‘Secret O’ Life’: the James Taylor song that he called “preposterous”
Every songwriter can fall into the trap of being pretentious every now and again. It might all come down to having a good song at the end of the day, but sometimes there are those few tunes that either rub people the wrong way or end up taking themselves on a journey right up the writer’s own ass half the time. James Taylor has always seemed immune to that kind of attitude, but even he could admit that he bit off a little more than he could chew on ‘Secret O’ Life’.
Granted, Taylor certainly had some wise words to impart to his listeners about life. The man had already spent his early days as a favourite of The Beatles, so it’s not like he didn’t have fans in high places when writing tracks like ‘Carolina In My Mind’ or ‘Something in the Way She Moves’.
Then again, some of the greatest songs he had ever written had been more about emotional vulnerability than wisdom. You don’t need to listen to a piece like ‘Fire and Rain’ to learn a lesson, but hearing him talk about seeing one of his fallen friends one more time is enough to leave you with a few leaky eyes.
Even though works such as ‘Your Smiling Face’ are a better version of what Taylor was always good at, he thought ‘Secret O’ Life’ was a bit much for him to be singing, telling American Songwriter, “Some songs seem to come from outside…and sort of pass through, be filtered through. ‘Secret O’ Life’. I mean, to call a song ‘Secret O’ Life’ is preposterous. That’s why the title is ‘Secret O’ Life’ – it’s meant to be a lifesaver flavour.”
While Taylor may have been a bit hard on himself, it is certainly daring to name a song around the fact that you supposedly have all the answers. Granted, when you break the lyrics down, lines about how the secrets of life are about appreciating the small moments in a relationship or not letting time go by too fast, which is something that anyone can work on in their daily lives.
Given that Taylor had spent some time in an asylum before he had even started composing his classics, he might have known the importance of living in the moment better than most. He may have written a good song that cuts down to the heart of human existence; he just might not have been the right person to deliver it.
Just look at the scenario here. For the back half of the 1960s, Taylor was known as the guy who did nothing but strum unassuming folk tunes, and hearing him sing a song about having all the answers to life in this day and age could have potentially made him one of the more punchable faces in rock and roll.
Looking through the countless covers of the track, hearing everyone from Art Garfunkel to Rosemary Clooney do their interpretations of it pretty much tells you everything you need to know about who this piece is aimed for. This is the kind of tale that should be delivered by someone with a lot more years under their belt, and while Taylor certainly had plenty of experience, hearing Rosemary Clooney sing a song like this might have made a lot more sense than the soft-hearted balladeer.
