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On James Taylor

 James Taylor was institutionalized; he would look out his window and see a country road. This became the inspiration for "Country Road," which is a portrait of the artist as a young man. Take to the highway; won't you lend me your name. Your way and my way seem to be one and the same. I think of Taylor attempting to reach out to a poetic idol--like Walt Whitman. Following Whitman would be like following the highway, the "high" way, an elevated way of life. Mama don't understand it. She wants to know where I've been. I'd have to be some kind of natural born fool to want to pass that way again.... Taylor feels some pressure to choose a "conventional" life; rejecting security would be like choosing to wear a dunce cap. But Taylor really would like to be a "fool"; he would like to exist on the edge of society. He is guilty as charged. I can hear a heavenly band full of angels, And they're coming to set me free. I don't know n...

On James Taylor

 James Taylor turns himself into a literary character; he is an interesting mess, over and over again. Every now and then, the things I lean on lose their meaning. And I find myself careening--into places where I should not let me go. She has the power to go where no one else can find me-- Yes, and to silently remind me of the happiness and good times that I know. Even in a celebratory mood, as he considers his baby daughter, Taylor mocks himself: Isn't it amazing a man *like me* can feel this way? Tell me how much longer--it can grow stronger--everyday...? At times, Taylor has been an addict, close to death--and yet he has a writer's coolness, a way of dissecting a thing that others wouldn't want to touch: Won't you look down upon me, Jesus? You gotta help me make a stand. You just got to see me through another day. My body's aching, and my time is at hand. I won't make it any other way. Taylor senses how lost we all are--and he has some fun with this situation...

On James Taylor

 Taylor Swift has a new album out, and the NYT has implied that it's among the worst albums of her career. It seems like a good time to consider one of Swift's songwriting idols, James Taylor (who plays a role in Swift's "Begin Again"): Whenever I see your smiling face, I have to smile myself-- Because I love you. Yes, I do. And when you give me that pretty little pout, It turns me inside out. There's something about you, baby--  I don't know. This is so well-crafted, it seems "artless." The speaker is floored by one face--so floored, he can't find words. ("There's something about you, baby; I don't know.") I thought I was in love a couple of times before-- With the girl next door-- But that was long before I met you. Now I'm sure that I won't forget you... The speaker's love is so great, it makes former loves seem like delusions. ("I forget their names now; I'm so very tame now....") I think the br...