Comments on: Who Was ‘Suzanne’ in James Taylor’s ‘Fire and Rain’?

By: GENE BAUMWOLL

GENE BAUMWOLL — Sat, 20 Dec 2025 06:22:16 +0000

Suzann Schnurr (August 28, 1948- May 14th 1968) was a childhood friend who jumped in front of a NY subway train on May 14, 1968. James was immersed in depression and drug addiction and hospitalized He was recording Sweet Baby James in England at the time and family and friends kept the news from him.
Flying Machine was his first band the was not commercially successful and was a disappointment. I was his counselor at a methadone Maintenance program in 1971 as he kicked drugs and connected with Carley Simon.

By: Hershell E Allison

Hershell E Allison — Mon, 10 Nov 2025 13:32:41 +0000

Was Suzanne Schnerr ever her girlfriend or was she a childhood friend that he didn’t have a romantic relationship with?

By: Matthew

Matthew — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 19:20:24 +0000

Suasan Sanders a Upper Arlington graduate died on james yatch !

By: Angelisa Marshall

Angelisa Marshall — Fri, 11 Apr 2025 23:22:55 +0000

you’re not understanding it does not make it a lie.

By: Sue

Sue — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 00:15:43 +0000

I would assume the rain is tears. The fire? This song makes no sense with the details we are give . It may all be a lie. I feel like it’s a lie.

By: RJ

RJ — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 03:36:33 +0000

thank you Stacy for that info on ‘they’— I was curious about that line too. I’m glad J T explained that.

By: StacyG

StacyG — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 22:23:16 +0000

In a 1972 Rolling Stone interview, Taylor added: “I always felt rather bad about the line, ‘The plans they made put an end to you,’ because ‘they’ only meant ‘ye gods,’ or basically ‘the Fates.’ I never knew her folks but I always wondered whether her folks would hear that and wonder whether it was about them.”

By: Carolyn King

Carolyn King — Sun, 17 Mar 2024 17:40:55 +0000

I’m curious what plans “They” made that drove Suzanne to suicide.
Thank you for explaining who she was and who the “They” was that let him know Suzanne was gone.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 09 Mar 2023 12:19:58 +0000

I had heard and believed the myth about the plane crash origin. When James Taylor guessed starred on The Simpsons, he played “Fire and Rain” to comfort Homer, Buzz Aldrin, and another astronaut who were stuck in a space shuttle that was in danger. When the show featured a bit about the “flying machines in pieces on the ground” lyrics, I was amazed Taylor could join in with what I thought was a joke about his old girlfriend’s death by plane crash. Years later, when I read about the true origin of the phrase, it made a lot more sense.