M E L I S S A Key of G
These are letters I like to say - M E L I S S A
These are notes I like to play……
Letters that sparkle. Notes that jingle
Make a little song in my heart
There’s a song in my heart today - M E L I S S A
I wish…
M E L I S S A Key of G
These are letters I like to say - M E L I S S A
These are notes I like to play……
Letters that sparkle. Notes that jingle
Make a little song in my heart
There’s a song in my heart today - M E L I S S A
I wish…
I wrote this at my dad's urging. He likes it. We sing it together. I have YouTube Video of it up.
EULOGY
He grew up in Clinton, Oklahoma
Red dirt back yard, Gramma's place
Honey suckle in a dust bowl
Life as hard as limestone lace…
This is the title song from my first LP.
FEATHERS IN THE WIND by SNOWGEESE.
Snowgeese was my first wife, BarbaraAnne and me. Michael was a new friend we met when we moved to Texas that liked my songs enough to produce and arrange and record…
Jim Farmer
JMT...Also wanna say that I love the sound produced on those 1/4" - 4 track machines. I listened to half the tunes on "Feathers in the Wind" & really enjoyed them. I'll tell you again that I'm a big fan of your writing and your voice. Truly great stuff, my friend.
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
Robert White
Just reading the words, maybe to the tune of In Deams By Roy Orbinson! One of My Favorite's! I would love to Sing a Duet with You! My Voice is High like Roy Orbinson and can sing lower like Elvis! Thanks for sharing!🤗😎
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
This is the title song from my first LP.
FEATHERS IN THE WIND by SNOWGEESE.
Snowgeese was my first wife, BarbaraAnne and me. Michael was a new friend we met when we moved to Texas that liked my songs enough to produce and arrange and record…
Jenni Mansfield Peal
Thanks for posting these beautiful songs. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend. Bittersweet listening; hearing Barbara, I am grieving her loss.
My motto is INWARD THRU THE FOG. One day about a month ago, Laura 'Taylor' Whitfield told me I should, "write that song." Thinking back on a fog-bound night in California, I wrote it. Norman Pilcher, a friend from Texas, and I were headed north…
I BUY GUITARS
Em
One man might buy cigarettes and waste it all in smoke
Another marijuana and share a friendly toke
Am
Another, with more money, might invest in antique cars
Em
I buy guitars
A man might buy a baseball card
Keep it…
I BUY GUITARS
Em
One man might buy cigarettes and waste it all in smoke
Another marijuana and share a friendly toke
Am
Another, with more money, might invest in antique cars
Em
I buy guitars
A man might buy a baseball card
Keep it…
... that's great! It's all very lighthearted until you get to the part about them not leaving. I guess the companion that remains true will always be the one with strings. Lazarus Knight
I was told that even tho she left me after 28 years it doesn't negate the idea.
There’s a place in my mind where your face had a home
Long before you came into my life
Before you were a known
There’s a note in my song that I knew fit somewhere…
was a Texan.
Quannah Parker was the son born to Cynthia Parker, a white girl, stolen by Comanche raiders who grew up to be the wife of the chief. Quannah, in turn became the leader of his tribe. Eventually, Cynthia returned to her people. This…
The Winnowing Wind
I feel the wind blow thru me
Oh, please don't let it undo me
Let it level and true me
The Wind. The Winnowing Wind
And here I stand, alone, against the wind,
And, who am I to think that I
Can stand alone against the…
Candy Davis
That's so much fun, singing with oneself, laying down multiple tracks. Your Winnowing Wind is such a polished, beautiful example of the magic of music.
Love
The Winnowing Wind
I feel the wind blow thru me
Oh, please don't let it undo me
Let it level and true me
The Wind. The Winnowing Wind
And here I stand, alone, against the wind,
And, who am I to think that I
Can stand alone against the…
Lazarus Knight
Beautiful arrangement and vocal peformance. When I noticed the 2007 copyright it made me wonder if the song was written and recorded before or after a certain life changing event that year.
FOR A PENNY
From the moment Toy saw the light
he was the center of attention.
In a room full of sunlight and 'Welcome,"
he was a new dimension.
Tiny traveler, arriving wet
Peggy hardly breaking a sweat
Toy was born in the middle of the…
Rahim Quazi - I love that. What did you mean when you said that you had wished you had kept the penny?
Enter
You sent
It would be a nice thing for him to have as a keepsake. The actual penny that saved his life.
Enter
You sent
Peggy had aborted the previous two pregnancies.Really didn't want any more kids. True is my best friend. I don't know what I would do without him. He is what I have left of Peggy.
Enter
Rahim
Rahim Quazi
Ahhh, I get it now. It’s a beautiful song
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
Pam Stakes That is AWESOME
Gwyn Henry Cute! I like the rhythm and claps.
Ruth Southern - I agree.
Jim Farmer JMT...Also wanna say that I love the sound produced on those 1/4" - 4 track machines. I listened to half the tunes on "Feathers in the Wind" & really enjoyed them. I'll tell you again that I'm a big fan of your writing and your voice. Truly great stuff, my friend.
Robert White Just reading the words, maybe to the tune of In Deams By Roy Orbinson! One of My Favorite's! I would love to Sing a Duet with You! My Voice is High like Roy Orbinson and can sing lower like Elvis! Thanks for sharing!🤗😎
Jack Lavender I could hear body parts tightening at the end.
Jody Jones So many wonderful songs you’ve penned James. Miss you.
James Kempton That was really good, Thsnks, Jim
Lazarus Knight Yep, the G is up there - Orbisonish indeed!
Kat Angel Yep, that was a high note. I can't hit it. Pretty song.
I like In my Dreams!! It does have an Orbison vibe! LIke the way it builds. Operatic. Orbison. Gwyn Henry
Jenni Mansfield Peal Thanks for posting these beautiful songs. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend. Bittersweet listening; hearing Barbara, I am grieving her loss.
Paul Smith Some of your tunes fit right in with a soundtrack feel like "Pulp Fiction". I love it. 🎶
That was great, thanks Jim Jim Kempton
... that's great! It's all very lighthearted until you get to the part about them not leaving. I guess the companion that remains true will always be the one with strings. Lazarus Knight
Lazarus Knight That's a great album!
Jenni Mansfield Peal Beautiful. Thanks so much for posting.
Candy Davis That's so much fun, singing with oneself, laying down multiple tracks. Your Winnowing Wind is such a polished, beautiful example of the magic of music. Love
Lazarus Knight Beautiful arrangement and vocal peformance. When I noticed the 2007 copyright it made me wonder if the song was written and recorded before or after a certain life changing event that year.
Rahim Quazi - I love that. What did you mean when you said that you had wished you had kept the penny? Enter You sent It would be a nice thing for him to have as a keepsake. The actual penny that saved his life. Enter You sent Peggy had aborted the previous two pregnancies.Really didn't want any more kids. True is my best friend. I don't know what I would do without him. He is what I have left of Peggy. Enter Rahim Rahim Quazi Ahhh, I get it now. It’s a beautiful song
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.