"Sunny Skies" is a song written by

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

that first appeared on his 1970 album ''

Sweet Baby James ''Sweet Baby James'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, released on February 1, 1970, by Warner Bros. Records. The album includes two of Taylor's earliest successful singles: " Fire and Rain", and " Country ...

''. It was also released as the B-side to the " Country Road" single. It has since been covered by other artists, including

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997, born Stefano Grappelli) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the fi ...

and

Jerry Douglas Gerald Calvin "Jerry" Douglas (born May 28, 1956) is an American Dobro and lap steel guitar player and record producer. Career In addition to his fourteen solo recordings, Douglas has played on more than 1,600 albums. As a sideman, he h ...

Composition and recording

Taylor wrote "Sunny Skies" during his treatment at the

Austen Riggs Center The Austen Riggs Center is a psychiatric treatment facility in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was founded by Austen Fox Riggs in 1913 as the Stockbridge Institute for the Study and Treatment of Psychoneuroses before being renamed in honor of Au ...

. The melody is cheerful, which is ironic given the lyrics. Taylor's biographer, Timothy White, describes the melody as "a deceptively upbeat,

skiffle Skiffle is a genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, country, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. Originating as a form in the United State ...

-flavored

shuffle Shuffling is a procedure used to randomize a deck of playing cards to provide an element of chance in card games. Shuffling is often followed by a cut, to help ensure that the shuffler has not manipulated the outcome. __TOC__ Techniques Over ...

". The author Stephen Davis describes the song as "jazzy but disconsolate" and James Perrone compares the melody to

John Sebastian John Benson Sebastian (born March 17, 1944) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and harmonicist who founded the rock band The Lovin' Spoonful. He made an impromptu appearance at the Woodstock festival in 1969"Daydream". Taylor accompanies himself on acoustic guitar. The title "Sunny Skies" actually does not refer to the condition of the sky, but to the title character of the song, who "sleeps in the morning", "weeps in the evening", "doesn't know when to rise" and has no friends. The last verse links the title character to the singer, who sings that he looks out of his own window to see snow and trees, and wonders if he should let the world pass him by, just like the title character. The singer, like Taylor himself at the time, wonders if his accomplishments were worth the suffering he went through to achieve them. Perrone also notes that, like the title character, Taylor had gone through a period where he was too depressed to get up in the morning. "Sunny Skies" was included on the 1990 version of the compilation album ''

The Best of James Taylor ''The Best of James Taylor'' is the fourth compilation album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor released by Warner Bros. Records in 2003. The same album was released in Europe as ''You've Got a Friend: The Best of James Taylor''. The a ...

''. Taylor wrote the song before being released from his original

Apple Records Apple Records is a record label founded by the Beatles in 1968 as a division of Apple Corps Ltd. It was initially intended as a creative outlet for the Beatles, both as a group and individually, plus a selection of other artists including Ma ...

contract, and a demo version of "Sunny Skies" was included as a bonus track of the 2010 CD version of Taylor's first album ''

''. Taylor played the song on 15 May 1980 for the 100th episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

''.

Cover versions

recorded "Sunny Skies" in the early 1970s for

Pye Records Pye Records was a British record label. Its best known artists were Lonnie Donegan (1956–1969), Petula Clark (1957–1971), the Searchers (1963–1967), the Kinks (1964–1971), Sandie Shaw (1964–1971), Status Quo (1968–1971) and Brotherho ...

. It was re-released along with other Grapelli recordings of the period on the 2002 album ''The Collection''. Grapelli's biographer Geoffrey Smith considers this "

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

-style" version works well because of "Grappelli's dark, tender

sostenuto Piano pedals are foot-operated levers at the base of a piano that change the instrument's sound in various ways. Modern pianos usually have three pedals, from left to right, the soft pedal (or una corda), the sostenuto pedal, and the sustainin ...

" and the "idiomatic, slightly twangy accompaniment". *

covered "Sunny Skies" on his 1982 album '' Fluxedo''. *

Stevie Holland Stevie Holland (born January 11, 1965) is an American jazz and cabaret singer, lyricist, playwright and actress. Raised in Westchester County, New York, she moved to New York City to study drama at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. ...

covered it on her 2004 album '' Restless Willow''.

References

{{Authority control James Taylor songs Songs written by James Taylor Song recordings produced by Peter Asher 1970 songs 1971 singles Warner Records singles