Fire And Rain

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"Fire and Rain" is a folk/rock song written and performed by James Taylor. As the signature single on his second album, Sweet Baby James, the song engendered widespread attention for him. The album was released in February of 1970, with the song being released as a single the following February. "Fire and Rain" quickly rose to number three on the Billboard hot 100 charts. It was soon covered by Anne Murray, on her album Honey, Wheat and Laughter, also in 1970.

Moody, introspective, and laying bare deep emotional sensitivity, "Fire and Rain" became something of a prototype for the singer-songwriter genre that would boom in the few years following its release. Its apocalyptic imagery proved endlessly provocative to would-be interpreters. The sparse arrangement, centered around Taylor's ringing acoustic guitar figures, also became a signature sound for Taylor and was influential among other performers.

"Fire and Rain" is in the 227th position on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.