Lee Snaples
And I've never heard you do this live because...
James Michael Taylor
...because. I've never sung it except when I was recording it as I "wrote" it. Are you suggesting I should?
You might notice that it's been on line since 2007 and not one comment.
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…
Kat Angel
James Michael Taylor awesome 💞 Your song is incredibly beautiful and soulful. My fav part was your narrative at the beginning. Haunting. My sister's name is Loretta 💕 My mom ....chose her namesake to tag her beautiful baby girl. Time. Goes. By.
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…
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…
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…
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…
This is my mom's story.
Lula Teeters got off to
a pretty rough start.
She finally turned it
all lose last November.
May she rest in peace.
SISTER SAID
Daddy was a miner. He worked himself to death
Company said he killed himself, but…
Gwyn Henry said, "Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation." I said, "Where I put things when I find a place for them."
This is my mom's story.
Lula Teeters got off to
a pretty rough start.
She finally turned it
all lose last November.
May she rest in peace.
SISTER SAID
Daddy was a miner. He worked himself to death
Company said he killed himself, but…
Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation. Gwyn Henry
This is my mom's story.
Lula Teeters got off to
a pretty rough start.
She finally turned it
all lose last November.
May she rest in peace.
SISTER SAID
Daddy was a miner. He worked himself to death
Company said he killed himself, but…
You were talking about Salvation art earlier-- Although this is great in its own right as to what it gives to others, I can see the processing that was going on in letting this go, in a kind of creation. Just beautiful! Gwyn Henry
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…
Gwyn Henry
James Michael Taylor Oh, yes, this is beautiful,Jim.You should do more of this... spoken word,to music. I'm thinking that you have,tho! Or spoken word mixe w/ sung.
SOMERTHING TO BELIEVE capo @ 2 in C
C
They’re rounding up the roosters down in Florida
F
Drowning all the snakes in New Orleans
G
The fires are chasing antelopes in Chyanne…
CEDRICH/DRUNKEN INDIAN
CEDRICK Key G Open G tuning (GGDGBD)
He gave me 2 rings. Silver with turquoise insets. That was 1974. We were moving from Oregon to Texas in an old Dodge school bus. Towing the Chevy Van behind it. Unhitched the van…
I'M AN EAGLE
I'm an eagle
I'm an arrow
I'm a falcon
I'm a sparrow
...and I feel the wind crossing my feathers in the morning
Flying high above the fields. Swoop down without a warning
I'm an eagle
I'm an arrow
I'm a falcon
I'm…
CEDRICK Key G Open G tuning (GGDGBD)
He gave me 2 rings. Silver with turquoise insets. That was 1974. We were moving from Oregon to Texas in an old Dodge school bus. Towing the Chevy Van behind it. Unhitched the van when we stopped in Albuquerque…
Em capo @ 6
Maybe I could be a potter
Throwing all the words away
Maybe I could learn the language of the clay
Maybe I could be a potter
Sweep the words out of the way
Let my fingers find the music in the clay
Gwyn Henry
James Michael Taylor Kat took the words right out of my mouth... you do have a song for almost everything, and that's lucky for the world! But there will always be an "almost', so keep writing!
Like
Reply11m
Active
Gwyn Henry
PS: Just listened to the song, one of your "shorts"... it is beautiful! Love the thoughtful melody in a minor key. Love the bits of harmony, love that distant echo at the end. This song sure has its own vibe, its own world...now you've got me thinking, maybe I could be a potter!
Em capo @ 6
Maybe I could be a potter
Throwing all the words away
Maybe I could learn the language of the clay
Maybe I could be a potter
Sweep the words out of the way
Let my fingers find the music in the clay
Kat Angel
James Michael Taylor You have a song for everything 🤩 Your song makes me think you are sitting Indian style and are contemplating if being a potter is something you might do. You craft stories with your music.
DEEPER
Every day I sink a little deeper
Two steps up. Three steps back.
I'd rather be dead than be a sleeper
I'm not coming back...
(C) 2020 Royal T Music
Wade Jackson
James Michael Taylor my brain just put a 7 turnaround after that ending major chord and wanted to add another verse… 😆 time is too short my friend !
PERFECT
When I said, “She’s perfect,” I meant she’s Perfect for me
You might not see her that Perfectly
When 1 and 1 is 2 and 2 and 1 is three, that’s math and on math we all agree
But Perfect has a sliding scale on which we all find our…
I was speaking to those who kept telling me Peggy wasn't as pretty as I thought, thus, “When I said." She’s perfect,” I meant she’s Perfect for me." "You might not see her so perfectly." And then I was just riffing on what perfect means...
PORTAL and HAPPINESS and TIME are three of the songs on my new CD, EUREKA. Short pieces.
TIME
There was a time when I figured my Chevy van would last forever
I guess that was back when I was about thirty
And there was a time when I thot…
capo @ 3
Am walk down...
When I was a child we'd drive 200 miles
to Grandma's in the Spring
I'd hop out of the car, run to the back yard.
Grandma had a swing
But the times have changed...
When I became a dad I took all the rope I had…
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
Lee Snaples And I've never heard you do this live because... James Michael Taylor ...because. I've never sung it except when I was recording it as I "wrote" it. Are you suggesting I should? You might notice that it's been on line since 2007 and not one comment.
Kat Angel James Michael Taylor awesome 💞 Your song is incredibly beautiful and soulful. My fav part was your narrative at the beginning. Haunting. My sister's name is Loretta 💕 My mom ....chose her namesake to tag her beautiful baby girl. Time. Goes. By.
Rosemarie Kempton Love reading what you write!
Judith Ellen Lopez - that's magic
Has anyone ever told you you're like an awesome mix of Crosby Stills Nash and Young mainly Neil Young meets Frank Zappa? LeAnne E Christian
Tony Desmuke That was some mighty fine prose there James.
Gwyn Henry said, "Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation." I said, "Where I put things when I find a place for them."
Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation. Gwyn Henry
You were talking about Salvation art earlier-- Although this is great in its own right as to what it gives to others, I can see the processing that was going on in letting this go, in a kind of creation. Just beautiful! Gwyn Henry
Gwyn Henry James Michael Taylor Oh, yes, this is beautiful,Jim.You should do more of this... spoken word,to music. I'm thinking that you have,tho! Or spoken word mixe w/ sung.
Lane Beauvais Another round of GMOs please. I'm sprouting wings and barking like a puppy cat.
Wade Jackson Well done brother. I always enjoy your approach to songs.
we really liked "Drunken Indian" `Maybe, it's a metaphor for you.
Jenni Mansfield Peal I really like that song. Raw and heartbreaking.
Gwyn Henry James Michael Taylor Kat took the words right out of my mouth... you do have a song for almost everything, and that's lucky for the world! But there will always be an "almost', so keep writing! Like Reply11m Active Gwyn Henry PS: Just listened to the song, one of your "shorts"... it is beautiful! Love the thoughtful melody in a minor key. Love the bits of harmony, love that distant echo at the end. This song sure has its own vibe, its own world...now you've got me thinking, maybe I could be a potter!
Kat Angel James Michael Taylor You have a song for everything 🤩 Your song makes me think you are sitting Indian style and are contemplating if being a potter is something you might do. You craft stories with your music.
Wade Jackson James Michael Taylor my brain just put a 7 turnaround after that ending major chord and wanted to add another verse… 😆 time is too short my friend !
I was speaking to those who kept telling me Peggy wasn't as pretty as I thought, thus, “When I said." She’s perfect,” I meant she’s Perfect for me." "You might not see her so perfectly." And then I was just riffing on what perfect means...
Kat Angel Very different and interesting. I like the changes in tempo and the story.
Kat Angel Nice imagery. You paint pictures with your songs
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.