon.James Taylor, similarly to Joni Mitchell started writing his very own music at a very young age. Second, just like Mitchell, Taylor at times transitioned in and out of risky genres of music. This really showed his ability to step out of his music comfort zone, adaption to a spectrum of concepts, and his ability to be an artist who performs at his highest levels at all times. Thirdly, just like Joni’s music, Taylor’s music is also still relevant and recognized today. The fact that James Taylor’s drive for success and will to never be held down was a true testament to who he really was and also showed his endurance, stamina, and flexibility as a creative singer-songwriter. If you were to compare him to other artists of his time, his will to succeed was impeccable and he was second to none (Whitesell, 2008).Artists that James Taylor InfluencedWhile Taylor had some huge influencers in his life, he also influenced many artists as well. Some of these big name artists that Taylor influenced were James Blunt, Jewel, Ray LaMontagne, Jason Mraz, Once Blue, and John Mayer (Taylor).DiscussionAnother huge hit for James Taylor was "You've Got a Friend" which was written by Carole King in January of 1971 simultaneously while and James Taylor's album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon was being written. King states that "the song was as close to pure inspiration as I've ever experienced” and the song wrote itself”. “It was written by something outside myself, through me." Taylor says. King told Taylor that the song was a response to a line in Taylor's earlier song "Fire and Rain" that "I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend." King's album was recorded in an overlap with Taylor's and King and Joni Mitchell perform on both. ConclusionAfter analyzing James Taylor, specifically his song “Fire and Rain” I have a different view of his music than I did prior to analysis. I now see how James Taylor’s music personifies the art of songwriting in both private and all-inclusive forms. Taylor is a master at describing specific and even autobiographical situations in a way that resonates with people of all ages everywhere. ("James Taylor")James Taylor. (2017, March 12). Retrieved March 14, 2017, from ("Story Behind the Song: “Fire & Rain” By James Taylor")Story Behind the Song: “Fire & Rain” by James Taylor. (2015, February 11). Retrieved March 14, 2017(Taylor)Discover who influenced James Taylor. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2017 ("James?Taylor – Fire And Rain")"James?Taylor – Fire And Rain". Genius. N.p., 2017. Web. 15 Mar. 2017., W. M., & Lundberg, C. O. (2008). The essential guide to rhetoric. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's.Whitesell, L. (2008). The music of Joni Mitchell. New York: Oxford University Press, USA. ................
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