The song follows Taylor's reaction to the suicide of Suzanne Schnerr, a childhood friend, and his experiences with drug addiction and fame.

[5][6] In that same account, Taylor said he had been in a deep depression after the failure of his new band the Flying Machine to coalesce (the lyric "Sweet dreams and Flying Machines in pieces on the ground"; the reference is to the name of the band rather than a fatal plane crash, as was long rumored).

The 'original' comes in the wake of R. B. Greaves' sales and Johnny Rivers' current treatment (not to mention BS&T's album track getting further notice).

"[45] Cash Box said of Rivers' version that "the tang of country pop and a top forty arrangement make this the most commercial single yet on 'Fire & Rain.

[47] American singer-songwriter Tim Hardin (cited by James Taylor as a songwriting influence[48][49]) included a "heartwrenchingly moving"[50] rendition of "Fire and Rain" on his 1973 album Nine.

[37] At the 1975 Australian Record Awards, the song won Hines Female Vocal Single of the Year.

[51] Taylor references the song in another of his compositions, "That's Why I'm Here", title track from his 1985 album, in which he writes, "Fortune and fame's such a curious game.

The NFL Films highlight film for Super Bowl XIX features narrator Brad Crandall reference the "sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground" lyric during a segment showing the eventual Super Bowl champion San Francisco 49ers sacking Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino.

[54] In 2015, Taylor appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, where he sang a version including numerous references to post-1970 popular culture.