THE BUDS AND BLOSSOMS
I've been meaning to write you a letter
But I did not know what I would say
I've been thinking about you and your new love
And wishing that there was a way...
And the buds and the blossoms remind me of you today…
This originated as a poem sent to me by Rose Kampton, morning the loss of her father. I turned it into a prayer and put music to it. Then when Brook drowned it became something altogether else.
(c) 1990 Royal T Muaic
This is a beautiful poem sung beautifully by Barbara. Barbara passed on during August 20, 2019. Barbara was no only an extremely intelligent individual, she was ever so sweet and compassionate...always willing to listen to and be there for others who were going through rough water.
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…
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…
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…
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 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…
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…
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…
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…
Probably anyone who plays the guitar could write this song....
Someone asked if I was actually in Spain in 2003. Actually, 2000. Working on the movie, THE STONE RAFT with George Sluizer, from a book by Jose Saramago.
Inspired by something Jenni…
MAN THAT I AM - Key Dm
Dm
Train pulls out the station and the shades are all drawn
Cold steel bites my ankles and I am on my way home
G
I would jump out of that window. Risk a bullet in my back
Dm
But I'm shackled to a bunk…
This is amazing. I love this song. I was born in 1961 and was aware of the war as a child. It was a big world lesson for a little mind that if you were a young guy you would be forced to fight and die in a country on the other side of the world, and I saw this on the same tv I saw the GI Joe doll ads aimed at little boys. Later as a teen I had the vision of the guys on stage thrashing out the rock & roll and punk, the living spirits of the dead boys, armed with guitars and drums and skill and rage. Thanks for writing this song. It has a fine groove.
This is a Rick Babb song.
Hey! What's that sound
You're not around
The silence makes me see
Just what you meant to me
It's quiet tonight
Ah, you're not coming back
You drove away
I watched you pack
I can't hear a thing
But the sound…
My last post tonight I promise! Here is the link to the video of James Michael Taylor and Sam The Lion - Shipping & Receiving 06/14/19 LIVE on YouTube PLEASE, somebody else watch this video and either confirm my belief SAM THE LION can own whatever song they want... or tell me I'm full of... ahhh... stuff... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRbr9wj71Nw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1a3LFyCzsLpCKu22Szezh220UAsmbq7vMacCVx1lC3GJl1jZWljQnsyLQ
A song that Rick Babb started and I helped finish. (He brought me the first verse and the chorus and the music.)
HERE COMES LONELY
Ronnie says it's over but I don't believe
I'm not willing to give up I'm not willing to see She's made up…
HEY! I just had a GREAT idea! Hey... SAM THE LION... hey, you guys... hey, you, SAM THE LION guys... I watched the video of you guys doing your set of JMT songs... you had JMT on stage with you... (LOVED IT!) How about this... DO THIS SONG !! And have BOTH JMT and Rick Babb on stage with you! Maybe also do "Quiet Tonight" ??? Hmmm... start strong with HCLonely and then go softer with QT ??? Or... maybe start soft with QT and then break out strong with HCL ??? Hmmm... which way... which way... What a nice decision to have to make! BUT MAY I SUGGEST... do them... either, both, or all of them... as SAM THE LION songs! Do NOT simply "cover" the Babb/Taylor versions... own the songs. (that is... "own the songs" period... end of sentence!) I watched you SAM THE LION guys play on that "Songs of JMT" video... and after watching it, it is my firm belief... you guys can "own" any damn song you want!
A song that Rick Babb started and I helped finish. (He brought me the first verse and the chorus and the music.)
HERE COMES LONELY
Ronnie says it's over but I don't believe
I'm not willing to give up I'm not willing to see She's made up…
This is a Rick Babb song.
Hey! What's that sound
You're not around
The silence makes me see
Just what you meant to me
It's quiet tonight
Ah, you're not coming back
You drove away
I watched you pack
I can't hear a thing
But the sound…
Yes, this is a great song. When I was allowed the honor of choosing my own "Best Of JMT" collection, I am proud to say... in that collection, I included another great Rick Babb song... "Here Comes Lonely" You know, Jimmy... I think I have a CD... someplace, in some drawer or box... tossed in with my collection of JMT "Works In Progress" and my collection of... "Hey, JohnQ, here is new song I'm working on!" CD's... well, that CD I am thinking of... I believe it is called... something like... Babb-ylon... ??? Maybe even a Babb-ylon II... ??? Think I'll go look... see if I can find it... see if I can find them...
The Winnowing Wind
I feel the wind blow thru me
Oh, please don't let it undo me
Let it level and true me
The Wind. The Winnowing Wind
And here I stand, alone, against the wind,
And, who am I to think that I
Can stand alone against the…
The Winnowing Wind
I feel the wind blow thru me
Oh, please don't let it undo me
Let it level and true me
The Wind. The Winnowing Wind
And here I stand, alone, against the wind,
And, who am I to think that I
Can stand alone against the…
The Winnowing Wind
I feel the wind blow thru me
Oh, please don't let it undo me
Let it level and true me
The Wind. The Winnowing Wind
And here I stand, alone, against the wind,
And, who am I to think that I
Can stand alone against the…
I love the way this song moves the chords fluidly, appropriate to the subject. Very pretty! And I have felt the winds of change blow through me, as well as atmospheric winds, so I like the metaphor.
Gwyn Henry said, "How random, Jim! What precipitated this sharing??? Don't get me wrong, it is very funny.
My reply, "This was about when Peggy, my fuck buddy for 29 years said no more for me. She was giving it to Doug. Not funny to me. So 15 years celebate."
I'M A STRANGER TO ME - capo @ 3 playing in C
I'm a stranger to me
I make the bed where I sleep
I cook the food that I eat
I fold the towel that dries
The tears in my eyes
I'm a stranger to me
I'm a stranger to me
Every morning we meet…
I randomly chose an old album to pick a song from to post and it turned out to be songs one year after Peggy left. I was at my lowest, loneliest, most unconsolable. STRANGER was a song that also spoke to me about my dad having lost my mom. to Gwyn Henry
THE ONLY THINGS
Any road that leads to somewhere
Any thought that comes to mind
Any sight on the horizon
Any friend that's left behind
Any meal that's ever eaten
Any quilt that's ever lined
Any concert that is set thru
Any document that…
"Somewhere between the stumbling and the falling..."
SOMEWHERE
G capo @ 2 - live @ 4
Somewhere between the summer and the winter
The leaves between the tree tops and the fall
Somewhere between my heart and circled letters
Somewhere…
It’s a small town. Woodlake, California. East side of the San Joaquin Valley. 14 miles from where all those “Lindsey” olives you see on your grocery store shelves come from. The Woodlake Echo, says, “In the foothills of the Sequoias”.
FOOTHILLS…
Scott - Thanks for the link. I love how descripted they were i never have smelled the orange blossoms but i bet they are heavenly.
Me -The first time it hit me, I was taking Kay Smart for a ride, top down just west of that bridge at Lemon cove. Nothing else like it.
Scott -
Enter
Scott
Scott Carson Ausburn
I bet ; ) Nothing like smell to jog your memories. I usta be in love with this girl named Belinda that lived up the street from my Grandmothers. We would go bicycle riding often. Her front yard had plum trees that smelled heavenly when the were in bloom. Now every time i smell a plum tree bloom it takes me back to the good times i had with Belinda and wondering what ever happened to her.
Me -So sweet. Peggy wore Sweet Honesty perfume. I’m sure if I met some girl with that I would be shaken.
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…
I have a video called THE BROKE PIANO on line at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JON_poM_sdY
Ironically, it does not include this song.
Key D
D (figure is D D sus, D D sus)
I am a BROKE PIANO. Got no damper and no keys
G…
Gwyn Henry
I go farther and farther into my appreciation of you songwriting skills... lyrics poetic... ex Broke Piano.. The line that got me this time was "The only things that moves my strings is when somebody breathes" I once interviewed a popular musician in Tulsa, John D.Levan, in the late 70s. When I asked him where he got his ideas for songs, he laughed and said, "Heck, you just turn your head, and thre's a song!" Your line is saying the same, only more intensely... it's the inclusion of "human breath". goes even deeper.
I have a video called THE BROKE PIANO on line at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JON_poM_sdY
Ironically, it does not include this song.
Key D
D (figure is D D sus, D D sus)
I am a BROKE PIANO. Got no damper and no keys
G…
Gwyn Henry
That one would be my fav of all I have seen! They are all great, but my fav... will never forget you underneath that (was it a piano bed?) So many metaphors played into that... and don't we all just want to revert to childhood at times and go hide under the bed, take a crayon, etc.
jmt - You are broadening my vision of the video. Yes. Under the bed was always a place of mystery and imagined safety.
I have a video called THE BROKE PIANO on line at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JON_poM_sdY
Ironically, it does not include this song.
Key D
D (figure is D D sus, D D sus)
I am a BROKE PIANO. Got no damper and no keys
G…
Gwyn Henry
That one would be my fav of all I have seen! They are all great, but my fav... will never forget you underneath that (was it a piano bed?) So many metaphors played into that... and don't we all just want to revert to childhood at times and go hide uner the bed, take a crayon, etc.
key - C
I’m clinging to the memories as the world falls apart
The falling leaves, dead Everleys are pulling at my heart.
My quest for rationality, I can’t even start.
So, I’m clinging to the memories as the world falls apart
I’m clinging…
One day I was up on my ladder, cleaning the leaves out of the gutters when I realized why I was there, doing that.
YOUR VOICE
I hear your voice and I go get my ladder
I pull on my gloves. I climb up to the gutters
When the leaves gather…
Kat Angel
Wow! Through your words, I heard my mother, my father, my sisters and brother, my grandma and grandpa, myself talking to my husband, my best friend. I suppose we are all that predictable in time and in retrospect. You made me think and travel through time.
SOMETHING ABOUT THE NIGHT TIME - no Capo or Capo @ 4
(Am)Something about the (Bm)night time makes me feel alive
Makes me want to sing a song. Think about my life
(C)Maybe light a (D)candle. I like lemon grass
(Am)Something about the (Bm…
One day I was up on my ladder, cleaning the leaves out of the gutters when I realized why I was there, doing that.
YOUR VOICE
I hear your voice and I go get my ladder
I pull on my gloves. I climb up to the gutters
When the leaves gather…
One day I was up on my ladder, cleaning the leaves out of the gutters when I realized why I was there, doing that.
YOUR VOICE
I hear your voice and I go get my ladder
I pull on my gloves. I climb up to the gutters
When the leaves gather…
Belinda Stephens - Lovely, James. Who are you singing about?
James Michael Taylor
Belinda Stephens Specifically, Peggy. But we all have the voices of our parents and children and other loved ones that we live with.
One day I was up on my ladder, cleaning the leaves out of the gutters when I realized why I was there, doing that.
YOUR VOICE
I hear your voice and I go get my ladder
I pull on my gloves. I climb up to the gutters
When the leaves gather…
My motto is INWARD THRU THE FOG. One day about a month ago, Laura 'Taylor' Whitfield told me I should, "write that song." Thinking back on a fog-bound night in California, I wrote it. Norman Pilcher, a friend from Texas, and I were headed north…
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
Beautiful song
This is a beautiful poem sung beautifully by Barbara. Barbara passed on during August 20, 2019. Barbara was no only an extremely intelligent individual, she was ever so sweet and compassionate...always willing to listen to and be there for others who were going through rough water.
This is exquisite Michael. I HAD NEVER HEARD WYN SING...DIDN'T KNOW SHE COULD EVEN AND RABYN'S PLAYING...ALL BEAUTIFUL ...PERFECT.
Beautiful lovethis song
Beautiful song,love it.
Life is full of "feathers in the wind." Another bright star in the night sky.
So beautiful!
Beautiful. Did you write this when your child slipped into eternity?
Fantastic!
Amazing and beautiful!
Beautiful. My dear friend 💛
Funny
This is amazing. I love this song. I was born in 1961 and was aware of the war as a child. It was a big world lesson for a little mind that if you were a young guy you would be forced to fight and die in a country on the other side of the world, and I saw this on the same tv I saw the GI Joe doll ads aimed at little boys. Later as a teen I had the vision of the guys on stage thrashing out the rock & roll and punk, the living spirits of the dead boys, armed with guitars and drums and skill and rage. Thanks for writing this song. It has a fine groove.
My last post tonight I promise! Here is the link to the video of James Michael Taylor and Sam The Lion - Shipping & Receiving 06/14/19 LIVE on YouTube PLEASE, somebody else watch this video and either confirm my belief SAM THE LION can own whatever song they want... or tell me I'm full of... ahhh... stuff... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRbr9wj71Nw&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1a3LFyCzsLpCKu22Szezh220UAsmbq7vMacCVx1lC3GJl1jZWljQnsyLQ
HEY! I just had a GREAT idea! Hey... SAM THE LION... hey, you guys... hey, you, SAM THE LION guys... I watched the video of you guys doing your set of JMT songs... you had JMT on stage with you... (LOVED IT!) How about this... DO THIS SONG !! And have BOTH JMT and Rick Babb on stage with you! Maybe also do "Quiet Tonight" ??? Hmmm... start strong with HCLonely and then go softer with QT ??? Or... maybe start soft with QT and then break out strong with HCL ??? Hmmm... which way... which way... What a nice decision to have to make! BUT MAY I SUGGEST... do them... either, both, or all of them... as SAM THE LION songs! Do NOT simply "cover" the Babb/Taylor versions... own the songs. (that is... "own the songs" period... end of sentence!) I watched you SAM THE LION guys play on that "Songs of JMT" video... and after watching it, it is my firm belief... you guys can "own" any damn song you want!
Here is ANOTHER great Rick Babb song!
Yes, this is a great song. When I was allowed the honor of choosing my own "Best Of JMT" collection, I am proud to say... in that collection, I included another great Rick Babb song... "Here Comes Lonely" You know, Jimmy... I think I have a CD... someplace, in some drawer or box... tossed in with my collection of JMT "Works In Progress" and my collection of... "Hey, JohnQ, here is new song I'm working on!" CD's... well, that CD I am thinking of... I believe it is called... something like... Babb-ylon... ??? Maybe even a Babb-ylon II... ??? Think I'll go look... see if I can find it... see if I can find them...
Very nice! I like the way you’ve composed this song; it is musically expressive of the central metaphor. Jenni Mansfield Peal
Wow! Beautiful lyrics and accompanying music.
I love the way this song moves the chords fluidly, appropriate to the subject. Very pretty! And I have felt the winds of change blow through me, as well as atmospheric winds, so I like the metaphor.
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
It would be cool to put the GHOST TOWN songs in a collection. A great subject with so much sadness... You really capture it here.
Gwyn Henry said, "How random, Jim! What precipitated this sharing??? Don't get me wrong, it is very funny. My reply, "This was about when Peggy, my fuck buddy for 29 years said no more for me. She was giving it to Doug. Not funny to me. So 15 years celebate."
I randomly chose an old album to pick a song from to post and it turned out to be songs one year after Peggy left. I was at my lowest, loneliest, most unconsolable. STRANGER was a song that also spoke to me about my dad having lost my mom. to Gwyn Henry
I also like These are the Only Times I Think of You... You are so prolific and so consistent in quality of work. Gwyn Henry
WoW! What an interesting counterpoint: slow recitation with snappy drum track.
Really snappy and tight. What an interesting lyric.
That pain is incredible and I understand it Alene Brandt
Scott - Thanks for the link. I love how descripted they were i never have smelled the orange blossoms but i bet they are heavenly. Me -The first time it hit me, I was taking Kay Smart for a ride, top down just west of that bridge at Lemon cove. Nothing else like it. Scott - Enter Scott Scott Carson Ausburn I bet ; ) Nothing like smell to jog your memories. I usta be in love with this girl named Belinda that lived up the street from my Grandmothers. We would go bicycle riding often. Her front yard had plum trees that smelled heavenly when the were in bloom. Now every time i smell a plum tree bloom it takes me back to the good times i had with Belinda and wondering what ever happened to her. Me -So sweet. Peggy wore Sweet Honesty perfume. I’m sure if I met some girl with that I would be shaken.
I sang this song at a Sunday night songwriter contest at The Playground in Fort Worth. No cigar.
Gwyn Henry I go farther and farther into my appreciation of you songwriting skills... lyrics poetic... ex Broke Piano.. The line that got me this time was "The only things that moves my strings is when somebody breathes" I once interviewed a popular musician in Tulsa, John D.Levan, in the late 70s. When I asked him where he got his ideas for songs, he laughed and said, "Heck, you just turn your head, and thre's a song!" Your line is saying the same, only more intensely... it's the inclusion of "human breath". goes even deeper.
Gwyn Henry That one would be my fav of all I have seen! They are all great, but my fav... will never forget you underneath that (was it a piano bed?) So many metaphors played into that... and don't we all just want to revert to childhood at times and go hide under the bed, take a crayon, etc. jmt - You are broadening my vision of the video. Yes. Under the bed was always a place of mystery and imagined safety.
Gwyn Henry That one would be my fav of all I have seen! They are all great, but my fav... will never forget you underneath that (was it a piano bed?) So many metaphors played into that... and don't we all just want to revert to childhood at times and go hide uner the bed, take a crayon, etc.
Bobby Huskins I like this a lot! Thanks for sharing.
Kat Angel Psychedelic sound. Felt like a brain massage.
Kat Angel Wow! Through your words, I heard my mother, my father, my sisters and brother, my grandma and grandpa, myself talking to my husband, my best friend. I suppose we are all that predictable in time and in retrospect. You made me think and travel through time.
Kat Angel James Michael Taylor great song. I love the melody and the words
Joseph Brunelle Haunting Sentimental heart on the sleeve and knot in the pine
Belinda Stephens - Lovely, James. Who are you singing about? James Michael Taylor Belinda Stephens Specifically, Peggy. But we all have the voices of our parents and children and other loved ones that we live with.
David Young Wow! Beautiful song! One of your best.
Leslie Young Evocative song.