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…
I wrote this song after planting and fertalizing a crop of sudan grass just to have the sun shine down with no relief on it for 100 days and no rain. We, Texas Water, were heading home one night AFTER A GIG at Gringo's in Grapevine when the…
CALIFORNIA
Capo @ 4 in C/Am
I’m (Am) going back to California
A little place in the San (E) Joaquin
(Am, stepping down A G F# F E)
Where the back pasture builds
To Sierra foothills
And Kaweah tumbles down cool and clean
I’m going back…
California has a chorus that camouflages the dramatic irony of the verse narrative. If it weren’t for the unusual intro, it’d seem zirconium. Christopher Youngblood
VIDEO https://www.facebook.com/reel/629088762494393
https://www.facebook.com/100007692130538/videos/122358790913196/
THE CIRCLE OF NO REGRETS Key C
capo @ 5
C F G C C G C
If your heart must be broken…
Circle of No Regrets sounds quaint. That’s what makes it hit. Unless you turn your ears on, it’s a boring song, but once you do, it’s hard to take.
It’s almost like you’re giving the audience an option. Christopher Youngblood
MOTHER'S EYES
I used to chide my mother
She saw the loss in every face
The cemetery. The old folks home
along the way
I used to laugh at Mother
She saw the pain in every eye
Now time has passed
and Mom is gone and here am I
And…
I wrote to my children, my answer. I told the how I watched them thru the window and enjoyed them in ways they never knew. How seeing them learn and succeed at their efforts was such pleasure to me. How discovering who they were by the talents and generosity they exhibited made me happy...The first response I got was from Embyr, now a registered nurse, mother of 4, just said, "Jim, you were mean."
Sat 11:38 PM
Christopher sent Yesterday at 11:38 PM
I listened to Kite a bunch of times, trying to think how it could be improved (it can’t be), and it occurred to me that Ben Franklin flew a key. That part of the story had never occurred to me as important before. But it’s like he was trying to unlock something.
Maybe he tried it on a clear day and let the kite rise to where he couldn’t see it. That’d be a different experiment altogether. Christopher Youngblood
The story our song that night (Songwriter night, Tuesday, at The Post, where we would divide up into groups and have a new song ready to perform in one hour) was about railroads and a girl from San Antone. When I got home I had the Tejas/Chaos…
Love the piano. Love the brevity, and the words themselves. Love "voice like confetti"! I get more about her story from the music itself. The words set it up beautifully. But the music, the back up, the energy had me seeing those waves, and sensing the sleeping fish beneath! Love the "tip" of another story, her buying l ip gloss in NYC. Love that that is all that you gave.
Seen by Gwyn at 12:20 PM
Gwyn Henry
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…
HOME
(Am D) or (F C)
VERSE 1.
Where the (G) windmill sings to the mocking bird
And the (CM7) prairie wind, without a word
(Am) Whispers thru tall (D) grass, I’ll be (G) home
(F C G) or (Am D)
VERSE 2.
Where the butter cups and…
THE COUCH - key - C
https://fb.watch/lIEUn31mBZ/
https://www.facebook.com/100054814402634/videos/2856132984527543/
1-C 4-F
Today we put the couch out by the road
5-G…
Ah! The history in discarded things. I see the similarity with my "his name in a book". I hope the couch found a new home (and the mouse..). Nice to have the words to read too, I hadn't thought of doing that.
She lies alone. She's crying.
The truth hit her like a rock
A rock thrown thru her window
The window to her heart
His eyes told her a story
And she believed it, every word
She made plans to leave forever
Her time was over on this earth…
A GOOD CRY
Rick Babb/JMT
Why don't you cry
I know you need to
A tear is meant to ease your pain
A flood could come
And it would wash you
So, don't you try and hold it back
A good cry can't be bad
Why don't you cry
Come her, I'll…
Good gawd, this song still makes me cry, every time I hear it... and I have listened to this song for years. Good gawd, what a great song. You do know, old friend, that on most of your songs, I love your voice; but this song cries out for someone who is a true vocalist.
THE COUCH - key - C
https://fb.watch/lIEUn31mBZ/
https://www.facebook.com/100054814402634/videos/2856132984527543/
1-C 4-F
Today we put the couch out by the road
5-G…
The story our song that night (Songwriter night, Tuesday, at The Post, where we would divide up into groups and have a new song ready to perform in one hour) was about railroads and a girl from San Antone. When I got home I had the Tejas/Chaos…
I've always said, The best compliment I can give a poet or a songwriter is... "Damn, I wish I had written that!" Damn, ol' son... I had forgotten what a great gut punch of a song this one is. I wish I had written it! But then again, if I had written it, then not only would no one else have had the chance to hear and appreciate how damn good it really is... but I too would never have had the pleasure myself. Old friend, you are one hell of an artist.
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…
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…
I'm not sure I want to know where you came up with this... :) acoustic57 My song "Down By The Sea" is from spending time at the beach with my wife. So, yes, it is pretty much real :)
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…
HOME
(Am D) or (F C)
VERSE 1.
Where the (G) windmill sings to the mocking bird
And the (CM7) prairie wind, without a word
(Am) Whispers thru tall (D) grass, I’ll be (G) home
(F C G) or (Am D)
VERSE 2.
Where the butter cups and…
I’ll tell you the truth. I’ve been out of control
They took away my blanket. Put me out in the cold.
Even Miami’s got ice on the ground
Man said, “You be a good boy and get out of my town.”
I’d just got to sleep when they turned on the…
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…
One of my favorites of yours of all I've heard, Jim. Melody is so pretty and chord changes unusual. Guitar intro, so pretty, as is the whole song. Sweet story, and sweet song. I can relate to the adult child who wonders at her/his mother's girlhood love.
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…
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…
Capo @ 2 in D (E) Dropped D tuning
Actually, it was almost two years. 1965-67.
Leavenworth, Kansas U S Army prison. I played the organ at the daily Protestant chapel. Took dictation and typed letters for the Protestant chaplain. Wrote 2-page…
Jere Reiser
I can't imagine. I spent 3 days in the Federal prison in Brownsville for attempting to smuggle 100 biphetamines into the US. They made me shower by myself and when I stepped out there were 8 guys standing about 10 ft away observing and making comments. It went down hill from there. I was threatened and hassled for two nights but stayed awake as advised and was discharged without incident. Childsplay.
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…
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…
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…
Tim Tandy
Wow, it's still as powerful as the very first time I met you and heard it, at a Concert in the Attic, sitting next to Barbara, who was silently mouthing occasional lyrics with tears on her cheeks.
...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…
Born with my left arm over my head, a big blood blister covered my left elbow. I was extracted from my mother's body with forceps. Seems that caused a tumor on my right temple which was surgically removed when I was about three. The purple elbow…
But the Sun
I close the curtains
To shut out the darkness
I shut the window
To keep out the cold
But the Sun is shining
Somewhere, I know.
(C) 2020 Royal T Music
THE BURDEN OF SANITY - capo @ 5 in An
Am F
As I turned on to Calhoun I could hear the music from the street
Dm E
A dog pissed on a speaker as I found myself a seat
Now, Buster is a caveman all hunched over his bones
Hair matted like a…
The Interstate Highway system was started in the mid-50s at the height of the Baby Boom era. It was a virgin ribbon of highway stretching out in all directions. We couldn't wait to explore it.
(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…
I wrote this song with Lisa Aschmann. CAPO @ 3
Video - https://www.facebook.com/100001011201926/videos/1285714588695761/
HICKORY STIX
Dm Am
Billy Mac and Don McCray drive to work each dawn at six
Down the mountain to the factory, makes…
Greg West
James Michael Taylor , even though his political views were the exact opposite of mine, he played me a few songs on a cd that a guy in Tarrant Co. wrote. He said “this is what it’s all about.” The songs were Help, and Hickory Sticks. So, he occasionally made sense. (John DeFoore)
LANCASTER STREET
Midnight in Cowtown. 90 degrees
Too hot for a blanket. Too hot for a sheet
The trash on the sidewalk is trying to sleep
Breathing the bus fumes on Lancaster Street
Sunshine brings tacos. Sunshine brings beans.
Sunshine…
Lauryl Blossom
James, oh, I know. Walk those woods after dark, careful not to wake the sleeping souls. I lived in West Meadowbrook. I'm not sure if you remember, but you and I met through Sunshine.
I love your song.
Another song for the 2021 National Solo Album Month.
What do we think of this cat? I have an urge to get proggy right now and generally that requires a level of talent that I don't posses. I'm not putting myself down when I say that, it's…
Buddy Holly said he made songs out of things he'd heard his mother say all his life...
A E A D A
I'll always remember what mama said
I'll never forget what my mama said…
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
Makes you think.
Kim Triolo Feil James Michael Taylor that's a fantastic story and a very lovely song
California has a chorus that camouflages the dramatic irony of the verse narrative. If it weren’t for the unusual intro, it’d seem zirconium. Christopher Youngblood
Circle of No Regrets sounds quaint. That’s what makes it hit. Unless you turn your ears on, it’s a boring song, but once you do, it’s hard to take. It’s almost like you’re giving the audience an option. Christopher Youngblood
I wrote to my children, my answer. I told the how I watched them thru the window and enjoyed them in ways they never knew. How seeing them learn and succeed at their efforts was such pleasure to me. How discovering who they were by the talents and generosity they exhibited made me happy...The first response I got was from Embyr, now a registered nurse, mother of 4, just said, "Jim, you were mean."
Sat 11:38 PM Christopher sent Yesterday at 11:38 PM I listened to Kite a bunch of times, trying to think how it could be improved (it can’t be), and it occurred to me that Ben Franklin flew a key. That part of the story had never occurred to me as important before. But it’s like he was trying to unlock something. Maybe he tried it on a clear day and let the kite rise to where he couldn’t see it. That’d be a different experiment altogether. Christopher Youngblood
Love the piano. Love the brevity, and the words themselves. Love "voice like confetti"! I get more about her story from the music itself. The words set it up beautifully. But the music, the back up, the energy had me seeing those waves, and sensing the sleeping fish beneath! Love the "tip" of another story, her buying l ip gloss in NYC. Love that that is all that you gave. Seen by Gwyn at 12:20 PM Gwyn Henry
"Love this! That last verse... ummm hmmmmm." Gwyn Henry
Sure is some good listening .....
Ah! The history in discarded things. I see the similarity with my "his name in a book". I hope the couch found a new home (and the mouse..). Nice to have the words to read too, I hadn't thought of doing that.
"Unbelievable..., unbuckled my jaw." Christopher Youngblood
Good gawd, this song still makes me cry, every time I hear it... and I have listened to this song for years. Good gawd, what a great song. You do know, old friend, that on most of your songs, I love your voice; but this song cries out for someone who is a true vocalist.
Gwyn Henry Again...poetry!! Love this. Can relate to the discoveries under the couch!!
I've always said, The best compliment I can give a poet or a songwriter is... "Damn, I wish I had written that!" Damn, ol' son... I had forgotten what a great gut punch of a song this one is. I wish I had written it! But then again, if I had written it, then not only would no one else have had the chance to hear and appreciate how damn good it really is... but I too would never have had the pleasure myself. Old friend, you are one hell of an artist.
Pake Rossi James Michael Taylor this is one of my favorite of your songs!
A JMT musical Haiku! Love it!
I'm not sure I want to know where you came up with this... :) acoustic57 My song "Down By The Sea" is from spending time at the beach with my wife. So, yes, it is pretty much real :)
Hey, cool. Makes you feel young again :). acoustic57
Nice song James. Great vocals. Reminds me a lot of CSNY. from acoustic57 :)
Carolyn Wade 60 Years later?? This is a good song. Love the lyrics, the music fits the words.
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
One of my favorites of yours of all I've heard, Jim. Melody is so pretty and chord changes unusual. Guitar intro, so pretty, as is the whole song. Sweet story, and sweet song. I can relate to the adult child who wonders at her/his mother's girlhood love.
Marcie Brooks James Michael Taylor another profound poem/song.
Marcie Brooks Lovingly sad yet hauntingly beautiful
Jere Reiser I can't imagine. I spent 3 days in the Federal prison in Brownsville for attempting to smuggle 100 biphetamines into the US. They made me shower by myself and when I stepped out there were 8 guys standing about 10 ft away observing and making comments. It went down hill from there. I was threatened and hassled for two nights but stayed awake as advised and was discharged without incident. Childsplay.
Marcie Brooks Whew! What a powerful song. Thank you for sharing James. Love you man
Lazarus Knight That will always be my favorite. No doubt the history plays a part.
Tim Tandy Wow, it's still as powerful as the very first time I met you and heard it, at a Concert in the Attic, sitting next to Barbara, who was silently mouthing occasional lyrics with tears on her cheeks.
very cool. I like the production. Ed Rogers
Candy Davis, "Another beautiful song, Jim."
Your tracks aren't working for me.
Love it, BUT THE SUN... is where my love for your sounds began. Freddy Molina
hey I love the track BURDEN OF SANITY, one you can hear over and over, so amazing! Heath Wolf
Sweet.
Yep! Me too. And don't forget that place that sold Pecan candy.
Great. Perfect for this week in Cowtown.
Ha! I like it Terry Kuntz
Greg West James Michael Taylor , even though his political views were the exact opposite of mine, he played me a few songs on a cd that a guy in Tarrant Co. wrote. He said “this is what it’s all about.” The songs were Help, and Hickory Sticks. So, he occasionally made sense. (John DeFoore)
Lauryl Blossom James, oh, I know. Walk those woods after dark, careful not to wake the sleeping souls. I lived in West Meadowbrook. I'm not sure if you remember, but you and I met through Sunshine. I love your song.
I really like this. It's got a lot going on but the voice is clear and there is a sense of space.
Kat Angel Most excellent, James.