Bob,

I was thinking about this song a couple weeks ago, so your post gives some closure to a question that has puzzled me for years.

On behalf of every garage band that ever beat this song to death, I thank you for creating a great song.
It was really easy to learn and play, and it sounded great. Along with a very very, few other songs, it was something you could break in any situation where people had guitars but didn't quite know what to do, and make everybody happy--

As to James Taylor , have you ever noticed that the chords to "Fire and Rain" are suspiciously similar to the chords to "I Know You Rider"--food for thought, anyway--