Hymn (James Taylor song)
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| "Hymn" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by James Taylor | ||||
| from the album One Man Dog | ||||
| B-side | "Fanfare" | |||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Studio | A & R Recording | |||
| Genre | Folk rock | |||
| Length | 2:24 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter | James Taylor | |||
| Producer | Peter Asher | |||
| James Taylor singles chronology | ||||
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"Hymn" is a song written by James Taylor that was originally released on his 1973 album One Man Dog It was subsequently released as the B-side of the single "One Man Parade" and later released as the A-side of a single backed by Taylor's song "Fanfare". The single did not chart.
Both "Hymn" and "Fanfare" were part of a suite of short songs on side 2 of the album.[1][2][3] Both songs were recorded at A&R Studios in New York.[2]
Musicologist James Perone finds the song to be "interesting," particularly with its relationship to Taylor's life and certain Beatles influences.[4] Perone describes three distinct sections as having three different themes, all related to people trying to influence him: first religious zealots, second stoned-out drug users, and finally the love of a woman which really frees his soul.[4] Perone points out that the love of a woman likely references Simon, who he had recently married.[4] Perone finds Beatles influence in that it has thematic similarities to John Lennon's recent solo song "God."[4] According to Perone, both "God" and "Hymn" "[reference] the style of gospel music."[4] Donald Langis of L'Evangeline regarded the song as being semi-religious with lines such as "Let the winter wind blow/Where will we hide when it comes from inside?"[5]
About his affinity for hymns, Taylor has said:
Hymns and carols, they are just basically a foundational education, they are what a whole lot of Western music is based on. I grew up in a very non-religious household, and it wasn't till I went away to school and got exposed to this stuff that I learned all of these hymns. They were an education to me: the harmonies, the chord structures, the way they progressed it. It's basically Western Music 101. I learned to play them on the guitar out of boredom, but they basically gave me a foundation for music.[6]
Taylor later wrote a song "New Hymn" in collaboration with Reynolds Price, which Newsday critic Jim Feldman described as "a hushed plea for social commitment."[7]