For a short clip of of a video of this:
https://vimeo.com/214337550/f68cc0c21b
This song made me a professional songwriter when George Sluizer, the director of THE VANISHING, put it in the movie by that name.
SWEET RAIN Key G
G…
I had this house I had been working on and I had all my movie making stuff in it. It burned down. That's sort of like this song but not...
WASTING OF YEARS by James Michael Taylor
I have a brain that I must keep busy
I have a heart with…
You know how to write songs, James. And you don't just simply sing your songs - you feel and live them. That's the stuff good songwriters are made of.
Regards,
Steffen
For a short clip of of a video of this:
https://vimeo.com/214337550/f68cc0c21b
This song made me a professional songwriter when George Sluizer, the director of THE VANISHING, put it in the movie by that name.
SWEET RAIN Key G
G…
I've been told that drowning is a dreamy way to go.
THE ANGELS CRIED "NO!"
He lived high on the mountain top
He lived there with his love
He tumbled to the valley deep
When she gave him a shove
And when he hit the valley deep
It must…
JMT, You are a Fountain of Music! Great piece. Really good recording too, crystal clear. So I have finally made it to alonetone. Stop by and visit. need to figure this site out. Later, LMB
Google it: Husband kills boyfriend and wife, then kills self.
POTTER'S FIELD KEY Em Capo @ 3
Em……..(hold) Figure 1 is C G Am Em, Figure 2 is A A Em Em
F 1 - You might as well take me out and stand me up against the wall
F 1 - I don…
I've been told that drowning is a dreamy way to go.
THE ANGELS CRIED "NO!"
He lived high on the mountain top
He lived there with his love
He tumbled to the valley deep
When she gave him a shove
And when he hit the valley deep
It must…
I've been told that drowning is a dreamy way to go.
THE ANGELS CRIED "NO!"
He lived high on the mountain top
He lived there with his love
He tumbled to the valley deep
When she gave him a shove
And when he hit the valley deep
It must…
Wow, is that a banjo? Great playing!
The music is actually cheerful, but the lyrics deal with a serious topic - and somehow it fits together and sounds just right.
Google it: Husband kills boyfriend and wife, then kills self.
POTTER'S FIELD KEY Em Capo @ 3
Em……..(hold) Figure 1 is C G Am Em, Figure 2 is A A Em Em
F 1 - You might as well take me out and stand me up against the wall
F 1 - I don…
This song might be better suited for a girl but I don't have a girl anymore.
CAREFREE
Every time I go out looking for someone who's not like me
Someone who's learned to take their time and live their poetry
I dream that Care's a monkey…
(C) 2011 Royal T Music.
LET IT GO 032011 Key - G
I do a lot of walkin' so I find a lot of stuff
I fill my pockets up with bolts and nuts
Once upon a while I find a diamond in the ruff
But mostly dimes and nickels in the ruts…
(C) 2011 Royal T Music.
LET IT GO 032011 Key - G
I do a lot of walkin' so I find a lot of stuff
I fill my pockets up with bolts and nuts
Once upon a while I find a diamond in the ruff
But mostly dimes and nickels in the ruts…
(C) 2011 Royal T Music.
LET IT GO 032011 Key - G
I do a lot of walkin' so I find a lot of stuff
I fill my pockets up with bolts and nuts
Once upon a while I find a diamond in the ruff
But mostly dimes and nickels in the ruts…
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…
(C) 2011 Royal T Music.
LET IT GO 032011 Key - G
I do a lot of walkin' so I find a lot of stuff
I fill my pockets up with bolts and nuts
Once upon a while I find a diamond in the ruff
But mostly dimes and nickels in the ruts…
No progress in the Congress
Corruption is their prowess
It's just a stinking mess
I think this does explain it
They could completely transformate it
If they only had a brain
Thanks JMT, LimboMan
TRAIL OF TEARS was not a metaphor. It was an American Holocaust. Michael Jeffrey helped me with this track.
TRAIL OF TEARS
Am Bm/A C/A Am C/A Bm (3) E
A
CHORUS - Well, the trees…
On this song you sound even more like Chapin. Great song btw - lead vocals are too loud, but awesome job nonetheless. The backing vocals are brilliant. The whole song is brilliant!
Key - G
People had been requesting this song for years. I decided to write it.
It's the most requested song in Tarrant county
It's a song that I had never heard before
But I always try to sing the songs folks ask for
and that' for sure…
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…
A friend of mine sent me a poem and asked me to put music to it. I took the liberty to mangle a bit of the lyric.
MANGO
I like a mango. I like a mango.
Well, I like mangos mornin' noon 'n night
I like's in the dark. I like 'em in the light…
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…
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…
Those guitar tracks are crisper than fresh celery. Great vocal. Really brings the lyric to life. This is the best thing I have ever heard of yours. Killer. Great song.
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…
I never sing this song the same two times in a row.
The lyric below is pretty close to how I sing it now.
Listening again, this is an awful version of this song...
I have my recording machine working again...I must redo this.
I PLAY C…
So sweet.. and I relate sooo well. I only had three, but birthing them in 4 yrs, they seemed double that in number at times. And we were a share the bed family too. I played my guitar and sang for them to put them to sleep. I still have memories of the peace that held for me, and I think for them. Gwyn Henry
I never sing this song the same two times in a row.
The lyric below is pretty close to how I sing it now.
Listening again, this is an awful version of this song...
I have my recording machine working again...I must redo this.
I PLAY C…
Peggy taught me an Eagles song toward the end off our life together. I think it was NEW BOY IN TOWN. (I had no idea what she was telling me.) I took the chord progression from that song and wrote this. Peggy said that was cheating.
WATERMELON…
The 1st time I sang this song in public was at a Nashville Songwriters Association meeting, Fort Worth chapter, and a woman burst out when it hit her. I can hardly sing this song without crying. I really know how to push my buttons.
"...ha! Push your own buttons… I know hat you mean. I listened to the song again to refresh my memory…omg it is so pretty! And yes! I remember well, I did get it that the watermelon man was his father. In fact it brought to my mind another disappearing father, that of my daughter Lisa. He passed several yrs ago. So too late for him now. But your song has beauty and meaning for a lot of folks, I am sure." Gwyn Henry
I saw him live in Dallas about a year before he died. He was sooo good.
His sweet wife sat stage right and frequently he would go over and kiss her. His playing and showmanship were tops and he was like in my living room sharing the things…
LOVE THIS!! Just listened. I'll bet Dale would love it too, He passed in 2019, I just read in wiki, at the age of 85. Your comparison to his doctore may have been apt: He beat colon cancer twice and lived on another eleven years. And he left us his amazing music! - Gwyn Henry
A song I wrote over the last few days. Did a one-take-wonder on the recording, so it's pretty simple. Hope you like it!
Sometimes You Don't
Verse 1
Sometimes in the early morning hours
As the sun lights up the sky
I look back and think…
A friend got me excited about writing short instrumentals for Video, TV etc and posting them on Pond5 ( A site catering to that type of thing). I recorded this little banjo piece this morning.
This is so crisp and bright. Sunlight and rippling waters. It reminds me of one of my rare instrumentals:https://alonetone.com/jamesmichaeltaylor/playlists/slaughter-mountain/sunlight-on-spider-web
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
And here is the first reply to In Your Hands.
I say "first" because I've found another one, When I Try To Be Me, that Mrs R says I have to do too... but that's unlikely to be the next one I post because I'm working…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
OK, let's delve once more into the magical shoebox of unused songs...
I've already recorded several that were written in 1994 (Sleeping with the Ghost, Elizabeth's Room, With Mum Again, If You Knew, A Hundred and…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
And here we go - Edith FINALLY gets it...
Actually, she's been getting it ever since I wrote it on the 29th May. I thought it would take a week or so, but it proved to be more of a fight than I was expecting.
On…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
Here it is in all of its glory...
THIS is the song that Mrs R and I had decided was a suitable response to a request to "Upload something HAPPY, stat!!!!!!!!!"
I tried to record it back in 2013 when I wrote it…
I was once asked to write a happy song. It turned out to be about a woman who killed herself and when I found out THAT SHE ACTUALLY KILLED HERSELF I wasn't sure what to think about my premonition.https://alonetone.com/jamesmichaeltaylor/tracks/a-happy-song. THEN, later an old friend asked if I had any happy songs so I wrote this:https://alonetone.com/jamesmichaeltaylor/tracks/if-it-makes-you-happy-092914-1
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
I was asked (told?) to upload something happy. Hmmm, I thought. This will end well...
So, a few days later, I was rehearsing a pleasant little thing I wrote several years ago that has a working title of "She Was…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
Here's the very latest from the broom-cupboard.
I wrote it one dark night over 23 years ago.
****
**All I Have To Do - A A J Russe**
There isn’t much time to get this out
You won’t hear me if I have to…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
Okies, so I'm working on some other thing and it's taking a while... drums to do and wotnot. But in the middle of it I'm digging how my Martin acoustic is working out. You probs won't even be able to hear it amongst…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
I wrote this one last September.
Allison Jane Sixsmith 1965-2016.
****
**Forever - A A J Russe**
I can see you on your rocking horse now
The one that turned around and kicked you in the teeth
He thought…
I hear you’re drinking at the chocolate fountain
You pulled the handle off the door
But they won’t mind
They’ll be mending it forever..." Great images...
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
I wasn't even sure the recording machine was still going to work after nearly five years... Certainly, bits of me don't work anymore... But, surprisingly, I got this done in 24 hours, start to finish... Strange old world…
A friend asked me,
"Don't you have any happy songs?"
So I wrote one!
IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY capo @ 3
C F C
If it makes you happy I will tie your shoe
C…
Tim Tandy
James Michael Taylor , have loved this song from the first time I heard it. Like so many of your compositions, it's refreshingly straightforward, simple and playful- characteristics all too rare in many relationships.
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
This is excellent James ..........
Nice song, but I'm sure it would have been even better if you had sung it yourself.
You know how to write songs, James. And you don't just simply sing your songs - you feel and live them. That's the stuff good songwriters are made of. Regards, Steffen
Cool tune.
JMT, You are a Fountain of Music! Great piece. Really good recording too, crystal clear. So I have finally made it to alonetone. Stop by and visit. need to figure this site out. Later, LMB
excellent lyrics .....a tragic tale well told....brilliant
Great combination's of sound..... love that backing vocal.........
Wow, is that a banjo? Great playing! The music is actually cheerful, but the lyrics deal with a serious topic - and somehow it fits together and sounds just right.
It took a while, but then it started to grab me. The lyric is great, as always. Unfortunately I don't understand every word in the slow part.
Beautiful songwriting and a most emotional performance. Another favorite, no doubt.
love it...all of it
Good one.
Everything I have listened to of yours I have enjoyed. This one didn't is right up there!
You have everything a good songwriter needs: A guitar, a voice, and a bunch of great stories to tell. Regards, Steffen
Solid job, as always, James! I really dig your singing. Regards, Steffen
No progress in the Congress Corruption is their prowess It's just a stinking mess I think this does explain it They could completely transformate it If they only had a brain Thanks JMT, LimboMan
On this song you sound even more like Chapin. Great song btw - lead vocals are too loud, but awesome job nonetheless. The backing vocals are brilliant. The whole song is brilliant!
You sound a bit like Harry Chapin, did you know that? And just to make that clear: I love Harry Chapin! :) Regards, Steffen
A wonderful song, James, and I love the harmony vocals. Regards, Steffen
This could well be a Jimmy Buffet song. Have I said that before? ;) Regards, Steffen
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
I thot I sent you a response... Can't see it now.
Those guitar tracks are crisper than fresh celery. Great vocal. Really brings the lyric to life. This is the best thing I have ever heard of yours. Killer. Great song.
Gwyn Henry - 😊 be-yoo-ti-full!!
Wow! I sampled all the songs, it’s a great album and I will listen to it more tomorrow. Thank you! Ken Mcintyre
So sweet.. and I relate sooo well. I only had three, but birthing them in 4 yrs, they seemed double that in number at times. And we were a share the bed family too. I played my guitar and sang for them to put them to sleep. I still have memories of the peace that held for me, and I think for them. Gwyn Henry
Seems ea song I hear of yours for the first time is my new favorite song of yours! Gwyn Henry
The 1st time I sang this song in public was at a Nashville Songwriters Association meeting, Fort Worth chapter, and a woman burst out when it hit her. I can hardly sing this song without crying. I really know how to push my buttons. "...ha! Push your own buttons… I know hat you mean. I listened to the song again to refresh my memory…omg it is so pretty! And yes! I remember well, I did get it that the watermelon man was his father. In fact it brought to my mind another disappearing father, that of my daughter Lisa. He passed several yrs ago. So too late for him now. But your song has beauty and meaning for a lot of folks, I am sure." Gwyn Henry
LOVE THIS!! Just listened. I'll bet Dale would love it too, He passed in 2019, I just read in wiki, at the age of 85. Your comparison to his doctore may have been apt: He beat colon cancer twice and lived on another eleven years. And he left us his amazing music! - Gwyn Henry
Such pathos. Your voice captures the sadness so well... Sometimes you don’t feel the love until you’ve lost it..."
This is so crisp and bright. Sunlight and rippling waters. It reminds me of one of my rare instrumentals:https://alonetone.com/jamesmichaeltaylor/playlists/slaughter-mountain/sunlight-on-spider-web
Simple and clear...
"Teddy bead kisses..." So sad.
Sounds like another suicide song to me... We can feel the pain in your voice.
I was once asked to write a happy song. It turned out to be about a woman who killed herself and when I found out THAT SHE ACTUALLY KILLED HERSELF I wasn't sure what to think about my premonition.https://alonetone.com/jamesmichaeltaylor/tracks/a-happy-song. THEN, later an old friend asked if I had any happy songs so I wrote this:https://alonetone.com/jamesmichaeltaylor/tracks/if-it-makes-you-happy-092914-1
"But still I love the comfort I find in misery…" Great line. Beatle like...and that's always good.
Great guitar sound.
Love this. Beautifully done. Tonight I was trying out a song from that era: Twilight Time...https://www.e-chords.com/chords/the-platters/twilight-time
I hear you’re drinking at the chocolate fountain You pulled the handle off the door But they won’t mind They’ll be mending it forever..." Great images...
Rock on Dude...! Good to listen to some of your tunes. It's been a while. Strange relationship in this song.
Tim Tandy James Michael Taylor , have loved this song from the first time I heard it. Like so many of your compositions, it's refreshingly straightforward, simple and playful- characteristics all too rare in many relationships.