WATERMELON WIND Capo @ 3 Key G
On a (G) road outside of Brownsboro there’s a (Bm) watermelon stand
Dm Dm - E
All boarded and bedraggled, fallen signs peak thru the sand
Am…
OH JIMMY
capo @ 4 or 5 live
C Am F G
On page thirty of the yearbook he found a picture sweet
A girl named Marie Angel, in school right down the street
Dm walk down G
He didn’t notice…
Yes, it is obvious to anyone who actually listens to follow the story. The killer line ... the picture that finishes breaking what's left of the listener's heart is "but Jimmy bought the yearbook, and he hold it now and then". Lazarus Knight
capo @ 4 Am - 3/4 time (starts on A)
Am G Am G Am
Last night I said Good bye to Rose but long ago I learned.
The things that last we seldom know and think a bridge is burned…
brush up on "Lest night I said goodbye to Rose" I know that's not exactly the title, but I think many people would like that song like I do. Lazareth Knight
OH JIMMY
capo @ 4 or 5 live
C Am F G
On page thirty of the yearbook he found a picture sweet
A girl named Marie Angel, in school right down the street
Dm walk down G
He didn’t notice…
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
My mom’s dad was a coal miner. Her mother died of TB when she was a kid. When she was twelve, her dad, dying of black lung, slit his throat with a butcher knife. That left her with a cripple little brother to take care of…
COWTOWN
In a court yard down the alley
There's a grave yard, weeds and litter
Memories, undisturbed, await their doom
Beneath the glitter of COWTOWN
You take a building, old and crooked
Long ago the life forsook it
Paint it up and name…
I was talking about the Wight Hotel, directly across the street from The White Elephant. The things you mention were going on when The Beer Garden 1st took over that rat hole between the Elephant and the steak house.
Yeah, there's an "Indian" graveyard somewhere out there at the Stock Yards.
COWTOWN Key Em
Em C D Em
In a courtyard down the alley there’s a graveyard…
Tim Tandy
This one really grabs me, Jim. I enjoy the "play like" aspect of the Stockyards District today, but I KNOW what was real and what wasn't. When I grew up in East Fort Worth in the 50's thru the 70's, the Stockyards were a working affair. Everyone downwind got the dust and rancid odors that were a mixture of cattle manure, blood and guts, and rendered fat. Get up close, and you added in the panicked sounds of cattle going up the ramps to slaughter. The buildings along E and W Exchange were mostly delapidated flop-houses, and I recall there were usually destitute men in soiled undershirts leaning out the upstairs windows smoking cigarettes and taking it all in. When the slaughterhouses shut down and the development folks took over, they neatly "packed up" the ambience of the historical "Hell's Half Acre" - gambling halls, saloons, cheap hotels, bordello's and the site of gunfights such as the famous Luke Short/Jim Courtright affair - which had been razed in the 60's and replaced with the Water Gardens and Convention Center as an act of "urban renewal", and "relocated" them to the Stockyards. I really don't object to all of it, but just wish they were a bit more open about what's shit and what's Shinola, ya know? All the tourists crowd E Exhange at the appointed hour and hoot and holler and excitedly REAL Wild West every day when the "cattle drive" occurs. Oh, well, as Bruce Willis' character in "Die Hard" liked to say, "Yippi-ki-yay, MF!"
was a Texan.
Quannah Parker was the son born to Cynthia Parker, a white girl, stolen by Comanche raiders who grew up to be the wife of the chief. Quannah, in turn became the leader of his tribe. Eventually, Cynthia returned to her people. This…
Quanah is my fav. it triggered feelings between my son and me, the question of when are you enough to claim your ancestors? Tears did flow on listening.Beautifully performed by Barbara and beautifully written.
When this happened I couldn't get home before I had the song half written. What a lonely feeling.
NOBODY KNOW ME IN TOWN ANY MORE Key of G
G Em
There’s a bird in the gutter that…
Sad, and that was 11 years ago. How does it feel now ... like more of the same? It seems to me like your not just accepted but held in high esteem at the places where I've seen you perform. Lazarus Knight
Gramma's Shampoo
Gramma's shampoo is washing my hair
And I hope it will notice that gramma's not there
It's the kind that knows just what to do
Says it right there on the bottle, shampoo
"Automatically adjusts to your hair's cleansing needs…
This little miracle is a performance art piece, in addition to being a song track on an album. I can see this as an interlude in a dramatic stage play. Highly creative and outside the box here. And those harmonies are so tight you couldn't get a sliver between them! Amazling!
The lyrics of this song,
as they pertain to plot,
are my exact memory of the event.
I had spoken to the kid maybe a minute before the "action" started about how the pressure of the water was very strong. He was nestled down with his back…
Terry Rasor
I remember those daze Michael, y’all were awesome and I’m glad and proud to have known you all and have you at my Raz On The Braz festival so many years ago! Love ya my friend!
Roland Brown
Sorry to hear about Barbara. Texas Water was as good as you say. I’m thinking about adding “I’ll Be Glad to Let You Love Me” to our band’s set list.
One of the beautiful things about artists and songwriting is taking “fact & fiction”, and whipping them together in ways outsiders usually don’t know which is which or possibly nothing at all. This is something I’ve always admired regarding your craft!
- Scotty Lee Shuffield…Tyler, TX.
THE DUST ON THE PIANO
Capo at 2 in Dm
Dm C (2)
He used to play piano because it made her smile
Dm C (2)
She could be in any room. He'd sit and play a while
F C Bb (G)Dm
He didn't need to see her. He knew she loved it so
He'd sit and…
THE DUST ON THE PIANO
Capo at 2 in Dm
Dm C (2)
He used to play piano because it made her smile
Dm C (2)
She could be in any room. He'd sit and play a while
F C Bb (G)Dm
He didn't need to see her. He knew she loved it so
He'd sit and…
THE DUST ON THE PIANO
Capo at 2 in Dm
Dm C (2)
He used to play piano because it made her smile
Dm C (2)
She could be in any room. He'd sit and play a while
F C Bb (G)Dm
He didn't need to see her. He knew she loved it so
He'd sit and…
THE DUST ON THE PIANO
Capo at 2 in Dm
Dm C (2)
He used to play piano because it made her smile
Dm C (2)
She could be in any room. He'd sit and play a while
F C Bb (G)Dm
He didn't need to see her. He knew she loved it so
He'd sit and…
THE INAPPROPRIATE QUESTION - Capo @ 2 to sing
G C/G bass
She said, “I can see that you’re hurting,
And I can see that you are wearing a ring.
Perhaps an inappropriate question,
but I’d like to ask you something.
Soon I will be a grand…
THE COUCH - key - C
https://fb.watch/lIEUn31mBZ/
https://www.facebook.com/100054814402634/videos/2856132984527543/
1-C 4-F
Today we put the couch out by the road
5-G…
Gwyn -Verrrrry nice! PS: I listened to the "shorts" you sent me while sitting in the car waiting for Greg to pick up some groceries. I think you have invented a new artform with these shorts: Haiku Songs! I really loved them. I laughed a lot, and that's a compliment!
NOWHERE - Key of G
James Michael Taylor
1. Maybe I misunderstood G
Maybe I was wrong C
But I thot you loved me D
You stayed so long G
2. Maybe I missed something…
Capo @ 2 in D (E) Dropped D tuning
Actually, it was almost two years. 1965-67.
Leavenworth, Kansas U S Army prison. I played the organ at the daily Protestant chapel. Took dictation and typed letters for the Protestant chaplain. Wrote 2-page…
Lee Snaples
And I've never heard you do this live because...
James Michael Taylor
...because. I've never sung it except when I was recording it as I "wrote" it. Are you suggesting I should?
You might notice that it's been on line since 2007 and not one comment.
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
My mom’s dad was a coal miner. Her mother died of TB when she was a kid. When she was twelve, her dad, dying of black lung, slit his throat with a butcher knife. That left her with a cripple little brother to take care of…
Kat Angel
James Michael Taylor awesome 💞 Your song is incredibly beautiful and soulful. My fav part was your narrative at the beginning. Haunting. My sister's name is Loretta 💕 My mom ....chose her namesake to tag her beautiful baby girl. Time. Goes. By.
For some reason this one demanded to be written...
So here's to all of us that have been in this situation a time or two! Hugs and love to us all!!!
Feel Just Like A Loner
Verse 1
We sit across the table
We share the same old food…
Here is the latest song challenge offered by the Minnesota Asscociation of Songwriters:
. . . . . . . .
Your mission this month is twofold:
1. Try creating a boundary between the production of content versus the judging…
I haven't listened to this for a while. Still knocks me out. Amazing presence. If this is not multitracked, if this is one of your coffee table productions, it... nope. No way. Every element is crisp. Flawless delivery. Master vocal. Pristine guitars...da da.
There is nothing like the presence of a horse. The quiet understanding. The gentle strength.
Woodlake, California...1961. I had a horse. She was my friend.
There were times in my teens when Babe was the only being that did not judge me…
There is nothing like the presence of a horse. The quiet understanding. The gentle strength.
Woodlake, California...1961. I had a horse. She was my friend.
There were times in my teens when Babe was the only being that did not judge me…
BEAVERS AND WILLOWS
Capo @ 5 in C
C) Like beavers and willows (G
Bats and mosquitos
F) Toad C) frogs and G) flies (C
Algae and oil spills
Shovels and coal hills
Black holes and light
(C) 2020 Royal T Music
There is nothing like the presence of a horse. The quiet understanding. The gentle strength.
Woodlake, California...1961. I had a horse. She was my friend.
There were times in my teens when Babe was the only being that did not judge me…
This is my mom's story.
Lula Teeters got off to
a pretty rough start.
She finally turned it
all lose last November.
May she rest in peace.
SISTER SAID
Daddy was a miner. He worked himself to death
Company said he killed himself, but…
Gwyn Henry said, "Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation." I said, "Where I put things when I find a place for them."
This is my mom's story.
Lula Teeters got off to
a pretty rough start.
She finally turned it
all lose last November.
May she rest in peace.
SISTER SAID
Daddy was a miner. He worked himself to death
Company said he killed himself, but…
Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation. Gwyn Henry
This is my mom's story.
Lula Teeters got off to
a pretty rough start.
She finally turned it
all lose last November.
May she rest in peace.
SISTER SAID
Daddy was a miner. He worked himself to death
Company said he killed himself, but…
You were talking about Salvation art earlier-- Although this is great in its own right as to what it gives to others, I can see the processing that was going on in letting this go, in a kind of creation. Just beautiful! Gwyn Henry
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
Watermelon Wind is a good one too. Really inspiring images Lazarus Knight
Yes, it is obvious to anyone who actually listens to follow the story. The killer line ... the picture that finishes breaking what's left of the listener's heart is "but Jimmy bought the yearbook, and he hold it now and then". Lazarus Knight
brush up on "Lest night I said goodbye to Rose" I know that's not exactly the title, but I think many people would like that song like I do. Lazareth Knight
Oh Jimmy rings of a certain kind of pain that you've captured perfectly. Lazarath Knight.
Lane Beauvais By the power invested in me, I declare this album your #1 compilation.
I was talking about the Wight Hotel, directly across the street from The White Elephant. The things you mention were going on when The Beer Garden 1st took over that rat hole between the Elephant and the steak house.
Tim Tandy This one really grabs me, Jim. I enjoy the "play like" aspect of the Stockyards District today, but I KNOW what was real and what wasn't. When I grew up in East Fort Worth in the 50's thru the 70's, the Stockyards were a working affair. Everyone downwind got the dust and rancid odors that were a mixture of cattle manure, blood and guts, and rendered fat. Get up close, and you added in the panicked sounds of cattle going up the ramps to slaughter. The buildings along E and W Exchange were mostly delapidated flop-houses, and I recall there were usually destitute men in soiled undershirts leaning out the upstairs windows smoking cigarettes and taking it all in. When the slaughterhouses shut down and the development folks took over, they neatly "packed up" the ambience of the historical "Hell's Half Acre" - gambling halls, saloons, cheap hotels, bordello's and the site of gunfights such as the famous Luke Short/Jim Courtright affair - which had been razed in the 60's and replaced with the Water Gardens and Convention Center as an act of "urban renewal", and "relocated" them to the Stockyards. I really don't object to all of it, but just wish they were a bit more open about what's shit and what's Shinola, ya know? All the tourists crowd E Exhange at the appointed hour and hoot and holler and excitedly REAL Wild West every day when the "cattle drive" occurs. Oh, well, as Bruce Willis' character in "Die Hard" liked to say, "Yippi-ki-yay, MF!"
Quanah is my fav. it triggered feelings between my son and me, the question of when are you enough to claim your ancestors? Tears did flow on listening.Beautifully performed by Barbara and beautifully written.
Sad, and that was 11 years ago. How does it feel now ... like more of the same? It seems to me like your not just accepted but held in high esteem at the places where I've seen you perform. Lazarus Knight
This little miracle is a performance art piece, in addition to being a song track on an album. I can see this as an interlude in a dramatic stage play. Highly creative and outside the box here. And those harmonies are so tight you couldn't get a sliver between them! Amazling!
Terry Rasor I remember those daze Michael, y’all were awesome and I’m glad and proud to have known you all and have you at my Raz On The Braz festival so many years ago! Love ya my friend!
Roland Brown Sorry to hear about Barbara. Texas Water was as good as you say. I’m thinking about adding “I’ll Be Glad to Let You Love Me” to our band’s set list.
One of the beautiful things about artists and songwriting is taking “fact & fiction”, and whipping them together in ways outsiders usually don’t know which is which or possibly nothing at all. This is something I’ve always admired regarding your craft! - Scotty Lee Shuffield…Tyler, TX.
Joe Brunelle - I like this, Jim
Lazarus Knight That's a really good song. It resonates with truth.
Tim Tandy Brilliantly haunting! Like a character in a Hank Williams song, you're telling a poignant, sad story, but NOT seeking pity.
"Wow, beautiful." Ken McIntyre
I like that a lot. Its a fresh perspective. Lazareth Knight
Gwyn -Verrrrry nice! PS: I listened to the "shorts" you sent me while sitting in the car waiting for Greg to pick up some groceries. I think you have invented a new artform with these shorts: Haiku Songs! I really loved them. I laughed a lot, and that's a compliment!
Laurie Callinan ...beautiful heartbreaking song.
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Jme Kinser Oh sure, couple times
Ha, I recognize that singer. Love this.
Love the breathy harmonies...
Are you English?
Love this. The pulsating...
Is that all you? Great vocal...
Great production! Such an emotional song! Great vocal mix. I'd like to hear a bit more of the lead vocal.
Deborah Claybourn Darr James Michael Taylor I completely Love this Song
Tim Robinson James Michael Taylor heavy song
Lee Snaples And I've never heard you do this live because... James Michael Taylor ...because. I've never sung it except when I was recording it as I "wrote" it. Are you suggesting I should? You might notice that it's been on line since 2007 and not one comment.
Kat Angel James Michael Taylor awesome 💞 Your song is incredibly beautiful and soulful. My fav part was your narrative at the beginning. Haunting. My sister's name is Loretta 💕 My mom ....chose her namesake to tag her beautiful baby girl. Time. Goes. By.
Could this be why she left me after 29 years? I never saw it like this.
I haven't listened to this for a while. Still knocks me out. Amazing presence. If this is not multitracked, if this is one of your coffee table productions, it... nope. No way. Every element is crisp. Flawless delivery. Master vocal. Pristine guitars...da da.
Rosemarie Kempton Love reading what you write!
Judith Ellen Lopez - that's magic
Has anyone ever told you you're like an awesome mix of Crosby Stills Nash and Young mainly Neil Young meets Frank Zappa? LeAnne E Christian
Tony Desmuke That was some mighty fine prose there James.
Gwyn Henry said, "Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation." I said, "Where I put things when I find a place for them."
Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation. Gwyn Henry
You were talking about Salvation art earlier-- Although this is great in its own right as to what it gives to others, I can see the processing that was going on in letting this go, in a kind of creation. Just beautiful! Gwyn Henry