Yesterday afternoon, I received my copy of... The Stone Raft, the English translation of a novel by Portuguese writer José Saramago, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature in 1998. A Spanish-language film based on the book, La Balsa de Piedra, was released in 2002 by George Sluizer; see JMT intro above. This is a great JMT song... the lyrics of this song, represent well, the true genius JMT has with words! What absolutely great lyrics!

"Where the moon on the beach pushes time out of reach" That's Poetry!

Very catchy

I love it! 26 seconds long to convey a complete thought.

Damn, Jimmy! I am not sure what to make of this song! I really... REALLY... like this song very much! The story makes me feel "sad" ...and yet I find this song quite... ??? ..."pleasing" ??? WELL, It doesn't matter! EVEN IF I do not understand why... the fact remains... I LIKE THIS SONG! And I agree with what Jeff wrote below in COMMENTS... AND I REALLY agree with Violet!

Jimmy... I like this one, too! I like it a lot!

Jimmy, I like this one. You mentioned the other day, that you might consider adding some cello to one of your new songs... ??? This version is only 2:09... seems to me... there might be plenty of room for a few bars of cello instrumental to float around between the words! But you know me... I have often mentioned to you, how good some of your instrumentals really are... and I have often thought that you, yourself, under appreciate yourself... when it comes to your own instrumentals. Good song... JohnQ

The lyrics are so descriptive and visual, such as the lipstick from NYC. Did you read about a suicide or make up the song from scratch? Jeff P

"Your songs are so heartbreaking sometimes. I love it. Don't change a thing." Violet

Thank you for sharing

I love that...reading and listening to it..! Love the sounds...i can feel the amercan poet in the music...and the vocal sound is really full... That song just makes me want to buy an old guitar....i keep lookin in the second hand stores around here...but theres no guitars...i dream that someday i’ll walk into anthony o hallorans second hand / antique shop, and there’ll be some old gem of a six string , archtop maybe, or a rusty old tele...full of mojo...waiting there for me to find...! I check every time im passing his place....i think i’ll never stop waiting.... But yes...thats a great track....you should send that out to dream guitars shop...in ashville....paul huemiller owns it....or some such shop....i bet one of those places would love that song for a website....im doin my website at the mo....id love to put that track on my instruments page...! Then people could send pics of the old guitars they bought and i could post those pics too...wouldnt that be a bit of craic....fun...we all buy guitars....a choir of guitar pickers could sing it....we buy guitars..✌️ Also...i never saw the link between telescopes amd guitars before....but i do now...its a cold night here...and a clear sky full of stars....Matt

Cool song, well written, vivid, and fun with a wicked twist at the end.

i buy guitars....i can't play them properly .... but i buy guitars too

Excellente

Really great track!!!!

What a gorgeous voice Barbara had and what a touching song. John O'Malley

soundtrack to riding in the West Texas desert with the top down?

A bit of a departure from your usual reflective messaging. This one is a real toe tapper.

First chuckle of the day! This has to be the only song I ever heard about an “Owie”. I wonder if your objective was to get a little attention from Harriet?

Bruce Balmer I like the parallel sixths in the backing vocals.

Tim Tandy Hickory Stix has always captivated me. Dang, I gotta start getting out to open mics again. Might even get the chance to sing that high harmony on the "oohs!"

Rose Jeffus - I agree. (with Lane. "I declare this album your #1 compilation."

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!"

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

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.

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.