In the corner stands a guitar that plays only sad songs
Give me when a friend lost his wife
And this fine leather jacket came in a package
The day after he took his own life
In a bar down in Austin, he was drinkin' and boastin'
This ring…
Jimmy, this song reminds me, what great lyrics you can slip into your songs/albums! AND I had forgotten how much I like this song/album. Thanks for reminding me about it. JQ
I was in Spain, in the Pyrenees, working on THE STONE RAFT. I was the only American, read, "English speaker." I was feeling very alone.
SOLITARY WALK Am
INTRO Am F Am F
Am (walking down) G F G
Tho I follow in the footprints of my friends…
Yesterday afternoon, I received my copy of... The Stone Raft, the English translation of a novel by Portuguese writer José Saramago, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature in 1998. A Spanish-language film based on the book, La Balsa de Piedra, was released in 2002 by George Sluizer; see JMT intro above. This is a great JMT song... the lyrics of this song, represent well, the true genius JMT has with words! What absolutely great lyrics!
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
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…
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…
Damn, Jimmy! I am not sure what to make of this song! I really... REALLY... like this song very much! The story makes me feel "sad" ...and yet I find this song quite... ??? ..."pleasing" ??? WELL, It doesn't matter! EVEN IF I do not understand why... the fact remains... I LIKE THIS SONG! And I agree with what Jeff wrote below in COMMENTS... AND I REALLY agree with Violet!
CALIFORNIA
Capo @ 4 in Am
I (Am) come from California
With a banjo on my (E) knee
(Am, stepping down)
I was off to college in Oklahoma
Where I (E) studied (Am) Christianity
I’m going back to California
A little place in the San Joaquin…
WITHOUT THINKING
capo @ 3 in C
C I do things without E thinking
Am (walk down) I admit it's true
But I do C nothing without G thinking about C you
Am I turn a corner
Em I pump some gas
F I fold a pillow case
C I wash a G glass
I stand…
Jimmy, I like this one. You mentioned the other day, that you might consider adding some cello to one of your new songs... ??? This version is only 2:09... seems to me... there might be plenty of room for a few bars of cello instrumental to float around between the words! But you know me... I have often mentioned to you, how good some of your instrumentals really are... and I have often thought that you, yourself, under appreciate yourself... when it comes to your own instrumentals. Good song... JohnQ
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…
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…
TEJAS
Capo @ 2 in C
I met a girl. Her name was Tejas
Shrimping south of Texas City
In her eyes I could see chaos
In her voice I heard confetti
In her purse I found the lip gloss
She bought in New York City
When she jumped I felt such…
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 love that...reading and listening to it..!
Love the sounds...i can feel the amercan poet in the music...and the vocal sound is really full...
That song just makes me want to buy an old guitar....i keep lookin in the second hand stores around here...but theres no guitars...i dream that someday i’ll walk into anthony o hallorans second hand / antique shop, and there’ll be some old gem of a six string , archtop maybe, or a rusty old tele...full of mojo...waiting there for me to find...! I check every time im passing his place....i think i’ll never stop waiting....
But yes...thats a great track....you should send that out to dream guitars shop...in ashville....paul huemiller owns it....or some such shop....i bet one of those places would love that song for a website....im doin my website at the mo....id love to put that track on my instruments page...!
Then people could send pics of the old guitars they bought and i could post those pics too...wouldnt that be a bit of craic....fun...we all buy guitars....a choir of guitar pickers could sing it....we buy guitars..✌️
Also...i never saw the link between telescopes amd guitars before....but i do now...its a cold night here...and a clear sky full of stars....Matt
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…
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…
Barbara Anne Taylor sings.
Que Paso capo @ 5 in G
Am/G x3
G G bass Em Am bass G bass F#
The man on the radio said we are falling apart
Am bass G bass F# G
Falling apart…
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
Jimmy, this song reminds me, what great lyrics you can slip into your songs/albums! AND I had forgotten how much I like this song/album. Thanks for reminding me about it. JQ
Yesterday afternoon, I received my copy of... The Stone Raft, the English translation of a novel by Portuguese writer José Saramago, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in Literature in 1998. A Spanish-language film based on the book, La Balsa de Piedra, was released in 2002 by George Sluizer; see JMT intro above. This is a great JMT song... the lyrics of this song, represent well, the true genius JMT has with words! What absolutely great lyrics!
"Where the moon on the beach pushes time out of reach" That's Poetry!
Very catchy
I love it! 26 seconds long to convey a complete thought.
Damn, Jimmy! I am not sure what to make of this song! I really... REALLY... like this song very much! The story makes me feel "sad" ...and yet I find this song quite... ??? ..."pleasing" ??? WELL, It doesn't matter! EVEN IF I do not understand why... the fact remains... I LIKE THIS SONG! And I agree with what Jeff wrote below in COMMENTS... AND I REALLY agree with Violet!
Jimmy... I like this one, too! I like it a lot!
Jimmy, I like this one. You mentioned the other day, that you might consider adding some cello to one of your new songs... ??? This version is only 2:09... seems to me... there might be plenty of room for a few bars of cello instrumental to float around between the words! But you know me... I have often mentioned to you, how good some of your instrumentals really are... and I have often thought that you, yourself, under appreciate yourself... when it comes to your own instrumentals. Good song... JohnQ
The lyrics are so descriptive and visual, such as the lipstick from NYC. Did you read about a suicide or make up the song from scratch? Jeff P
"Your songs are so heartbreaking sometimes. I love it. Don't change a thing." Violet
Thank you for sharing
I love that...reading and listening to it..! Love the sounds...i can feel the amercan poet in the music...and the vocal sound is really full... That song just makes me want to buy an old guitar....i keep lookin in the second hand stores around here...but theres no guitars...i dream that someday i’ll walk into anthony o hallorans second hand / antique shop, and there’ll be some old gem of a six string , archtop maybe, or a rusty old tele...full of mojo...waiting there for me to find...! I check every time im passing his place....i think i’ll never stop waiting.... But yes...thats a great track....you should send that out to dream guitars shop...in ashville....paul huemiller owns it....or some such shop....i bet one of those places would love that song for a website....im doin my website at the mo....id love to put that track on my instruments page...! Then people could send pics of the old guitars they bought and i could post those pics too...wouldnt that be a bit of craic....fun...we all buy guitars....a choir of guitar pickers could sing it....we buy guitars..✌️ Also...i never saw the link between telescopes amd guitars before....but i do now...its a cold night here...and a clear sky full of stars....Matt
Cool song, well written, vivid, and fun with a wicked twist at the end.
i buy guitars....i can't play them properly .... but i buy guitars too
Excellente
Really great track!!!!
What a gorgeous voice Barbara had and what a touching song. John O'Malley
soundtrack to riding in the West Texas desert with the top down?
A bit of a departure from your usual reflective messaging. This one is a real toe tapper.
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.