Sweet Baby James - 2019 Remaster

James Taylor is not singing about himself in this song, but about the child who was named in his honor. Taylor wrote the song in 1969, when he drove on his way to Richmond, Virginia to see his older brother, the late Alex Taylor. James had recently returned to America after recording his first album in England, and he was shocked to learn that Alex had become a father for the first time in his absence. Alex and his wife, Brent Taylor, had given birth to their first child, a baby son, which Brent wanted to name Richmond, after the city in which he was born. However, Alex wanted to name the child James, after his younger brother. So after a few arguments, the couple named the boy James Richmond Taylor. James was elated to discover that he had a new baby nephew, also named James. So the title can be a little confusing, since both the singer and his nephew are named James. The singer is James Vernon Taylor, while his nephew is James Richmond Taylor.

This song is a soft lullaby that tells the story of a young cowboy who spends his lonely nights in the canyons, with nothing to keep him company but his horse and his cattle - he occupies his long and lonely hours of darkness singing himself to sleep. There are some ways this song associates with its writer. As a young child, James Taylor, along with his siblings, often sang each other to sleep at night. The story goes that James couldn't stand it when his mother sang, because she only sang opera. And because James' mother was a lyric soprano, she never sang lullabies. James' father never sang lullabies either, because he didn't exactly have the knack for music. So when he was a little boy, the young James Taylor was often put in the position of having to sing himself to sleep each night, hence the line, "Singin' works just fine for me."

Some translations of the lyrics: "Dogies" (Pronounced Doe-gies), is a Western Cowboy Slang term for "Cattle." "As the dogies retire" translates to: "As the cattle settle down for the night." "Good night, you Moonlight Ladies" - This line is often misinterpreted, as many listeners are fooled into believing that the moonlight Ladies are prostitutes. The "Moonlight Ladies" are actually the spirits of the moon, which come out of the sky and shine their lights as the evening darkness falls. "Rockabye, Sweet Baby James" - This line is loosely based on the nursery rhyme, "Rockabye Baby." James wanted to make this song sound smooth and calm for his baby nephew, so instead of singing the familiar lullaby "Rockabye Baby," he softly sang, "Rockabye, Sweet Baby James."