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 took this bus trip from Forth Worth, Texas to Wheeling, West Virginia and on the way home I jumped off in Cincinnati and bought a ticket to Nashville... Lots of stuff happen when you are on a bus and in bus stations for over 60 hours.
Here…
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…
REMEMBERING BABE: I had NOT heard this one! I'm glad I insisted!!! Gotta be among the best of... my favs... I don't have to tell you, this is poetry. And your delivery... refreshingly original. In "stand up" readings, or "slam" poetry, there is a "style" of cadence that hearkens back to the Beats, and most poets fall into it, and it always annoyed the hell out of me. This is DRAMATIC ACTING, folks, c'mon! I
like the slow, unhurried, thoughtful way you spoke as the poem's Voice; how you mixed up the rhythm, unexpected hesitations, and rapid rushes. And esp the long pauses in unexpected places, as tho the Voice was thinking about the exact right word to use next to express what he wanted to say.
I've been trying to work on my delivery for my planned re-entry (after covid) into the local poetry reading community. It is terrible... isolation in quarantine can do that! So I've been practicing w/ video and putting music behind me for good measure.Anyway, I found some good tips here. Thank you. 🙂 I really love R.BABE The ending works really well, something that's sometimes difficult. Gwyn Henry
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…
".. you had me right off the bat--"Red Dirt" for me, classic Ok City area!; plus "honeysuckle dustbowl" (so beautiful) and "limestone lace" --each image is 2 completly different things contrasted to make a third. Lovely. Oklahoma evocative! " Gwyn Henry
(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
NO NEW LOVE
Ain't no new love like an old love in this town
Ain't no new love like an old love to take and turn my heart around
Stop it on a dime when you said that you'd be mine
Ain't no new love like an old love in my heart
Ain't no…
I had forgotten what a damn fine album this is! But... ??? 2005? Really? OMG... has it really been that long? Kinda makes the line... "Ain't no fool like an old fool" fit me even better than it did... sigh
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…
Pete Thompson on percussion and Angie Thompson on bass. Produced with Pete 123112
HAIRCUT
They sent me a letter. A ticket to ride
Portland to Frisco on that Big Overnight
Brand new clothes. New pants and new shirt
Brand new boots to kick…
Sweet, sweet, sweet, (except for the war and killing part). My fav lines: "...with those sulfurous clicks/
Little red rolls with black spots of bang" Never described better! That's exactly what they were. Gwyn Henry
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…
CATTAILS AND BUTTERFLIES capo @ 4 in C
C G repeat
There was a field around the corner
And a stream flowed cross the field
There were cat tails in the summer time
And monarch butterflies
And tadpoles sprouting wings
E…
DIRTY LAUNDRY Key C
I got a call from Russell. He had to move his junk
He’d filled his car. He’d filled his trunk
Big black bags of something. I said, “What’s with these?”
He said, “It’s dirty laundry.” I said, “That’s crazy.”
So, he…
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…
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…
DIRTY LAUNDRY Key C
I got a call from Russell. He had to move his junk
He’d filled his car. He’d filled his trunk
Big black bags of something. I said, “What’s with these?”
He said, “It’s dirty laundry.” I said, “That’s crazy.”
So, he…
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…
"Mending the web that the horsefly tore..." .what a line..what an image... I love that...really love that image...delicate and hopefull....and magical... Matthew
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…
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…
People are dying every day in the street
People are dying every day
People are dying every day in the street
Just for being people in the street
Peace, when's it coming, coming for the people in the street
Peace, you can sing it
Sing it for the…
THE WALK
I drove 400 miles that night
East of Dallas to Abilene
And the hopes that I held in my headlights
Were hopes like I'd never seen
She called me from work that afternoon
She said she'd be off about 2 AM
Said it would be nice…
Refuge into the imagination:
Is it crazy?
Is it survival?
Is desire to survive crazy?
THERE SHE WAS Key - G 102811
G
She'd been gone for three years now so he'd been on the road
Playing every truck stop bar and every song he…
Thanks for taking time to listen and comment, I'm sure you know how nice it is to get any kind of feed back. Once I got two comments on a song in one week, a song called THERE SHE WAS. A long story song. 6 minutes. Never dreamed I could actually commit it to memory, but I was so motivated by the feedback, I DID learn it and I've been singing it ever since. So, thanks, again.
THE WALK
I drove 400 miles that night
East of Dallas to Abilene
And the hopes that I held in my headlights
Were hopes like I'd never seen
She called me from work that afternoon
She said she'd be off about 2 AM
Said it would be nice…
Jim Farmer
I love that you let the quirky idea it's based on never take over your personal/conversational idea, yet you keep that quirky idea alive the entire song. You have a knack for writing very descriptive songs with twists like that.
THE WALK
I drove 400 miles that night
East of Dallas to Abilene
And the hopes that I held in my headlights
Were hopes like I'd never seen
She called me from work that afternoon
She said she'd be off about 2 AM
Said it would be nice…
THE WALK
I drove 400 miles that night
East of Dallas to Abilene
And the hopes that I held in my headlights
Were hopes like I'd never seen
She called me from work that afternoon
She said she'd be off about 2 AM
Said it would be nice…
Gramma's Shampoo
Gramma's shampoo is washing my hair
And I hope it will notice that gramma's not there
It's the kind that knows just what to do
Says it right there on the bottle, shampoo
"Automatically adjusts to your hair's cleansing needs…
Tim Tandy
Regarding that hair, I seem to recall a song where you're washing your hair with Mother's shampoo!
Tim Tandy
I stand corrected, it's Gramma. Great song!
Marian Brackney - My Favorite!
James Michael Taylor - MY FAVORITE was when you played violin with me.
Tim Tandy
Regarding that hair, I seem to recall a song where you're washing your hair with Mother's shampoo!Tim Tandy
I stand corrected, it's Gramma. Great song!
THE CHILD WITH THE BEAUTIFUL NAME
(The story is @ iburymydead.com)
What remains of an eagle that's fallen
The roots of an oak tree now claim
To draw sap for the shade for the cattle
O're the child with the beautiful name
The law, it…
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…
This song tells about a guy I know named Gene.
GENE
Gene had a girlfriend
The band would play and they would dance
She was tall and Gene was tall
A lovely late romance
They'd smile and hold each other
They'd sit and share a drink
Holding…
Key - G
Texas Water might be the only trio besides The Browns to do this song in the later part of the twentieth century. By Jacque Brel via the Browns.
Here it is by There Browns:
https://www.google.com/search?q=youtube+the+browns+three…
You are one of the most beautiful people I know. I love your soul. She was an amazing person too, and, yes, had a beautiful voice. Like Reply3m Active James Michael Taylor Lauryl Blossom Thank you for listening. When we sang together all the troubles of our life were forgotten. I love when people who weren't around back then listen to us sing. Our harmonies were as beautiful to us as they were to our listeners.
Key - G
Texas Water might be the only trio besides The Browns to do this song in the later part of the twentieth century. By Jacque Brel via the Browns.
Here it is by There Browns:
https://www.google.com/search?q=youtube+the+browns+three…
I wrote this one lonely afternoon in San Anselmo, California at my friend, Eric's house. Missing Peggy.
NIGHT TIME DREAMS
It's a long way to Texas. Further to Tennessee
I'm out here in California with nobody but me
So, I'm thinkin' about…
My daughter, Wyn, sings
a song I wrote in 1977
while I was doing a gig
at the Ramada Inn in
Laredo.
Harmonies are by her mother,
Barbara Anne Taylor and step
mother, Peggy Ann Mitchell.
The guitar solo and keys are
by my son, Rabyn…
(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…
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
I've heard a lot of your songs, but never this one that I can recall. Very powerful and touching lyrics. Ashley
😌🥰
Why did you puke? Sorry, in a song fully of details I guess I want another detail.
REMEMBERING BABE: I had NOT heard this one! I'm glad I insisted!!! Gotta be among the best of... my favs... I don't have to tell you, this is poetry. And your delivery... refreshingly original. In "stand up" readings, or "slam" poetry, there is a "style" of cadence that hearkens back to the Beats, and most poets fall into it, and it always annoyed the hell out of me. This is DRAMATIC ACTING, folks, c'mon! I like the slow, unhurried, thoughtful way you spoke as the poem's Voice; how you mixed up the rhythm, unexpected hesitations, and rapid rushes. And esp the long pauses in unexpected places, as tho the Voice was thinking about the exact right word to use next to express what he wanted to say. I've been trying to work on my delivery for my planned re-entry (after covid) into the local poetry reading community. It is terrible... isolation in quarantine can do that! So I've been practicing w/ video and putting music behind me for good measure.Anyway, I found some good tips here. Thank you. 🙂 I really love R.BABE The ending works really well, something that's sometimes difficult. Gwyn Henry
".. you had me right off the bat--"Red Dirt" for me, classic Ok City area!; plus "honeysuckle dustbowl" (so beautiful) and "limestone lace" --each image is 2 completly different things contrasted to make a third. Lovely. Oklahoma evocative! " Gwyn Henry
Love it. Always enjoy your work. Thank you.
I had forgotten what a damn fine album this is! But... ??? 2005? Really? OMG... has it really been that long? Kinda makes the line... "Ain't no fool like an old fool" fit me even better than it did... sigh
Beautiful - Laurie Calinan
Sweet, sweet, sweet, (except for the war and killing part). My fav lines: "...with those sulfurous clicks/ Little red rolls with black spots of bang" Never described better! That's exactly what they were. Gwyn Henry
beautiful, james
Yeah, cool track.
Beautiful - Laurie Callinan
Yep :)
I'll comment on this one :) ... mighty fine song.
Short and sweet!
Colleen Dillon (73.94.253.184) Love this entirely!
The harmonies on this are so awesome!
"Mending the web that the horsefly tore..." .what a line..what an image... I love that...really love that image...delicate and hopefull....and magical... Matthew
Beautiful beautiful song!! Kat Landrove
i like it, but i'd like to visualize a little more of this place. thanks, james for sharing these!!!
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Hey, Dude! You still out there?
Kat Angel Your dad sounds like a cool dude.
Robert White Beautiful Song James Michael Taylor! Like a Ballad! Thanks for Sharing!
Thanks for taking time to listen and comment, I'm sure you know how nice it is to get any kind of feed back. Once I got two comments on a song in one week, a song called THERE SHE WAS. A long story song. 6 minutes. Never dreamed I could actually commit it to memory, but I was so motivated by the feedback, I DID learn it and I've been singing it ever since. So, thanks, again.
Jim Farmer I love that you let the quirky idea it's based on never take over your personal/conversational idea, yet you keep that quirky idea alive the entire song. You have a knack for writing very descriptive songs with twists like that.
Oh it was my pleasure my talented insightful friend. Brent Wood
Love it - Brent Woods
Tim Tandy Regarding that hair, I seem to recall a song where you're washing your hair with Mother's shampoo! Tim Tandy I stand corrected, it's Gramma. Great song! Marian Brackney - My Favorite! James Michael Taylor - MY FAVORITE was when you played violin with me.
James Michael Taylor to Marion Brackney My favorite was when you played violin with me.
Tim Tandy Regarding that hair, I seem to recall a song where you're washing your hair with Mother's shampoo!Tim Tandy I stand corrected, it's Gramma. Great song!
Marian Brackney My Favorite!
Daniel Boling Such a heartbreaking and beautiful song. [FWIW, there's a fair bit of discrepancy between this recording and the accompanying text.]
Robert White Thanks James! I just sang that song with you! Easy Tune to Learn "California 3"
OH MY GOSH!!! That's really special!!! Isabelle Massimo
You are one of the most beautiful people I know. I love your soul. She was an amazing person too, and, yes, had a beautiful voice. Like Reply3m Active James Michael Taylor Lauryl Blossom Thank you for listening. When we sang together all the troubles of our life were forgotten. I love when people who weren't around back then listen to us sing. Our harmonies were as beautiful to us as they were to our listeners.
Lane Beauvais That's great! I was pleasantly surprised by the stealth modulation at the end!
Leslie Young James Michael Taylor Beautiful. I love the ladies that sound like bells.
Leslie Young James Michael Taylor Beautiful
Long time... Still great song. As snappy as it is funny.
FUCK! This rocks like a ton of granite. Long time since we exchanged comments. It's like old times.