THERE, I SAID IT
The more you got, the more you got to lose
From the top of your head down to the bottom of your shoes
The things you love. The things you abuse
It's enough to give a white boy the blues
I said it. There, I said it
It might…
THERE, I SAID IT
The more you got, the more you got to lose
From the top of your head down to the bottom of your shoes
The things you love. The things you abuse
It's enough to give a white boy the blues
I said it. There, I said it
It might…
Dude stole my guitar
so I wrote a song about him...
BICYCLE EDDY
Bicycle Eddy, he rode at night
Had no fenders on his bike
Had a brown streak up the back of his shirt
Eddy don't care. "It's just dirt."
Bicycle Eddy, he slept all day…
HOW
I've got a friend. He is in trouble
But he just stands there in the rubble
It seems each day his sorrows double
He needs to know. He needs to know
How do you keep your hand from shaking
How do you keep your fear from waking
How…
This one made me cry. Deep, touching lyrics. Powerful. Reaching. I of course don't really know what this is specifically about, but what I read into it from my own experiences, PTSD. If so, thank you for putting it into words for us who live it, and for getting it.
Dude stole my guitar
so I wrote a song about him...
BICYCLE EDDY
Bicycle Eddy, he rode at night
Had no fenders on his bike
Had a brown streak up the back of his shirt
Eddy don't care. "It's just dirt."
Bicycle Eddy, he slept all day…
HOW
I've got a friend. He is in trouble
But he just stands there in the rubble
It seems each day his sorrows double
He needs to know. He needs to know
How do you keep your hand from shaking
How do you keep your fear from waking
How…
I CAN'T TELL
I can't tell if it's morning or evening
I can't tell night from day
I can't tell if I'm arriving or leaving
Doesn't mean a thing to me
Since you went away
I can't tell if it's sunny or raining
I can't tell if it's…
I CAN'T TELL
I can't tell if it's morning or evening
I can't tell night from day
I can't tell if I'm arriving or leaving
Doesn't mean a thing to me
Since you went away
I can't tell if it's sunny or raining
I can't tell if it's…
I CAN'T TELL
I can't tell if it's morning or evening
I can't tell night from day
I can't tell if I'm arriving or leaving
Doesn't mean a thing to me
Since you went away
I can't tell if it's sunny or raining
I can't tell if it's…
I CAN'T TELL
I can't tell if it's morning or evening
I can't tell night from day
I can't tell if I'm arriving or leaving
Doesn't mean a thing to me
Since you went away
I can't tell if it's sunny or raining
I can't tell if it's…
ADOBE & BLOOD
Thanks to David Kneller
for bringing up the subject
and creating that phrase:
ADOBE & BLOOD
I read a lotta stories about a lotta stuff
But I tell ya folks, I'll never read enough
To block out the memories what…
ADOBE & BLOOD
Thanks to David Kneller
for bringing up the subject
and creating that phrase:
ADOBE & BLOOD
I read a lotta stories about a lotta stuff
But I tell ya folks, I'll never read enough
To block out the memories what…
ADOBE & BLOOD
Thanks to David Kneller
for bringing up the subject
and creating that phrase:
ADOBE & BLOOD
I read a lotta stories about a lotta stuff
But I tell ya folks, I'll never read enough
To block out the memories what…
It seems our hunger to express awe is channeled
into petty things early in our life and when we break free we feel robbed because all the mighty expressions are tied up in silly stories about some jealous being making contradictory demands…
When you come to the end of the road
and all of the signs just say "No"
You never say, "Quit"
Cause that's not your bit
You're not a pup
You never give up...
It's so dark
she can't sleep
She needs more
ice in her water
She lost her smile
It went to Nashville
So she sent
me her address
I didn't know
if I should answer
or go to her
I could call a taxi
Too much wine
Too much coffee
Too…
Jeff's version
FLORENCIA
The tide is going out in Avila
I can feel it in my blood
Here I am in South Beach Florida
Just like you knew I would
There's a place in California
Where the coast is always clear
You said you'd be in…
Like it. I get the Glen Campbell vibe too.
I kinda like how the song is quite relaxed but the bass line is steaming along - almost like the bass-player thinks he's getting paid per note!
Jeff's version
FLORENCIA
The tide is going out in Avila
I can feel it in my blood
Here I am in South Beach Florida
Just like you knew I would
There's a place in California
Where the coast is always clear
You said you'd be in…
Jeff's version
FLORENCIA
The tide is going out in Avila
I can feel it in my blood
Here I am in South Beach Florida
Just like you knew I would
There's a place in California
Where the coast is always clear
You said you'd be in…
Kind of a Glen Campbell-era classy country sound and vibe. I think I like this version best, so far... who knows who might come along to do version of this version of that version of I'm confused already! ;)
THE GIFT - key C
An architect in Bakersfield gave him a gift of wine
Napa Valley, California, famous for the vine
When the grape is coupled with the peach, the promise is divine
But he would never pull the cork as he alone would dine…
sounds good. the lyrical tweaks worked. the production is simple and effective. the vocals on the last verse seem to be punched in and out a lot, i wasn't sure if you were going for an effect or what, but it distracted me from the song a little. otherwise, that's a gooder 'un.
jbp
Randy Brown and I did a little co-write this evening and this is what we came up with...
I MISTOOK IT FOR THE MOON Capo @ 2 Key D (Play in C positions)
I was coasting across West Texas/Had my top down, it was late at night
I caught a coyote…
After Brook drowned.
Ra Byn did everything but rhythm guitar.
He must have been about 12.
Open 9th tuning...
Well, you say that you're lonely
I see that you are
Tell me, where have you been
Life ain't no lay pen
Yeah, you call it a…
Gwyn Henry
Meet Me at the Club-- darker than its exterior. I love it. Barbara and Peggy sound great! What a lot of pain must have been wrapped in those sassy harmonies. This song has a Bopcat feel,. musically--- apples that fell from the same tree, and didn't roll too far from ea other. Your vocals especially good in this.
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
TWO POUNDS - (Diethylstilbestrol Daughters)
"DES, which was once prescribed to prevent miscarriages, caused obesity, rare vaginal tumors, infertility, and testicular growths among those exposed in utero." http://www.motherjones.com/environment…
I wrote this after I sang with a friend
at his mother's funeral.
He had always wondered
why he looked nothing like his brothers...
DOOR MAT
Key - A
A) My daddy treated Mama like a door mat
D) Me and little brother didn't like that…
I wrote this after I sang with a friend
at his mother's funeral.
He had always wondered
why he looked nothing like his brothers...
DOOR MAT
Key - A
A) My daddy treated Mama like a door mat
D) Me and little brother didn't like that…
I dreamed this song a while ago. Sort of a music circle in a pub. Lots of instruments and percussion and what not. I quite like it :)
(Bass, lyre, bodhran, bongos, shaker, 2 mandolin tracks, multiple clap tracks)
Here's an instrumental folk Celtic sort of tune I made today. Guitar, bass, pennywhistle, mandolin, bodhran.
Took about 4 hours to record all the parts properly. The result is a delightful minute and a half, I think!
A cover of Great Big Sea's cover of Ron Angel's song. I love both versions. I used guitar, bodhran, vocals.
Edit: reuploaded; fixed up the vocals a bit.
Messing around, playing a classic. Recorded on my phone. Lots of fun!
(Merle Travis, Tennesse Ernie Ford, Johnny Cash all did popular versions; probably a million others have played it at some point.)
It's a long-distance love song
Yes, a long-distance love song
I'll sing it just for you
I'll sing a long distance love song
When the night is long
And you've been gone from home
Sing a long-distance love song
Yeah a long-distance love…
When I was a kid, my dad was the preacher at the Church of Christ in Tehachapi, California. We lived in Palmdale, so we'd get up early on Sunday mornings, pile the 5 of us into our 1950 Chevy coupe and head up thru Lancaster and Mojave, over the…
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…
ADOBE & BLOOD
Thanks to David Kneller
for bringing up the subject
and creating that phrase:
ADOBE & BLOOD
I read a lotta stories about a lotta stuff
But I tell ya folks, I'll never read enough
To block out the memories what…
This is my adaptation of a poem by Rosemarie Kempton.
"I always felt that it was fitting that you turned the poem I wrote into a poignant hymn that captured the feeling of loss of a loved one. My words sprang from my attempts to understand…
Her real name isn't Luanne and she was so drunk when this all happened (tho she has a cd with this song on it) she has no idea it's about her.
Singing this song always makes me cry...
ABOUT LUANNE capo @ 2 in Am
Am G F E repeats
Luanne…
It’s an exceptional piece... I like pieces that “bother” and flip a phrase to a point... this one intrigues me....
You must keep writing James!!! Hope to cross paths again soon...
Blu (Sharon Walker)
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…
what awesome lyrics mate!
Reminds me of good old Robert Zimmerman... but it also doubles as metaphorical mastery!
The boy represents an issue within your community... one for which you are there, and MUST help... but which the community just sits back on, not really seeing the "problem" you are attempting to fix...
Powerful stuff, mate.
Love it. Mark Brookman
GHOST TOWN
Key C. Capo @ 2 or whatever works for you...
C Em F G C
I live in a Ghost Town somewhere on the edge of space
C Em F G
Everything is dusty and everything is in it's place
Am Em F G C
All the doors hang open and when it rains…
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
welp, this is a nice rebelious, movin' and a shakin' it up Ditty. Armageddon, indeed.. c):~)
FABULOUS! There is so much I love about this song; the beat, the lead guitar, the damn truth about Ted Cruz and that fact that you said it. ROCK ON!
Great!
This one made me cry. Deep, touching lyrics. Powerful. Reaching. I of course don't really know what this is specifically about, but what I read into it from my own experiences, PTSD. If so, thank you for putting it into words for us who live it, and for getting it.
Great lyrics, cool story. Well done. Rock on.
Wow! Amazing!! Really powerful song. All the best to those who were in your mind as you wrote this one.
Love the chorus on this! Gonna be the song in my head today!!!
Good one....
Nice one, like it. Is there a February write-a-song thing? Cos I've written one too! (Might be September before I've finished recording it, though...)
I love the music and I totally adore the poetry!
Powerful message, and it just keeps coming in today's time. . . .all in the name of God.
Great song! Such visual lyrics and powerful melody!
R O C K - O N!!! A song of social conscious, like we use to write in the '60s! Great lyrics, great sounds, great attitude = GREAT JOB!
You create some stunning stuff.
Very short and sweet - love it.
I LOVE this.
Like it. I get the Glen Campbell vibe too. I kinda like how the song is quite relaxed but the bass line is steaming along - almost like the bass-player thinks he's getting paid per note!
The Glen Campbell-John Hartford era reference is spot on. I dig it
Kind of a Glen Campbell-era classy country sound and vibe. I think I like this version best, so far... who knows who might come along to do version of this version of that version of I'm confused already! ;)
sounds good. the lyrical tweaks worked. the production is simple and effective. the vocals on the last verse seem to be punched in and out a lot, i wasn't sure if you were going for an effect or what, but it distracted me from the song a little. otherwise, that's a gooder 'un. jbp
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Martha Es I love it!! That's an amazing song! It's emotional, but also mystical magical. I like how you put the lyrics with the song.
Gwyn Henry Meet Me at the Club-- darker than its exterior. I love it. Barbara and Peggy sound great! What a lot of pain must have been wrapped in those sassy harmonies. This song has a Bopcat feel,. musically--- apples that fell from the same tree, and didn't roll too far from ea other. Your vocals especially good in this.
Rocking the loops?
Bruce Balmer I listened to “My New Shorts.” Brilliant use of time. Like mini-oreos or something. Interesting production, nice vocals.
Holy cow. What a song. Michael Rehahn
Gwyn Henry Thanks for writing this, Jim.
"Powerful stuff." Ray Russell
Great "slap-back" feel.
Cool. I had to look up bodhran.
Love it when men sing these songs in unison. Well done.
Great old song, well done.
Very sweet. Nice solo.
That's some sweet guitar playing. Ray Russell
'Very good capture." Gwyn Henry
Visions and emotions that I haven't felt in a long time. Thank you so much. Jere Reiser
"EXCELLENT POINTED SONG RIGHT TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER!" -Don Law
That may be the most beautiful thing I ever heard. Breathtaking. Thanks for sharing. - Janet Fawcett
It’s an exceptional piece... I like pieces that “bother” and flip a phrase to a point... this one intrigues me.... You must keep writing James!!! Hope to cross paths again soon... Blu (Sharon Walker)
what awesome lyrics mate! Reminds me of good old Robert Zimmerman... but it also doubles as metaphorical mastery! The boy represents an issue within your community... one for which you are there, and MUST help... but which the community just sits back on, not really seeing the "problem" you are attempting to fix... Powerful stuff, mate. Love it. Mark Brookman
I ❤️ that song...Kavin Me too. One of his many good ones. JS Savage