ABOUT LUANNE capo @ 2 in Am 1st note - E
Am G F E repeats
Luanne’ll take you down
But she don’t use muscle
She’s found some of your pieces
And she wants to solve your puzzle
Dm
She wants you to be happy
Am
And it bugs her that…
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
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…
Matthew F. Blowers III
I am really liking your song on California, I have a special love for that state. You captured all the reaons I miss it, with your superb storytelling in lyrics and with the smooth harmonies and extremely well played music. It has a catchy beat, and I listened to the very last note.
I NEVER DREAM capo @ 2 in C
C
I never dream of building bridges. I never dream I’ll build a dam
I never dreamed of a cathedral for the mighty God, I Am
F
I never dreamed of founding clinics or make donations to the cause
C
I don’t see…
So today, for some reason I decided to read the words first.. Just the words. And found it an absolutely beautiful experience. The metaphors you use to describe great and cosmic plans and intentions of great societal achievement, contrasted with the lines that begin with, "BUT I dreamed we met for breakfast".... (the switch and the contrast is very powerful) what a tiny, common human thing: meeting over the sharing of food,. Then followed by, "I dreamed I held your hand"... human touch/connection, as though those two simple things are worth more than all the highest achievements of worldly fame, and material ladders climbed! Which they are. They so are. The rest of the lyrics continue to develop & express that idea beautifully. Then I listened to the sing, and although it is good as a song, For me, the words in themselves stand strong and impactful w/o anything else. Not to contrast them and say one is "better" than the other. Just that sometimes I see lyrics that stand alone, And just saying, these words do that very well. Gwyn Henry
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…
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…
FOOD I MY BELLY
Capo @ 5 in Em
Em) I gotta get some food in my belly (2)
Am) My hands are shaking and I'm feeling weak
B7) I gotta get some food in my belly
I gotta get some food in my belly
I'm feeling woozy gotta get off of my feet…
IN MY ROOM
In my room there's no day and there's no night
In my room, just an incandescent light
...hanging from a wire.
In my room there's no hot and there's no cold
In my room,I'm not young. I'm not old
...hanging from a wire…
JOHNNY BROKE AN AXLE 110220
I got revved up on blueberry donut holes
and cranked this one out...
Johnny broke an axle
Broke it like a pencil
Oh, no.
We need an ambulance at turn three.
Johnny broke an axle
Broke it like a pencil…
EVER ONE I NEED TO TALK TO
Everyone I need to talk to tonight is gone
Some have gone to heaven. Some have gone to hell
Ever one I want to talk to tonight is gone
FOOD I MY BELLY
Capo @ 5 in Em
Em) I gotta get some food in my belly (2)
Am) My hands are shaking and I'm feeling weak
B7) I gotta get some food in my belly
I gotta get some food in my belly
I'm feeling woozy gotta get off of my feet…
(I Almost Washed the ) DISHES
I almost washed the dishes
I almost ran the water
Maybe tomorrow
Maybe Saturday
What does it matter to me
I almost washed the dishes..
(C) 2020 Royal T Music
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
WRONG AS I COULD BE - Key of G
Never was a night in Tennessee
Like this Texas night to me
I feel free
Thought I was the writer of a song
But I was wrong
Wrong as I could be
She wouldn't leave with me
Said she believed in me
Even if…
Naad Kaur Khalsa
James Michael Taylor love your recordings...this one has me feeling very much like I'm ok...just keep going...write and post anyway...just keep being somehow..
.still...I would so much love to have some lovin
WRONG AS I COULD BE - Key of G
Never was a night in Tennessee
Like this Texas night to me
I feel free
Thought I was the writer of a song
But I was wrong
Wrong as I could be
She wouldn't leave with me
Said she believed in me
Even if…
POTTER'S FIELD KEY Em Capo @ 3
Em……..(hold) Figure 1 is C G Am Em, Figure 2 is A A Em Em
F 1 - You might as well take me out and stand me up against the wall
F 1 - I don't want no bandanna, no cigarettes to ease the fall
F 2 - No…
unWANTED - Capo @ 2
(Dm) A Dm
There'll be no poster of me looking ragged
There'll be no pictures of me strung around
Gm Dm
There'll be no subpoena. There'll be no warrant…
unWANTED - Capo @ 2
(Dm) A Dm
There'll be no poster of me looking ragged
There'll be no pictures of me strung around
Gm Dm
There'll be no subpoena. There'll be no warrant…
unWANTED - Capo @ 2
(Dm) A Dm
There'll be no poster of me looking ragged
There'll be no pictures of me strung around
Gm Dm
There'll be no subpoena. There'll be no warrant…
The MN coffee table is back!!!! We have a new member too - Joel Schaubert, who joined Mark Lofgren and Greg Connor - veterans of the coffee table. Once again we wrote this song and recorded it in my backyard coffee table (hence some of the wind…
Inspired by a gift from my Cousin Danita, a bird whistle.
___________________________________
I open my eyes to the first morning’s light
The Birds sing outside my window
And the stars are all gone from the previous night
They…
SAWTOOTH REQUIEM
Sawtooth Mountain. Working minimum wage
Clearing slash for a trail for the lift to the edge
Snow starts to falling the wind blowing sharp
Freezing my breath and breakin' heart
Some men's got to hunt. Some men's gotta ski…
ANNETTE
The creek's a risin' and my line is set
Gonna cash in on my catfish bet
My bobber's a bouncin' and I'm gonna get wet
She said she'd fix me dinner if I caught a fish
She might suspect that's my favorite wish
So, I got myself…
ANNETTE
The creek's a risin' and my line is set
Gonna cash in on my catfish bet
My bobber's a bouncin' and I'm gonna get wet
She said she'd fix me dinner if I caught a fish
She might suspect that's my favorite wish
So, I got myself…
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…
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…
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…
Candy Davis
Your song made me feel as if I were walking past this sad man's broken, tattered life. I don't think I've ever listened to one of your songs without feeling deeply moved.
When I wrote this, 50 years ago,
I was afraid it would seem like nothing happened.
BALI HI
Bali Hi, at 6th and Broadway
Just a little place where people go
To have a quiet drink,
Listen to the band and think.
Maybe meet a friend…
When I wrote this, 50 years ago,
I was afraid it would seem like nothing happened.
BALI HI
Bali Hi, at 6th and Broadway
Just a little place where people go
To have a quiet drink,
Listen to the band and think.
Maybe meet a friend…
When I wrote this, 50 years ago,
I was afraid it would seem like nothing happened.
BALI HI
Bali Hi, at 6th and Broadway
Just a little place where people go
To have a quiet drink,
Listen to the band and think.
Maybe meet a friend…
When I wrote this, 50 years ago,
I was afraid it would seem like nothing happened.
BALI HI
Bali Hi, at 6th and Broadway
Just a little place where people go
To have a quiet drink,
Listen to the band and think.
Maybe meet a friend…
Candy Davis
James Michael Taylor A true classic. Deceptively simple, yet so many feelings in there: angst, loneliness, and hope, all rolled into one. Davis When I wrote this, 50 years ago, I was afraid it would seem like nothing happened. Thank you for being able to read between the lines.
When I wrote this, 50 years ago,
I was afraid it would seem like nothing happened.
BALI HI
Bali Hi, at 6th and Broadway
Just a little place where people go
To have a quiet drink,
Listen to the band and think.
Maybe meet a friend…
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
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
Matthew F. Blowers III I am really liking your song on California, I have a special love for that state. You captured all the reaons I miss it, with your superb storytelling in lyrics and with the smooth harmonies and extremely well played music. It has a catchy beat, and I listened to the very last note.
So today, for some reason I decided to read the words first.. Just the words. And found it an absolutely beautiful experience. The metaphors you use to describe great and cosmic plans and intentions of great societal achievement, contrasted with the lines that begin with, "BUT I dreamed we met for breakfast".... (the switch and the contrast is very powerful) what a tiny, common human thing: meeting over the sharing of food,. Then followed by, "I dreamed I held your hand"... human touch/connection, as though those two simple things are worth more than all the highest achievements of worldly fame, and material ladders climbed! Which they are. They so are. The rest of the lyrics continue to develop & express that idea beautifully. Then I listened to the sing, and although it is good as a song, For me, the words in themselves stand strong and impactful w/o anything else. Not to contrast them and say one is "better" than the other. Just that sometimes I see lyrics that stand alone, And just saying, these words do that very well. Gwyn Henry
My husband and I enjoyed that song thanks for the lyrics on Facebook.
Amazing song thank you for leaving the lyrics chords and that beautiful piano composition for us.
Glad to see that your spirit was not a victim of the virus.
short and sweet, i like it :)
Eerily simple and powerful
Good one! Sorry about Johnny. lol
Isn't that the truth, losing people every day.
Good one, I really like it!
I think we have all been there, really cute song!
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
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Naad Kaur Khalsa James Michael Taylor love your recordings...this one has me feeling very much like I'm ok...just keep going...write and post anyway...just keep being somehow.. .still...I would so much love to have some lovin
Bobby Huskins I like this a lot. Peace!
Lazarus Knight It's working now. YOU AND jEFF SOUNDED GREAT TOGAETHER! That is, is sounds like Jeff Prince with you.
Cheri Chandler Lovely sad song
Robert Hayden Amazing collection of like minded thoughts. Very well structured & synched to a Havana like beat. Well done sir
Cheri Chandler Lovely sad song
Good to hear the gang...after so long.
So, bright and clear...and, here in Cowtown, chilly. Good hearing your voice again.
Cheri Chandler James Michael Taylor that's so very sadly moving. A beautiful heart like yours to have remained locked away for so many years....
James Buchanan Sounds kinda Jimmy Dean or Tennessee Ernie.
Jess Edwards Great tune - catchy, upbeat, happy… Thank you
Terry Colquitt Love it! Bravo!
Sherra Leh Interestingly, I think if you were to re-release that album, it would do really well.
https://www.facebook.com/sherra.leh?comment_id=Y29tbWVudDo4ODc2NzQ2Mzk3MzYzNDFfMzA5MTExMzc4NjA3ODc0&__cft__[0]=AZVy7xwfH1ARwxjek9t_VigegEwUCokeUrOOguv2RfELhXANw4eYEOBzVAp3hIkrubJoIVOZ1P0Nx5poo6Dx_vpP0EfZeZ2u0mEP4z44PDtmiLnitkZDEhY8ecdLrvcTqZQtiJdHuO1iWkFVP7olzKUl&__tn__=R]-R
Candy Davis Your song made me feel as if I were walking past this sad man's broken, tattered life. I don't think I've ever listened to one of your songs without feeling deeply moved.
Damien Carroll Recorded in 1976? Sounds so fresh. Love the sentiment. I hear touches of Willie Nelson.
Keith Haas That was a cheap wine was it not? I think they were sipping 7 Up.
James Buchanan Almost Jim Croce
Candy Davis James Michael Taylor A true classic. Deceptively simple, yet so many feelings in there: angst, loneliness, and hope, all rolled into one. Davis When I wrote this, 50 years ago, I was afraid it would seem like nothing happened. Thank you for being able to read between the lines.
A true classic. Deceptively simple, yet so many feelings in there: angst, loneliness, and hope, all rolled into one. Candy Davis