Probably anyone who plays the guitar could write this song....
Someone asked if I was actually in Spain in 2003. Actually, 2000. Working on the movie, THE STONE RAFT with George Sluizer, from a book by Jose Saramago.
Inspired by something Jenni…
Tracy posted a message which said, "If I could write a song about the way I feel right now, it would be a hit." So I grabbed my guitar and came up with this...
Tracy posted a message which said, "If I could write a song about the way I feel right now, it would be a hit." So I grabbed my guitar and came up with this...
...for they do not have to face another tomorrow...
BLESSED ARE THE DEAD
Blessed are the dead for they shall not be lonely
Blessed are the dead for they will not be sad
Blessed are the dead for they shall have no longings
Nothing lost…
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…
...for they do not have to face another tomorrow...
BLESSED ARE THE DEAD
Blessed are the dead for they shall not be lonely
Blessed are the dead for they will not be sad
Blessed are the dead for they shall have no longings
Nothing lost…
Some people measure things by inches and miles,
gallons and quarts and sometimes smiles, but I got a measure that I made up: I measure my orange juice by the "blub, blub, blub.".
Some people measure things by inches and miles,
gallons and quarts and sometimes smiles, but I got a measure that I made up: I measure my orange juice by the "blub, blub, blub.".
Written in Isaba, Spain 2003. On location shooting THE STONE RAFT/HET STENEN VLAT/La Balsa de Piedra. If you leave me a note, please tell me who you are.
It's like an empty city street after the bars are closed and the buses stopped running. It rained a couple hours ago and you been walking for a long time with a lot on your mind and no place for it to go...
Written in Isaba, Spain 2003. On location shooting THE STONE RAFT/HET STENEN VLAT/La Balsa de Piedra. If you leave me a note, please tell me who you are.
I don't see myself in shiny mirrors
I don't see myself in sunny skies
And I won't see myself
Until I see myself again in Peggy's Eyes.
Once upon a time there was a reason for the rhyme
There was some silver in the dime . I remember
And…
I don't see myself in shiny mirrors
I don't see myself in sunny skies
And I won't see myself
Until I see myself again in Peggy's Eyes.
Once upon a time there was a reason for the rhyme
There was some silver in the dime . I remember
And…
Written in Isaba, Spain 2003. On location shooting THE STONE RAFT/HET STENEN VLAT/La Balsa de Piedra. If you leave me a note, please tell me who you are.
Written in Isaba, Spain 2003. On location shooting THE STONE RAFT/HET STENEN VLAT/La Balsa de Piedra. If you leave me a note, please tell me who you are.
Something just broke and I think it's my heart
It wasn't an arrow. It wasn't a dart
It mighta been a meter that tore it apart
But, something just broke and I think it's my heart
G.
A bedside bomb with no alarm…
This one explains itself...for Eric.
WORLD OF HURT Capo @ 3 Key G
G
A friend of mine called yesterday
Em
To try to cheer me up
C
He said I should be happy
D
Things could be much worse
He told me he was…
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…
DOOR MAT
Key - A
A) My daddy treated Mama like a door mat
D) Me and little brother didn't like that
We E) never understood what was going A) down
My daddy was the guy to fix your tv
And he could fix a Fender or a Peavey
(But) Daddy…
DOOR MAT
Key - A
A) My daddy treated Mama like a door mat
D) Me and little brother didn't like that
We E) never understood what was going A) down
My daddy was the guy to fix your tv
And he could fix a Fender or a Peavey
(But) Daddy…
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.
FIREFLIES. capo @ 2
F walk down
We (C) spoke of them as (C/B) sweethearts
There (Am) in the Southern (F) sky
(C) Saturn, just a (G) twinkle, bold (F) Jupiter near (G) by
I (Am) guess we didn't (Am/G) notice
as they (Am/F)drifted a…
"Fireflies." has a stellar intro, and then you woot he listener in with your crooning and compelling vocals. I have always loved the topic of fireflies and your hook about chsing fireflies in the htickets of two hearts is Phenomenal. Lots of nostalgia in this one, especiually for the girl next door who played a game with me, a kiss for every firefly i caught for her. But man those bugs were elusive as hell. But when I got a few, I was enthralled by her gentle thank you on my lips. Matthew Blowers III
SKINNY GIRLS
Capo @ 3 in G
...and then he said,
I like skinny girls
Toothy girls
Flat chested girls
I like girls with Adam's apples
A mouth full of titty
And a hand full of ass...
A girl with a six pack
is my kind of...
And then…
Now "Skinny Girls.' is a riotus collection of just plain fun and some great humor, I was so dissappointed when the track just cut out. But then I unbderstood you were giving folks just a taste. I was actually starting to visualize all the descriptive bean pole girls you were listing. A great bar song for sure, and I can see all the slightly inebriated guys rethinking and checking out all the skinny girls nursing their beers. LOL Matthew Blowers III
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
Great lyrics J.M.T!
sort of like a hiaku in the songscape of at,, nice
Nice song. Kinda short for someone as prolific as you; however, what needed to be said was said. Short and sweet.
Ahmen to that!
your music is great. i love how you use your voice and guitar.
great neil young type harmonies.
this is a good song. guitar and vocal are strong. would like to hear the main vocal mixed a little softer . like your style.
Great lyrics, love yer backing vocal group!!! Aren't they just the best!!!
Great funny stuff! :)
4 blubs a day does a body good JMT!
It's like an empty city street after the bars are closed and the buses stopped running. It rained a couple hours ago and you been walking for a long time with a lot on your mind and no place for it to go...
Enviable live performance.
Oh Niiiice!
Oh now, look what you've gone and done! Touching lyrics and heartfelt vocal.
Jim, It brought tears to my eyes. Beautiful. Helen
What thetworegs said. Lovely indeed!
A lovely piece
One more is a reminder of why we write isn't. Always looking for the next hit..
DIG THE HEAVY SOUND MAN..... VERY COOL . DID NEIL YOUNG JOIN ON THAT TRACK?
What a beautiful son JMT. Eric really appreciates your concern and the love it took to write this for him. ( His sister Kristina)
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
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.
"Fireflies." has a stellar intro, and then you woot he listener in with your crooning and compelling vocals. I have always loved the topic of fireflies and your hook about chsing fireflies in the htickets of two hearts is Phenomenal. Lots of nostalgia in this one, especiually for the girl next door who played a game with me, a kiss for every firefly i caught for her. But man those bugs were elusive as hell. But when I got a few, I was enthralled by her gentle thank you on my lips. Matthew Blowers III
Now "Skinny Girls.' is a riotus collection of just plain fun and some great humor, I was so dissappointed when the track just cut out. But then I unbderstood you were giving folks just a taste. I was actually starting to visualize all the descriptive bean pole girls you were listing. A great bar song for sure, and I can see all the slightly inebriated guys rethinking and checking out all the skinny girls nursing their beers. LOL Matthew Blowers III