Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song)

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For other uses, see Long Ago and Far Away (disambiguation).
"Long Ago and Far Away"
Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)James Taylor
Producer(s)Peter Asher
James Taylor singles chronology
"You Can Close Your Eyes"
(1971) 		"Long Ago and Far Away"
(1971) 		"Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"
(1972)

"Long Ago and Far Away" is a song written by James Taylor and first released on his 1971 album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. It was the follow-up single to "You've Got a Friend" and became a Top 40 hit in the U.S. and a Top 20 hit in Canada, and made the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the U.S. It has also been covered by New York Voices and Johnny Mathis.

Lyrics and music

Taylor wrote "Long Ago and Far Away" in 1970, about a year before it was recorded for Mud Slide Slim.[1] Joni Mitchell sings background vocals and Carole King plays piano.[2][3] It is a sad song that Taylor biographer Timothy White calls "among the most wistful of Taylor's vast catalogue of secular hymns."[3] The theme of the song is how things don't turn out as planned, how dreams don't usually match the ultimate reality and how expectations don't last.[4] The lyrics describe a young man whose dreams have not come true.[5] The lyrics evoke a motif common in Taylor's songs, that of the sea and sailing away for one reason or another.[3][5] Other images in the lyrics include "tender dreams" and "broken glass."[3] Towards the end of the song the singer asks why his song is so sad.[3] The phrase "long ago and far away" never appears in the lyrics.[4] Rather, Taylor sings that "Long ago a young man sits and plays his waiting game."[4] In 1998 Taylor noted that the lyrics in the second verse "Love is just a word I've heard when things are being said" was the "most coherent" part of the song for him at that time, stating that "it is a musing on the nature of expectations, and how they don't last.[6]

Critic Al Rudis notes a resemblance between some of the melody of "Long Ago and Far Away" and that of "Sunny Skies," a song from Taylor's prior album Sweet Baby James.[7] Journalist Peggy Mulloy Glad regards it as an example of how Taylor can use his vocal and guitar playing to "communicate the pain, melancholy and desires that most people experience but few can express."[8] Musicologist James Perone explains that one of Taylor's means of achieving this is that "some of the melodic notes touch and linger on the upper extensions of the chords.[5] He explains that this may be heard as mild dissonances, which may imply sadness.[5] The dissonances also give the song a jazz feel, which is enhanced by Danny Kortchmar's conga-playing.[5] Perone also points out that the song uses many chords that include notes beyond the standard three-note triad.[5]

Reception

Music journalist

production touch."[10] Record World said "Mellow as can be, with expert background vocal by girlfriend Joni. Nicer harmony can't be heard anywhere."[11] Taylor himself considers it "a sentimental song, but good."[3]

"Long Ago and Far Away" reached number 31 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached number 4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[12] It reached number 12 in Canada, as well as number 9 on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.[13][14]

Personnel

Other appearances

"Long Ago and Far Away" was included on the compilation albums The Best of James Taylor and The Essential James Taylor.[15][16] A live recording opens the album James Taylor Live in Rio.[17]

Billboard Magazine described Mathis' version, produced by Richard Perry, as a "ballad beauty" delivered "in top form."[22]

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 9781458471390
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 0679737294
    .
  3. ^
    ISBN 9780857120069
    .
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0806523484
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 9781440852688
    .
  6. Billboard Magazine
    . pp. 16–19. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  7. ^ a b Rudis, A. (May 8, 1971). "Taylor Keeps Tight Hold on Lullaby Championship". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 55. Retrieved 2014-04-09.
  8. The Milwaukee Journal. p. 14. Retrieved 2014-04-10.[permanent dead link
    ]
  9. The Deseret News
    . p. 22. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  10. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. September 25, 1971. p. 20. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
  11. ^ "Picks of the Week" (PDF). Record World. September 25, 1971. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  12. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  13. ^ "RPM 100 Singles". Library and Archives Canada. November 13, 1971. Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  14. ^ "RPM MOR Playlist". Library and Archives Canada. October 16, 1971. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
  15. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  16. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  17. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  18. Allmusic
    . Retrieved 2014-04-10.
  19. Daytona Beach Sunday News-Journal
    . p. 8D. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  20. St. Petersburg Times
    . p. 8D. Retrieved 2014-04-11.
  21. Billboard Magazine
    . September 4, 1971. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
  22. Billboard Magazine
    . August 28, 1971. p. 22. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
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