In our cover story for the July issue, editor-in-chief Anastasia Stanmeyer spoke indepth with James and Kim Taylor weeks before tonight and tomorrow night’s performance at Tanglewood. The link to the entire interview is in our profile, and if you’re at the performances at Tanglewood, the print magazine is for sale in the gift shops there. This is an excerpt from the interview. The photo, taken by Josh Goleman, was from a little while back in James’s studio, TheBarn, with Ting by their side.
Anastasia: I have another question, this time from a co-worker about a lyric that she hears quoted again and again. Her high school drama teacher passed away during Covid, and when they later gathered for his memorial service, this quote was printed on the cards: “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” That’s, of course, from The Secret O’ Life that appeared on your 1977 album, JT. It’s a simple yet profound statement. When or how did you come to that conclusion? And do you still feel that way?
James: It was a song that came very quickly. I was sitting in a patch of sunlight on some steps at a house on Martha’s Vineyard that I built largely myself. I was hungover. I had a musical sketch on the guitar, and that lyric just fell from the sky. It’s one of those songs where you channel it or receive it, not so much that you generate it. I didn’t figure out that philosophical position. As a matter of fact, it’s a bit embarrassing. It’s easy for me to say, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” Try enjoying the passage of time when you’re on your third round of chemotherapy. Try enjoying the passage of time when you’re being imprisoned for being a member of the wrong tribe in a despotic regime. Try enjoying the passage of time when your village is flooded. It’s a glib thing to say. But, nonetheless, the thing about it that is wise, is that we only live here, right here and now. And we live on this border of the present, this edge of the present that’s moving forward in time. I do still believe it in that way; it is a bit glib for someone like me to say because I’ve just been unbelievably lucky in this life.
Did you know that this year will be James 50th appearance at @TanglewoodMusicFestival ? We'd love to hear from anyone who was at the very first appearance in 1974, and we'd especially love to see photos from that concert. Share your stories and pics in the comments!
Photo: Michael Lutch
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