CHOICES
"After my house burn down I was confuse.
Why are they burning down my house? My neighbor house..."
"We called it The American War."
My friend, John, said this about this bit of audio drama:
I had forgotten how painful I find…
CHOICES
"After my house burn down I was confuse.
Why are they burning down my house? My neighbor house..."
"We called it The American War."
My friend, John, said this about this bit of audio drama:
I had forgotten how painful I find…
I had forgotten how painful I find this recording... I had forgotten how painful I found that time of our country's history... that time of my life... (and I was not one of those who "Had To Go"... or should I say, I was not one of those men... one of those boys... who had to make that "choice." I was one of the... "fortunate ones.")
This song is just what it is and says what it says.
It's where I am and where my hopes lie. It all just happens to fit into a song...
WHEN PEGGY COMES HOME - G
When Peggy comes home I’ll have the dishes put away
The floor will be swept…
IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY
If it makes you happy I will tie your shoe
If it makes you happy I will tickle you
If it makes you happy I'm telling you true
If it makes you happy I'll be happy too
If it makes you happy I will wiggle my ears…
400 BULLETS
400 guns. 400 bullets.
400 babies in the grave.
You got your New Pearl Harbor
Now it’s time for a new Passover.
400 guns
400 guns. 400 bullets.
400 babies in the grave.
Buy your $10,000 dog
One bad steak and he’s a…
400 BULLETS
400 guns. 400 bullets.
400 babies in the grave.
You got your New Pearl Harbor
Now it’s time for a new Passover.
400 guns
400 guns. 400 bullets.
400 babies in the grave.
Buy your $10,000 dog
One bad steak and he’s a…
400 Bullets
400 guns. 400 bullets.
400 babies in the grave.
You got your New Pearl Harbor
Now it’s time for a new Passover.
400 guns
400 guns. 400 bullets.
400 babies in the grave.
Buy your $10,000 dog
One bad steak and he’s a knot on a log
Get outta my way, I'm headin' on down this road
I'm on my way but I got no place to go
I've paid my dues. I just want my share
I've got the sun in my eyes
and the wind in my hair
But I got nobody
I've got no one to run to
No one to see…
IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY
If it makes you happy I will tie your shoe
If it makes you happy I will tickle you
If it makes you happy I'm telling you true
If it makes you happy I'll be happy too
If it makes you happy I will wiggle my ears…
I believe Lula must be the lady on the cover of PAPER BOATS! Lula is why many older single men fear all those dating sites! Nightmares are born when they imagine what else Lula might wiggle... besides her ears!
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…
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…
They discovered a planet that has no star
Maybe they'll let me name it whoever they are
I know all about a planet without a star
Oh, please let me name it.
I know all about it.
A planet. No orbit. Just lost out in space
No hope or habit…
For a short clip of of a video of this:
https://vimeo.com/214337550/f68cc0c21b
This song made me a professional songwriter when George Sluizer, the director of THE VANISHING, put it in the movie by that name.
SWEET RAIN Key G
G…
For a short clip of of a video of this:
https://vimeo.com/214337550/f68cc0c21b
This song made me a professional songwriter when George Sluizer, the director of THE VANISHING, put it in the movie by that name.
SWEET RAIN Key G
G…
For a short clip of of a video of this:
https://vimeo.com/214337550/f68cc0c21b
This song made me a professional songwriter when George Sluizer, the director of THE VANISHING, put it in the movie by that name.
SWEET RAIN Key G
G…
One of your best, Jim. The melody is beautiful, and the lyrics evoke a melancholy feeling of comfort in me. I'm so glad for you that you got some recognition for it in its use in The Vanishing.
For a short clip of of a video of this:
https://vimeo.com/214337550/f68cc0c21b
This song made me a professional songwriter when George Sluizer, the director of THE VANISHING, put it in the movie by that name.
SWEET RAIN Key G
G…
When this happened I couldn't get home before I had the song half written. What a lonely feeling.
NOBODY KNOW ME IN TOWN ANY MORE Key of G
G Em
There’s a bird in the gutter that…
IN MY DREAM by James Michael Taylor
Last night I held your hand
Reached out and touched your hand
I know it's just a dream
I say, "What does that change?"
Today the sun will shine
Because you made it mine
IN MY DREAM
I held…
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…
Jenni Mansfield Peal
Thanks for posting these beautiful songs. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend. Bittersweet listening; hearing Barbara, I am grieving her loss.
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…
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…
... that's great! It's all very lighthearted until you get to the part about them not leaving. I guess the companion that remains true will always be the one with strings. Lazarus Knight
I was told that even tho she left me after 28 years it doesn't negate the idea.
There’s a place in my mind where your face had a home
Long before you came into my life
Before you were a known
There’s a note in my song that I knew fit somewhere…
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…
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…
Candy Davis
That's so much fun, singing with oneself, laying down multiple tracks. Your Winnowing Wind is such a polished, beautiful example of the magic of music.
Love
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…
Lazarus Knight
Beautiful arrangement and vocal peformance. When I noticed the 2007 copyright it made me wonder if the song was written and recorded before or after a certain life changing event that year.
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…
Rahim Quazi - I love that. What did you mean when you said that you had wished you had kept the penny?
Enter
You sent
It would be a nice thing for him to have as a keepsake. The actual penny that saved his life.
Enter
You sent
Peggy had aborted the previous two pregnancies.Really didn't want any more kids. True is my best friend. I don't know what I would do without him. He is what I have left of Peggy.
Enter
Rahim
Rahim Quazi
Ahhh, I get it now. It’s a beautiful song
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…
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…
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…
...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…
Tony Desmuke
I still think "In Dubious Battle" is one of the best songs that you wrote. If nothing else, the production was incredible. We still listen to it occasionally.
...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…
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…
LAMENT FOR WILD BILL in C - Capo @ 3
The moon shone like diamonds on mirrors in puddles shaped like horse's feet
Deadwood was quiet. The smoke had all settled. The blood was dry.
Young Jack McCall sat awake in his cell, alone and quiet…
One night I was singing Wild Bill at Fort Worth Live and there was so much talking that I stopped in the middle. No one had any idea what I had just done. The silence just meant, "Clap now."
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…
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
this is so touching...
I had forgotten how painful I find this recording... I had forgotten how painful I found that time of our country's history... that time of my life... (and I was not one of those who "Had To Go"... or should I say, I was not one of those men... one of those boys... who had to make that "choice." I was one of the... "fortunate ones.")
<3
Thank you! ❤️
you out Neil Young-ed Neil Young!
400 Bullets 400 guns. 400 bullets. 400 babies in the grave. You got your New Pearl Harbor Now it’s time for a new Passover. 400 guns 400 guns. 400 bullets. 400 babies in the grave. Buy your $10,000 dog One bad steak and he’s a knot on a log
I like the potential for this song, JMT! Especially how you start it off! You seemed relaxed and comfortable with it.
I believe Lula must be the lady on the cover of PAPER BOATS! Lula is why many older single men fear all those dating sites! Nightmares are born when they imagine what else Lula might wiggle... besides her ears!
Ouch ....I liked the story song appeal
I love this song.
I can dig it. Cool song.
i miss u
Cool little song. You have a nice voice.
Nice James! Sweet vocals, very short. Will you expand this into a longer song?
Really inspiring as always. Sweet rain indeed!
Lovely to hear your voice for the first time. Poignant. <3
One of your best, Jim. The melody is beautiful, and the lyrics evoke a melancholy feeling of comfort in me. I'm so glad for you that you got some recognition for it in its use in The Vanishing.
beautiful song james !
Short 'n sweet
Definitely one of my most favorite songs of all time. Guess I identify with it. Yes, I do. From Joseph.
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
I like In my Dreams!! It does have an Orbison vibe! LIke the way it builds. Operatic. Orbison. Gwyn Henry
Jenni Mansfield Peal Thanks for posting these beautiful songs. I’m so sorry for the loss of your friend. Bittersweet listening; hearing Barbara, I am grieving her loss.
Paul Smith Some of your tunes fit right in with a soundtrack feel like "Pulp Fiction". I love it. 🎶
That was great, thanks Jim Jim Kempton
... that's great! It's all very lighthearted until you get to the part about them not leaving. I guess the companion that remains true will always be the one with strings. Lazarus Knight
Lazarus Knight That's a great album!
Jenni Mansfield Peal Beautiful. Thanks so much for posting.
Candy Davis That's so much fun, singing with oneself, laying down multiple tracks. Your Winnowing Wind is such a polished, beautiful example of the magic of music. Love
Lazarus Knight Beautiful arrangement and vocal peformance. When I noticed the 2007 copyright it made me wonder if the song was written and recorded before or after a certain life changing event that year.
Rahim Quazi - I love that. What did you mean when you said that you had wished you had kept the penny? Enter You sent It would be a nice thing for him to have as a keepsake. The actual penny that saved his life. Enter You sent Peggy had aborted the previous two pregnancies.Really didn't want any more kids. True is my best friend. I don't know what I would do without him. He is what I have left of Peggy. Enter Rahim Rahim Quazi Ahhh, I get it now. It’s a beautiful song
David Young We both loved it! Very beautiful!
Paul Smith Very cool
Listened and such a biographical song, really captured me. Rahim Quazi
Kat Angel Interesting song 🙂
Tony Desmuke I still think "In Dubious Battle" is one of the best songs that you wrote. If nothing else, the production was incredible. We still listen to it occasionally.
Tony Desmuke Definitely. One of your best.
There She Was definitely captures that longing that the imagination tries but fails to satisfy Lazarus
One night I was singing Wild Bill at Fort Worth Live and there was so much talking that I stopped in the middle. No one had any idea what I had just done. The silence just meant, "Clap now."
Great groove...
Such pathos. We could collect all the Ghost Town songs on Alonetone and have a very interesting album.