Name: James Taylor, "Only a Dream in Rio" on Letterman, September 24, 1986
Uploaded: 2016-08-09T00:46:35.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'James Taylor, "Only a Dream in Rio" on Letterman, September 24, 1986' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2016-08-09. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'James Taylor, "Only a Dream in Rio" on Letterman, September 24, 1986' from Don Giller on Comedy Buff. Published 2016-08-09. Transcript available.

okay we uh we've been trying to have uh this next gentleman on our program for
the last four years
and he finally gave in after hearing that he'd be following ostaro this is his
uh brand new album
right here it's called that's why i'm here and it's uh this is i believe uh his
first album in
about five years and we're very happy to have this man with us tonight please
welcome james taylor
more than a distant land
more shining sea more than steaming dream
more than the shiny
oh they tell me it's only a dream in real nothing could be as sweet as it seems
on this
very first day down they remind me so soon
is
some are floating in the sun breeze oh take it easy
well it's all right you can stay asleep you can close your eyes you can trust
the people of
paradise to call your keeper and tell your goodbye oh what a night wonderful
one in a million
oh what a night oh some fire resilient oh holy southern cross oh what a night
later on take me way downtown in a tin can i
and i can't calm down from a bandstand i'm never thrown to such a loss when
they say
They say, "Wanda no sa mai a corda, anaremos al sol.
Wanda no sa mai a corda, cantarão veloz e nao."
Wanda no sa mai a corda, todos os filhos saberao.
Todos os filhos saberao.
Igekozi you surround.
All caught in the rays of the rising sun.
On the run from the soldier's gun.
Shouting out loud from the angry crowd.
The mild, the wild and the hungry child.
I'll tell you, it's more than a dream in Rio.
I was there on the very day.
And my heart came back alive.
There was more, more than the singing voices.
More than the upturned phases.
More than the shining light.
There was more, more than a young man.
There was more, more than a young man.
There was more, more than a young man.
There was more, more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
There was more than a young man.
Welcome back to the show.
James Taylor is here.
Very nice song, by the way.
And thank you very much for being here.
Ever since we've been on the air,
we've wanted to have you here,
and I'm glad you're here tonight.
And one of your brothers, Livingston,
has been with us before.
Oh, I didn't know that.
I wasn't aware of that.
Very nice young man.
You've always reminded me very much of Livingston.
Is that right?
Yeah.
In what regard?
I don't know.
You look somewhat like him,
and there's something about your general vibe
that sort of like lives.
You mean all of this in a positive way?
Entirely positive way.
I mean it in the most positive way.
And the album, speaking of being here,
is entitled That's Why I'm Here,
and the song we heard, I guess,
was Only a Dream in Rio, right?
Yes, that's right.
All right.
Now, let me ask you about
what the guys were singing in the band.
We have the cards here.
If this is about Rio de Janeiro,
this is Portuguese?
Yes, it is Portuguese.
What does this mean, James?
Well, that actually means nothing.
That seems to be written out in some strange...
Oh, I see.
Actually, the song,
there's a little bit of a story behind the song.
We went down there to play a sort of a large rock concert
that was called Rock in Rio.
And we happened to be down there on the day of the first elections in 20 years.
And I was taken to a sort of magical mystery tour,
sort of whisked away and spirited to this place downtown in Rio de Janeiro
where they were having a celebration of these elections.
And it was a sort of an occasion of great hope and anticipation.
And it was very moving.
It was an amazing thing.
And that's what this deals with, essentially?
And this was, the song is really, you know, about that.
Yeah, in a very sort of personal way as it relates to me.
That's very much the way I write, I guess.
But anyway, the song means, the Portuguese means,
"When our mother awakens, we will walk in the sun.
When our mother awakens, she will sing to the sertão,"
which is an area of Brazil, a sort of a hinterlands kind of area.
"When our mother awakens, all of her children will know and rejoice."
It's very positive, very uplifting sentiment, isn't it?
Well, I hope so.
Perhaps not.
I'll find out because we're about to go back to Brazil and play there again.
If I, for some reason...
Maybe you got the whole thing out of whack.
Yes, it was translated by a friend of mine named Jim Marinus,
who teaches Romance Languages in Massachusetts.
So maybe as a joke, he slipped something else in there and...
Quite possibly.
Yeah, yeah.
I have sort of passed it by a couple of Brazilians,
and they don't seem to balk or gag too bad, you know.
What is it like for you when you perform in South America?
Do people, do they go nuts for you?
Is it crazy or what happens?
Well, I've only played in Brazil, in South America.
And the time I played there before, I was just amazed at the reception.
It was really...
Yeah, it was sort of...
For me, it was like 1971 or something.
I mean, I...
Was this unexpected for you?
Yes, it was unexpected and it came at a good time, too.
So, the song is a little bit about that, too.
Yeah.
But it was a very...
I hadn't had an album out for a long time,
and I sort of had questions as to whether or not I was gonna...
I had a couple of false starts on this album,
and was a little worried about it.
Yeah.
It was very reassuring and encouraging to go down there.
So, for a couple of reasons, you're looking forward to going back there then.
I really am, yeah.
That's great.
It's called That's Why I'm Here.
It sounds terrific.
And I'm really, really quite happy you're here today.
Thank you, Jim.
Nice to see you.
Oh, yeah.
James Taylor, ladies and gentlemen.
You have to leave now.
I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Very nice guy, isn't he, Paul?
Isn't he nice?
Very nice man.
Fabulous guy.
All right.
Why did James have to leave?
You're asking yourselves?
Well, so we could do a little something we call dumb ads.
Ah.
Really?
He had to leave for this?
He didn't have to go somewhere?
He's not got a car waiting?
No.
He's not got a gig somewhere?
Just hanging around backstage.
He's just hanging around.
And so we do dumb ads?
Yeah, well, we do dumb ads, yeah.
Wow.
How much time do we have for dumb ads?
Oh, no.
We don't have time for dumb ads either.
My gosh, what's going on?
You know, ever since these cue cards have been out of whack, the show's been
completely crazy.
Kevin.
They want to hear the band.
What is it?
They want to hear the band.
They want to hear the band.
Sure, why not?
Go ahead.
Play something, Paul.
Go ahead and play.
They want to hear the band now.
Sure, why not?
Go ahead.
Play something, Paul.
Go ahead and play.
They want to hear the band now.
Thank you.
Thank you.