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…
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
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
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.