My buddy Lu Mitchell went the way of a song yesterday...
Sad.
MISSING LU
I will miss you, now that you’re gone
I will miss you, as I carry on
I held your hand up a step or two
Now I will miss you. I will miss you
There are those who…
YOU
There's a place in my mind
Where your face had a home
Long before you walked into my life
Before you were a known
There's a note in my song
That I knew fit somewhere
Tho the journey was long
I hoped i wouldn't be wrong
You would…
This is one of the VERY best songs I have EVER heard. And I do NOT mean it is one of the very best JMT songs I have ever heard... I MEAN it is one of the very best songs I have heard... EVER... period! And this is one of the VERY best albums that I have EVER owned! And I am 64 damn years old! So I have owned a lot of very damn good albums! As a 64 year old Baby boomer, I have heard a lot of very very good songs and a lot of very good albums... and still... this song still makes me cry. Thank you, so very very much, James Michael Taylor, for your music! Your music has meant a lot to me in my Life!
I have a new love
Of course she doesn’t know
How can a work of art
Know when lovers come and go
And when the artist is the art!
My eyes are the eyes of the beholder
And my eyes are the eyes of the world…
…when the artist is the art…
Jackie Kelly sat next to me in 7th grade. She was great at diagramming sentences. I would catch up with her on the way to school and we would walk silently. She was buck-toothed and brash. I really liked her. I carved "JK" with a safety pin in…
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…
Hey, James Michael Taylor, after I listened to your song, and wrote my praise of it, I couldn't get back on Facebook.....couldn't get it to open my page. It's that mass shooting in New Zealand has them freaked out, double checking every post. That murderer just killed all those people in our homes on Facebook. If we don't stop them, we probably won't survive in more ways than we can count.
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…
This is authentic, deep Texas traditional, story telling song writing. Damned hard to do this well.
Good critique by: Estra (Estrella) Berosini, aka: "Estrella, Circus Girl."
IZZY
She had a Martin guitar and an old Ghost pedal
I could tell by the way she banged that thing
she’d been brought up on metal
She was finding her sound. All ninety five pounds
With an attitude that said, “Dude!
You’ll be seeing me…
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…
THAT CLOSE TO CRYING - a Waltz in G
I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time.
Just the mention of TOGETHER AGAIN
and I cross that line
But lately I'm learning to act/look like I'm fine
But, I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time
I'm THAT…
THAT CLOSE TO CRYING - a Waltz in G
I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time.
Just the mention of TOGETHER AGAIN
and I cross that line
But lately I'm learning to act/look like I'm fine
But, I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time
I'm THAT…
THAT CLOSE TO CRYING - a Waltz in G
I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time.
Just the mention of TOGETHER AGAIN
and I cross that line
But lately I'm learning to act/look like I'm fine
But, I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time
I'm THAT…
THAT CLOSE TO CRYING - a Waltz in G
I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time.
Just the mention of TOGETHER AGAIN
and I cross that line
But lately I'm learning to act/look like I'm fine
But, I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time
I'm THAT…
THAT CLOSE TO CRYING - a Waltz in G
I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time.
Just the mention of TOGETHER AGAIN
and I cross that line
But lately I'm learning to act/look like I'm fine
But, I'm THAT CLOSE TO CRYING all the time
I'm THAT…
FOR A PENNY
From the moment Toy saw the light
he was the center of attention.
In a room full of sunlight and 'Welcome,"
he was a new dimension.
Tiny traveler, arriving wet
Peggy hardly breaking a sweat
Toy was born in the middle of the…
FOR A PENNY
From the moment Toy saw the light
he was the center of attention.
In a room full of sunlight and 'Welcome,"
he was a new dimension.
Tiny traveler, arriving wet
Peggy hardly breaking a sweat
Toy was born in the middle of the…
It was early in November
I'd been doing some Time Out
Some little thing I was doing
Made my mom and daddy shout
I could see that they were angry
And I knew without a doubt
I have a new love
Of course she doesn’t know
How can a work of art
Know when lovers come and go
And when the artist is the art!
My eyes are the eyes of the beholder
And my eyes are the eyes of the world…
…when the artist is the art…
Some people have someone to hold them when they are lonely
Some people have someone to call their one and only
Some folks miss the boat, or get a boat that won’t float
Or get a goat that eats their grass
Some people have someone to call their…
C w Capo @ 5
C G C G
Thirty one years in this city.
C G C G
Thirty one years on this street
Fighting in the morning. Fighting at night.
This place has the smell of defeat…
Walking alone in late February
Thinking on friends I’d lost
John and Sean and Christopher
Ryan, Ian, and Mark
Some of them fell to fever and drink
Some to women or song
One of them made it to the good life
But all of them are gone
All…
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.
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
A beautiful tribute, James. We miss you too!! Jerry Lobdill
This is one of the VERY best songs I have EVER heard. And I do NOT mean it is one of the very best JMT songs I have ever heard... I MEAN it is one of the very best songs I have heard... EVER... period! And this is one of the VERY best albums that I have EVER owned! And I am 64 damn years old! So I have owned a lot of very damn good albums! As a 64 year old Baby boomer, I have heard a lot of very very good songs and a lot of very good albums... and still... this song still makes me cry. Thank you, so very very much, James Michael Taylor, for your music! Your music has meant a lot to me in my Life!
Yes, It made me stop and think.
You have a great style, very distinctive. A complete story in less than 3 minutes.
Hey, James Michael Taylor, after I listened to your song, and wrote my praise of it, I couldn't get back on Facebook.....couldn't get it to open my page. It's that mass shooting in New Zealand has them freaked out, double checking every post. That murderer just killed all those people in our homes on Facebook. If we don't stop them, we probably won't survive in more ways than we can count.
This is authentic, deep Texas traditional, story telling song writing. Damned hard to do this well. Good critique by: Estra (Estrella) Berosini, aka: "Estrella, Circus Girl."
Brilliant,JT - swafo
Sad content
now I am crying, haven't worked out how not to do it
No reason to cry but for the happiness lost. Think of the happiness again.....
Lovely
Me too, I do.
Really nice. I'm that close to crying myself. Hang in there!
Outstanding! kc
Always a little deeper. Thanks!
It was early in November I'd been doing some Time Out Some little thing I was doing Made my mom and daddy shout I could see that they were angry And I knew without a doubt
wonderful vocal work.
heck yeah
HAHAHAHAHAHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!
This is a song written by a friend.
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Great groove...
Such pathos. We could collect all the Ghost Town songs on Alonetone and have a very interesting album.
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.