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…
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…
Matthew F. Blowers III
I am really liking your song on California, I have a special love for that state. You captured all the reaons I miss it, with your superb storytelling in lyrics and with the smooth harmonies and extremely well played music. It has a catchy beat, and I listened to the very last note.
I NEVER DREAM capo @ 2 in C
C
I never dream of building bridges. I never dream I’ll build a dam
I never dreamed of a cathedral for the mighty God, I Am
F
I never dreamed of founding clinics or make donations to the cause
C
I don’t see…
So today, for some reason I decided to read the words first.. Just the words. And found it an absolutely beautiful experience. The metaphors you use to describe great and cosmic plans and intentions of great societal achievement, contrasted with the lines that begin with, "BUT I dreamed we met for breakfast".... (the switch and the contrast is very powerful) what a tiny, common human thing: meeting over the sharing of food,. Then followed by, "I dreamed I held your hand"... human touch/connection, as though those two simple things are worth more than all the highest achievements of worldly fame, and material ladders climbed! Which they are. They so are. The rest of the lyrics continue to develop & express that idea beautifully. Then I listened to the sing, and although it is good as a song, For me, the words in themselves stand strong and impactful w/o anything else. Not to contrast them and say one is "better" than the other. Just that sometimes I see lyrics that stand alone, And just saying, these words do that very well. Gwyn Henry
So I was locked in the broom-cupboard, checking out some old songs that need recording.
I'd just picked one and then suddenly this thing came out of nowehere. It started with one of those guitarist doodles that other musicians love so much…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
Now here's a bit of an oldie - the second song I ever wrote. In... 1978!
I think I played it once, or maybe twice, at school assemblies. My musical peers and colleagues back then dismissed it as corny/rancid pop music…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
I found this one while I was digging through the shoe-box for the 1994 songs. Apparently I wrote it on 10th November 1995.
Foolishly, I thought it would only take a week or so to record... I was originally expecting…
(Remastered 22/10/2021)
So I got me a new geetar the other week.
Named her Lala, obviously. Seemed kind of appropriate - she wears a faded gold dress and is full of chunes and mischiefs.
This is our first effort together. It was meant…
I wrote this song after planting and fertalizing a crop of sudan grass just to have the sun shine down with no relief on it for 100 days and no rain. We, Texas Water, were heading home one night AFTER A GIG at Gringo's in Grapevine when the…
I hope Brian (one of us Proods) will forgive me for posting this before we could get together to work on it further. He first played it for me a few months ago and I've been obsessively tweaking it every chance I could get.
I like to imagine…
My attempt at this super fun sea shanty!
This is an old New Zealand whaling song. The popular recent version was recorded a cappella by The Longest Johns. I'm using the chords suggested by Piotrek_G on ultimate-guitar.
Edit: re-uploaded…
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 has a chorus that camouflages the dramatic irony of the verse narrative. If it weren’t for the unusual intro, it’d seem zirconium. Christopher Youngblood
VIDEO https://www.facebook.com/reel/629088762494393
https://www.facebook.com/100007692130538/videos/122358790913196/
THE CIRCLE OF NO REGRETS Key C
capo @ 5
C F G C C G C
If your heart must be broken…
Circle of No Regrets sounds quaint. That’s what makes it hit. Unless you turn your ears on, it’s a boring song, but once you do, it’s hard to take.
It’s almost like you’re giving the audience an option. Christopher Youngblood
MOTHER'S EYES
I used to chide my mother
She saw the loss in every face
The cemetery. The old folks home
along the way
I used to laugh at Mother
She saw the pain in every eye
Now time has passed
and Mom is gone and here am I
And…
I wrote to my children, my answer. I told the how I watched them thru the window and enjoyed them in ways they never knew. How seeing them learn and succeed at their efforts was such pleasure to me. How discovering who they were by the talents and generosity they exhibited made me happy...The first response I got was from Embyr, now a registered nurse, mother of 4, just said, "Jim, you were mean."
Sat 11:38 PM
Christopher sent Yesterday at 11:38 PM
I listened to Kite a bunch of times, trying to think how it could be improved (it can’t be), and it occurred to me that Ben Franklin flew a key. That part of the story had never occurred to me as important before. But it’s like he was trying to unlock something.
Maybe he tried it on a clear day and let the kite rise to where he couldn’t see it. That’d be a different experiment altogether. Christopher Youngblood
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
Matthew F. Blowers III I am really liking your song on California, I have a special love for that state. You captured all the reaons I miss it, with your superb storytelling in lyrics and with the smooth harmonies and extremely well played music. It has a catchy beat, and I listened to the very last note.
Very catchy! Too short, maybe. Gotta listen twice.
So today, for some reason I decided to read the words first.. Just the words. And found it an absolutely beautiful experience. The metaphors you use to describe great and cosmic plans and intentions of great societal achievement, contrasted with the lines that begin with, "BUT I dreamed we met for breakfast".... (the switch and the contrast is very powerful) what a tiny, common human thing: meeting over the sharing of food,. Then followed by, "I dreamed I held your hand"... human touch/connection, as though those two simple things are worth more than all the highest achievements of worldly fame, and material ladders climbed! Which they are. They so are. The rest of the lyrics continue to develop & express that idea beautifully. Then I listened to the sing, and although it is good as a song, For me, the words in themselves stand strong and impactful w/o anything else. Not to contrast them and say one is "better" than the other. Just that sometimes I see lyrics that stand alone, And just saying, these words do that very well. Gwyn Henry
This is cool. It gives me ideas.
WoW! Knocks me out. Really sizzles.
Makes me want to find a partner and do a little dance...very nice.
You had me at, "If I back off and shut my mouth..." Know exactly where you are. So afraid the answer is, "No."
Sounds like a 50s Buddy Holly era song. Very sweet sentiment. And, yes, I can dance to it.
Great characterization. Great kick drum sound.
WoW! Rock me, dude! Love the imagery.
Kim Triolo Feil James Michael Taylor that's a fantastic story and a very lovely song
Yes! A MONKEES song, for sure.
Interesting sounds. Cool chord shifts.
Aaah, if Love could only be forgotten... Nice.
Like it.
Very nice...
California has a chorus that camouflages the dramatic irony of the verse narrative. If it weren’t for the unusual intro, it’d seem zirconium. Christopher Youngblood
Circle of No Regrets sounds quaint. That’s what makes it hit. Unless you turn your ears on, it’s a boring song, but once you do, it’s hard to take. It’s almost like you’re giving the audience an option. Christopher Youngblood
I wrote to my children, my answer. I told the how I watched them thru the window and enjoyed them in ways they never knew. How seeing them learn and succeed at their efforts was such pleasure to me. How discovering who they were by the talents and generosity they exhibited made me happy...The first response I got was from Embyr, now a registered nurse, mother of 4, just said, "Jim, you were mean."
Sat 11:38 PM Christopher sent Yesterday at 11:38 PM I listened to Kite a bunch of times, trying to think how it could be improved (it can’t be), and it occurred to me that Ben Franklin flew a key. That part of the story had never occurred to me as important before. But it’s like he was trying to unlock something. Maybe he tried it on a clear day and let the kite rise to where he couldn’t see it. That’d be a different experiment altogether. Christopher Youngblood