“Secret O’ Life” by James Taylor

“Secret O’ Life” debuted on Taylor’s “JT” album in 1977

James Taylor composed “Secret O’ Life” way back when he had a full head of hair. Since that time, the unassuming song has been on just about every one of his concert playlists even though it was never released as a single. (Back in the musician’s fully tressed days, not every song on an album could be downloaded as a single file. Each one had to be pressed into its own vinyl record for purchase.)

Like so much of his iconic repertoire, there’s something about JT’s “Secret O’ Life” that didn’t age the way he and his baby-boomer fans have. Still, for all its seeming simplicity and laid-back philosophizing, the lyrics should be taken seriously by each of us, our children and our children’s children.

The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time
Any fool can do it
There ain’t nothing to it

He makes it sound so easy. But, as we all know from experience, that “ain’t nothing to it” roll-off-the tongue is a bit ironic. Besides, “ain’t nothing to it” is a double negative. Since two negatives make a positive, the phrase literally means “There’s a lot to it!”

Focusing on the moment with, as my yoga instructor would say, “Nothing to do, no place to go,” is nowhere near as effortless as it sounds. It’s hard to slow down the hustle and bustle of the daily routines we’ve ingrained in ourselves and our culture. Most of us start by heading off to work. Afterward, we are faced with a list of errands. We check our e-mail, social media and texts, some of us from spare minute to spare minute. Then there’s the energy it takes to make a house a home and taking care of others. Even if we are able to press the pause button on the perpetual motion of our days, our involuntary thought process will get in the way of taking a deliberate breather to become mindful of a “passage of time” moment or two (or three or four).

Even sweet septuagenarian James, who for decades has been sharing his secret of life in concert, can’t escape the past intruding into his musical celebration of the present. Though, onstage, Taylor recalls how easily the first verse and refrain came to him one sunny, late spring day at his home in Martha’s Vineyard, his father, Dr. Isaac M. Taylor, detected a note of apprehension in the rest of the opening stanza.

Nobody knows how we got to
The top of the hill
But since we’re on our way down
We might as well enjoy the ride

Carly Simon and James Taylor perform together
Credit:rollingstone.com

Specifically, Taylor felt his son was “wondering where his career was leading” when he wrote those words. JT’s seventh album had not been as successful as his others, and he was in the process of leaving Warner Bros. Records to sign on with Columbia Records at the time. He was also right smack in the middle of a tumultuous 10-year marriage with singer Carly Simon. Taylor biographer Mark Robowsky similarly notes that although the lyrics of “Secret O’ Life” are generally optimistic, the optimism is undercut by the downward trod referred to in the song.

Next, Taylor touches upon about not being afraid to open up your heart in order to find the secret to love.

’cause anyone knows that love is the only road
And since we’re only here for a while
Might as well show some style

Even if Taylor’s life was more troubling than these late 1970s lyrics indicate, he calls life “a lovely ride” and goes on to get pretty heady in his pop-tune wisdom, even including a bonafide genius who grapples with the same search for meaning as all of us during the relatively short time we walk the Earth.

Now the thing about time is that time
Isn’t really real
It’s just your point of view
How does it feel for you
Einstein said he could never understand it all
Planets spinning through space
The smile upon your face

I’m no Einstein, but I’m pretty sure”Secret O’ Life” is not just a simple song about how to live a happy life. But it’s simply delightful to listen to. Maybe if we play it over and over again, like a musical mantra, it will put us into the zone we need to inhabit to be able to appreciate the present before we revert to fretting about the past or worrying about the future. “There ain’t nothing to it” —  it takes deliberate effort. But mindful practice can help perfect the life skill.

Give “Secret O’ Life a listen. You’ll feel better about today if you do.