SOLITARY WALK
I am a child of Judah
and the mark of Cain is on me
I am a fugitive in every place I go.
and my name is Joseph Friedman
and I tend the olive orchards
on a hillside just a short walk from my home.
There, the silver trunks…
I am a child of Judah
and the mark of Cain is on me
I am a fugitive in every place I go.
and my name is Joseph Friedman
and I tend the olive orchards
on a hillside just a short walk from my home.
There, the silver trunks are ancient
and the olive branches fruitful
but the breeze that shakes the leaves
still low, "Where is God? Where is God?"
I am a child of Esau. I am Ali Abed.
I once lived...olives near my home.
I would prune the trees in winter
when the sap sinks deep in Gaza
and the children won't be throwing their stones
But the soldiers came at midnight
with their power saws remarking
and now the sap has nowhere left to go.
Where is God/ Where is God?
My name is Jimmy Taylor
and I am a Future Farmer
and my project is nine trees out by the road.
and the trees have been neglected
all these many years untended
a home now for a solitary crow.
So, I climb with my saw and clippers
up into the brittle thicket
busy choosing what will stay and what will go.
And I note my meter progress
and I wonder if I'll ever
rid the olive trees of dead wood,
I'm so slow. And I read the Sunday paper
and I daily read my Bible
and I see the scars of pruning down below.
(c) 2002 Royal T Music
was a Texan.
Quannah Parker was the son born to Cynthia Parker, a white girl, stolen by Comanche raiders who grew up to be the wife of the chief. Quannah, in turn became the leader of his tribe. Eventually, Cynthia returned to her people. This…
was a Texan.
Quannah Parker was the son born to Cynthia Parker, a white girl, stolen by Comanche raiders who grew up to be the wife of the chief. Quannah, in turn became the leader of his tribe. Eventually, Cynthia returned to her people. This…
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…
THE DUST ON THE PIANO
Capo at 2 in Dm
Dm C (2) or Em D
He used to play piano because it made her smile
Dm C (2)
She could be in any room. He'd sit and play a while
F C Bb (G)Dm or G D C Em
He didn't need to see her. He knew she loved…
Born with my left arm over my head, a big blood blister covered my left elbow. I was extracted from my mother's body with forceps. Seems that caused a tumor on my right temple which was surgically removed when I was about three. The purple elbow…
Born with my left arm over my head, a big blood blister covered my left elbow. I was extracted from my mother's body with forceps. Seems that caused a tumor on my right temple which was surgically removed when I was about three. The purple elbow…
Dogs, cats, chickens, hamsters, human beings...it's all the same.
THE POUND
Thank you for coming to the pound
Take your time. Look around.
We’ve got something for everyone,
Someone for everyone.
Thank you for coming to the pound…
LANCASTER STREET
Midnight in Cowtown. 90 degrees
Too hot for a blanket. Too hot for a sheet
The trash on the sidewalk is trying to sleep
Breathing the bus fumes on Lancaster Street
Sunshine brings tacos. Sunshine brings beans.
Sunshine…
LANCASTER STREET
Midnight in Cowtown. 90 degrees
Too hot for a blanket. Too hot for a sheet
The trash on the sidewalk is trying to sleep
Breathing the bus fumes on Lancaster Street
Sunshine brings tacos. Sunshine brings beans.
Sunshine…
Yeah, very nice! Everything is given proper space to "breathe", so to speak. Really draws me in in that intangible sort of way that music sometimes does.
LANCASTER STREET
Midnight in Cowtown. 90 degrees
Too hot for a blanket. Too hot for a sheet
The trash on the sidewalk is trying to sleep
Breathing the bus fumes on Lancaster Street
Sunshine brings tacos. Sunshine brings beans.
Sunshine…
After reading the book: The Immortal Life of Henryetta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot. Google HeLa cells and you'll get the whole story. The most famous cell line EVER.
RUN HeLa RUN
Her name was Henryetta Lacks but she never knew
Her family finally…
My friend, George Sluizer was making a film DARK BLOOD with River Phoenix and asked me to submit some music to possibly be used in the movie. He didn’t end up using this but he did use four other of my submissions.
(C) 2015 Royal T Music
My friend, George Sluizer was making a film with River Phoenix and asked me to submit some music to possibly be used in the movie. He didn't end up sing this but he did use four other of my submissions.
THE CIRCLE OF NO REGRETS Key C
Capo @ 3
VIDEO - https://www.facebook.com/reel/629088762494393
https://fb.watch/lQdzfYTriA/
https://www.facebook.com/100007692130538/videos/122358790913196/. With Martha - practice
C. F. C…
THE CIRCLE OF NO REGRETS Key C
Capo @ 3
VIDEO - https://www.facebook.com/reel/629088762494393
https://fb.watch/lQdzfYTriA/
https://www.facebook.com/100007692130538/videos/122358790913196/. With Martha - practice
C. F. C…
LEAVING - Am
Am - He trembles like a Tamborine
Dm - His thoughts in words adorned
E - She puts her fingers to his lips
Am - Sufficiently informed
She knows a primal language
That answers all his fears
And in the silent darkness
She…
LEAVING - Am
Am - He trembles like a Tamborine
Dm - His thoughts in words adorned
E - She puts her fingers to his lips
Am - Sufficiently informed
She knows a primal language
That answers all his fears
And in the silent darkness
She…
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…
One of my favorites of yours of all I've heard, Jim. Melody is so pretty and chord changes unusual. Guitar intro, so pretty, as is the whole song. Sweet story, and sweet song. I can relate to the adult child who wonders at her/his mother's girlhood love.
THE INAPPROPRIATE QUESTION - Capo @ 2 to sing
G C/G bass
She said, “I can see that you’re hurting,
And I can see that you are wearing a ring.
Perhaps an inappropriate question,
but I’d like to ask you something.
Soon I will be a grand…
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…
Capo @ 2 in D (E) Dropped D tuning
Actually, it was almost two years. 1965-67.
Leavenworth, Kansas U S Army prison. I played the organ at the daily Protestant chapel. Took dictation and typed letters for the Protestant chaplain. Wrote 2-page…
Jere Reiser
I can't imagine. I spent 3 days in the Federal prison in Brownsville for attempting to smuggle 100 biphetamines into the US. They made me shower by myself and when I stepped out there were 8 guys standing about 10 ft away observing and making comments. It went down hill from there. I was threatened and hassled for two nights but stayed awake as advised and was discharged without incident. Childsplay.
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…
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…
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…
Tim Tandy
Wow, it's still as powerful as the very first time I met you and heard it, at a Concert in the Attic, sitting next to Barbara, who was silently mouthing occasional lyrics with tears on her cheeks.
...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…
Born with my left arm over my head, a big blood blister covered my left elbow. I was extracted from my mother's body with forceps. Seems that caused a tumor on my right temple which was surgically removed when I was about three. The purple elbow…
But the Sun
I close the curtains
To shut out the darkness
I shut the window
To keep out the cold
But the Sun is shining
Somewhere, I know.
(C) 2020 Royal T Music
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…
The Interstate Highway system was started in the mid-50s at the height of the Baby Boom era. It was a virgin ribbon of highway stretching out in all directions. We couldn't wait to explore it.
(C) 2011 Royal T Music.
LET IT GO 032011 Key - G
I do a lot of walkin' so I find a lot of stuff
I fill my pockets up with bolts and nuts
Once upon a while I find a diamond in the ruff
But mostly dimes and nickels in the ruts…
I wrote this song with Lisa Aschmann. CAPO @ 3
Video - https://www.facebook.com/100001011201926/videos/1285714588695761/
HICKORY STIX
Dm Am
Billy Mac and Don McCray drive to work each dawn at six
Down the mountain to the factory, makes…
Greg West
James Michael Taylor , even though his political views were the exact opposite of mine, he played me a few songs on a cd that a guy in Tarrant Co. wrote. He said “this is what it’s all about.” The songs were Help, and Hickory Sticks. So, he occasionally made sense. (John DeFoore)
LANCASTER STREET
Midnight in Cowtown. 90 degrees
Too hot for a blanket. Too hot for a sheet
The trash on the sidewalk is trying to sleep
Breathing the bus fumes on Lancaster Street
Sunshine brings tacos. Sunshine brings beans.
Sunshine…
Lauryl Blossom
James, oh, I know. Walk those woods after dark, careful not to wake the sleeping souls. I lived in West Meadowbrook. I'm not sure if you remember, but you and I met through Sunshine.
I love your song.
Another song for the 2021 National Solo Album Month.
What do we think of this cat? I have an urge to get proggy right now and generally that requires a level of talent that I don't posses. I'm not putting myself down when I say that, it's…
Buddy Holly said he made songs out of things he'd heard his mother say all his life...
A E A D A
I'll always remember what mama said
I'll never forget what my mama said…
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
I am a child of Judah and the mark of Cain is on me I am a fugitive in every place I go. and my name is Joseph Friedman and I tend the olive orchards on a hillside just a short walk from my home. There, the silver trunks are ancient and the olive branches fruitful but the breeze that shakes the leaves still low, "Where is God? Where is God?" I am a child of Esau. I am Ali Abed. I once lived...olives near my home. I would prune the trees in winter when the sap sinks deep in Gaza and the children won't be throwing their stones But the soldiers came at midnight with their power saws remarking and now the sap has nowhere left to go. Where is God/ Where is God? My name is Jimmy Taylor and I am a Future Farmer and my project is nine trees out by the road. and the trees have been neglected all these many years untended a home now for a solitary crow. So, I climb with my saw and clippers up into the brittle thicket busy choosing what will stay and what will go. And I note my meter progress and I wonder if I'll ever rid the olive trees of dead wood, I'm so slow. And I read the Sunday paper and I daily read my Bible and I see the scars of pruning down below. (c) 2002 Royal T Music
lovely ..
Had forgotten how good this was! (It is, and always was, a complicated song to sing).
Nice song. I hope that life in Colorado meets this family's expectations.
as usual james another haunting ballad,comes to life.
awwe, now i love the girl with the purple cheek,didn't finish listening you guys are so beautiful...love this!!!!
awwe i love this lil' boy with the purple elbow poor baby, love this song, so cool!
love that song brother God bless
riveting essay on the realities of this well known avenue
Yeah, very nice! Everything is given proper space to "breathe", so to speak. Really draws me in in that intangible sort of way that music sometimes does.
As Colleen Dillon said, haunting. Crying.
Hokey lyrics (every lab coat is contaminated)??? Music doesn't match the sstory. Run, HeLa Run?? Thumbs down
My friend, George Sluizer was making a film with River Phoenix and asked me to submit some music to possibly be used in the movie. He didn't end up sing this but he did use four other of my submissions.
Great lyrics, love the vocals and music Bravo James
Love this.
very nice sir!!
wonderfully quirky as usual... where u get these ideas ? lovely vocals as per ususal james
Red Dirt Music is a genre into itself. I was just in Stillwater and heard a lot of new, for me, Music.
I meant Tiger Lilies not Threepenny Opera, Lol
Love it! Shades of Leonard Cohen meets Threepenny Opera! Thanks JMT!
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
One of my favorites of yours of all I've heard, Jim. Melody is so pretty and chord changes unusual. Guitar intro, so pretty, as is the whole song. Sweet story, and sweet song. I can relate to the adult child who wonders at her/his mother's girlhood love.
Marcie Brooks James Michael Taylor another profound poem/song.
Marcie Brooks Lovingly sad yet hauntingly beautiful
Jere Reiser I can't imagine. I spent 3 days in the Federal prison in Brownsville for attempting to smuggle 100 biphetamines into the US. They made me shower by myself and when I stepped out there were 8 guys standing about 10 ft away observing and making comments. It went down hill from there. I was threatened and hassled for two nights but stayed awake as advised and was discharged without incident. Childsplay.
Marcie Brooks Whew! What a powerful song. Thank you for sharing James. Love you man
Lazarus Knight That will always be my favorite. No doubt the history plays a part.
Tim Tandy Wow, it's still as powerful as the very first time I met you and heard it, at a Concert in the Attic, sitting next to Barbara, who was silently mouthing occasional lyrics with tears on her cheeks.
very cool. I like the production. Ed Rogers
Candy Davis, "Another beautiful song, Jim."
Your tracks aren't working for me.
Love it, BUT THE SUN... is where my love for your sounds began. Freddy Molina
hey I love the track BURDEN OF SANITY, one you can hear over and over, so amazing! Heath Wolf
Sweet.
Yep! Me too. And don't forget that place that sold Pecan candy.
Great. Perfect for this week in Cowtown.
Ha! I like it Terry Kuntz
Greg West James Michael Taylor , even though his political views were the exact opposite of mine, he played me a few songs on a cd that a guy in Tarrant Co. wrote. He said “this is what it’s all about.” The songs were Help, and Hickory Sticks. So, he occasionally made sense. (John DeFoore)
Lauryl Blossom James, oh, I know. Walk those woods after dark, careful not to wake the sleeping souls. I lived in West Meadowbrook. I'm not sure if you remember, but you and I met through Sunshine. I love your song.
I really like this. It's got a lot going on but the voice is clear and there is a sense of space.
Kat Angel Most excellent, James.