From a songwriter’s perspective, there are few songs better than James Taylor’s “Carolina In My Mind.” What is it about this song that makes it such a complete songwriting package? The answer: the song’s melody, mood, lyrics, and chorus. In other words, everything!

“Carolina In My Mind” first appeared on James Taylor’s 1968 debut LP James Taylor, which was released on Apple Records (by The Beatles). The song was written in various locations, including London and the Mediterranean islands of Formentera and Ibiza. James Taylor has often indicated that the inspiration behind the song was nostalgia. Although Taylor was beginning what would become an incredible career, the emotions of missing his family, his dog, and his home state (Carolina) were the inspiration for the song. As Adele recently acknowledged when accepting her (several) Grammy Awards, songs that are born of deep emotion are often the most genuine and in turn become an artist’s “best” work.

So as a songwriter, James got off to a good start with the theme of “Carolina”: real nostalgia. (Who hasn’t felt homesick at one point or another?) And while great writers can conjure up imagery to convey the nostalgia, the fact that James Taylor was experiencing those emotions lends the song believability, not to mention its overall feel and sound. This mood is conveyed in the song’s chorus: “In my mind, I’m going to Carolina. Can’t you see the sunlight? Can’t you just feel the moonlight? Isn’t it like a friend of mine hit me from behind? Yeah, I’m going to Carolina in my mind.”

By placing the chorus at the beginning of the song, James immediately lures the listener to a “comfortable” place. Then, when that same chorus reappears a little later in the song, the listener feels that he already “knows” the song. This is the key to a solid composition. The song needs to grab the listener’s attention (in this case with a very strong chorus that opens the song) in order for the rest of the song to get past any initial barriers that may exist between the writer and the audience.

Of course, the strength of the song’s melody is another key to its greatness. The verses are sung in a conversational style with tight melodic lines and are a perfect complement to the chorus. The song’s closing lyric leading up to the final chorus completes this package:

“Dark and silent last night, I think I heard the call of the highway. Geese in flight and dogs biting. Signs that could be omens say I’m going, going, going to Carolina in my mind. With a holy host of others around me. I’m still on the dark side of the moon. And it seems like it goes on forever. You must forgive me if I get up and go to Carolina in my mind.”

With the perfect blend of melody, mood, lyrics, and chorus, James Taylor’s “Carolina In My Mind” exemplifies a “great” song.