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…
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
FCG FC FCFG
F C G F C
Like beavers and willows
Bats and mosquitos
F) Toad C) frogs and F) flies (G
DA DA - E Am G C
Algae and oil spills
Shovels and coal hills
Black holes…
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…
...after reading John Steinbeck's IN DUBIOUS BATTLE and watching the John Ford movie of GRAPES OF WRATH. The opening and closing statements are quotes from the Preacher in the movie.
A friend said he wanted to do a video of this track. I…
Gwyn Henry
The Stienbeck excerpt: Especially the 2nd paragraph. My Gawd! I had forgotten how that man could write!!! I had forgotten why he is an icon among American writers,. Touched by the gods. As is your song, In Dubious Battle. It is an opus. imhop. If you had never written another song, just leaving this one would earn you a place in the echelons!! (OK, I'll calm down now.) These two pieces in combination have moved me greatly for their Truth. And so totally relevant today.
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
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
Gwyn Henry The Stienbeck excerpt: Especially the 2nd paragraph. My Gawd! I had forgotten how that man could write!!! I had forgotten why he is an icon among American writers,. Touched by the gods. As is your song, In Dubious Battle. It is an opus. imhop. If you had never written another song, just leaving this one would earn you a place in the echelons!! (OK, I'll calm down now.) These two pieces in combination have moved me greatly for their Truth. And so totally relevant today.