Just thinking about Happiness. Thinking about how she said she was leaving because she wanted to be happy.
HAPPY Key - C walking down...
Happy is the anvil as the hammer strikes the blade
A fleeting spark that fades as the memory is made…
When I was in college my room mate told me a STORY about a traveler who arrived at the gates of a city in a strange land. Seeing a beggar at the gate he gave him a coin and asked him a question: "What kind of people will I find in your city…
GRUMBLE RUMBLE
Remembering Standing Rock
Grumble rumble goes the sky
Spitting water in my eye
Whhhhhhhhhhh goes the wind
Time to call the children in
That's no rumble from the sky
Those are guns with barrels that glow
And the freezing…
Unforgettable! Will become an earworm for some. Very disturbing, this scenario, but "same as it ever was." This country has been exploiting the land/resources/culture/heritage/peace of mind/environmental balance/spiritual elements of our native peoples since the very beginning. Began on the backs and bones of the indigenous, and developed economically on the backs and bones of the slaves. Yea, us. A city set on a hill!
When I was in college my room mate told me a STORY about a traveler who arrived at the gates of a city in a strange land. Seeing a beggar at the gate he gave him a coin and asked him a question: "What kind of people will I find in your city…
Rocka my brain. Rocka my soul
Rocka my body in a six foot hole
Don't leave me here to face this night alone
Rock me in the evening. Rock me at night
Rock my body in the broad day light
But don't leave me here to face my life alone
You…
GRUMBLE RUMBLE
Remembering Standing Rock
Grumble rumble goes the sky
Spitting water in my eye
Whhhhhhhhhhh goes the wind
Time to call the children in
That's no rumble from the sky
Those are guns with barrels that glow
And the freezing…
GRUMBLE RUMBLE
Remembering Standing Rock
Grumble rumble goes the sky
Spitting water in my eye
Whhhhhhhhhhh goes the wind
Time to call the children in
That's no rumble from the sky
Those are guns with barrels that glow
And the freezing…
GRUMBLE RUMBLE
Remembering Standing Rock
Grumble rumble goes the sky
Spitting water in my eye
Whhhhhhhhhhh goes the wind
Time to call the children in
That's no rumble from the sky
Those are guns with barrels that glow
And the freezing…
A PICTURE I CAN'T THROW AWAY Key C
Capo @ 4
(Yes. It's a true story. I changed it to 1st person. It was a friend of my brother, Joe's.)
This audio is missing. I will have to find it in the archives or re-record it some day…
Always Young In My Dreams capo at 5
G D G GbassG#
I’m always young in my dreams
Am AmbassG AmbassF# D
My horse is always Old Shane
Am D D#dim Em
So proud and strong as we canter…
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…
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…
TRAIL OF TEARS was not a metaphor. It was an American Holocaust. Michael Jeffrey helped me with this track.
TRAIL OF TEARS
Am Bm/A C/A Am C/A Bm (3) E
A
CHORUS - Well, the trees…
TROJAN capo @ 3 in C
(C) When mommy and daddy live two thousand miles from each other it’s hard on the (G) kid
He can’t hold both their hands but he must stand between them and you know it’s for nothing he (C) did
And you (F) know it’s…
You know what, I still get that Harry Chapin vibe from your song (and voice). And I LOVE Harry Chapin!
This is another very, very good song, and a perfect performance.
Always Young In My Dreams capo at 5
G D G GbassG#
I’m always young in my dreams
Am AmbassG AmbassF# D
My horse is always Old Shane
Am D D#dim Em
So proud and strong as we canter…
TROJAN capo @ 3 in C
(C) When mommy and daddy live two thousand miles from each other it’s hard on the (G) kid
He can’t hold both their hands but he must stand between them and you know it’s for nothing he (C) did
And you (F) know it’s…
TROJAN capo @ 3 in C
(C) When mommy and daddy live two thousand miles from each other it’s hard on the (G) kid
He can’t hold both their hands but he must stand between them and you know it’s for nothing he (C) did
And you (F) know it’s…
I have always thought this song superb; also, I think it has great potential for "popular" success. It is such a relevant song in today's world. I personally love JMT's own cover, but I have always wondered why some female singer, with "tears in her voice", didn't give this song a try?
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
Pure poetry, sung! And I love the clarinet (?) with the strings. Beautiful sound!
You got me chuckling this morning. 40 seconds of truth.
Great melody, love the story and you perform it so well!
Unforgettable! Will become an earworm for some. Very disturbing, this scenario, but "same as it ever was." This country has been exploiting the land/resources/culture/heritage/peace of mind/environmental balance/spiritual elements of our native peoples since the very beginning. Began on the backs and bones of the indigenous, and developed economically on the backs and bones of the slaves. Yea, us. A city set on a hill!
Love this story! Awesome poetry
Great lyric, performed with emotion. Nice job!
Nice one James ! There's a lot going on, brilliant !
That is a good song that sticks in you mind , you feel it after you hear it
Like this. Lyrics, melody, effects, rhythm. Good job!
beautiful...
this is very nice indeed.....
Love this.
I don't want to repeat myself over and over. Kudos for another great song! :)
good song james..
No matter which song of yours I randomly play - I almost always like it! :)
You know what, I still get that Harry Chapin vibe from your song (and voice). And I LOVE Harry Chapin! This is another very, very good song, and a perfect performance.
Pretty song! :)
I agree its a superb song
I have always thought this song superb; also, I think it has great potential for "popular" success. It is such a relevant song in today's world. I personally love JMT's own cover, but I have always wondered why some female singer, with "tears in her voice", didn't give this song a try?
I just found you on YouTube . . . Good Stuff James! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IL1HCW3uzE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRukvPERWZk
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.