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?
This song is on the soundtrack of
River Phoenix's last movie, DARK BLOOD,
(filmed in 1993 and finally completed in 2012)
now making the festival rounds.
Video at Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mazlk2rM6_0
STRICKEN - Capo…
NO NEW LOVE
Ain't no new love like an old love in this town
Ain't no new love like an old love to take and turn my heart around
Stop it on a dime when you said that you'd be mine
Ain't no new love like an old love in my heart
Ain't no…
Went check your profile John, after our brief conversation and found myself here. II am a music lover. So will give this a listen and feedback in a day or two. Ian
Svetlana is on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/public/Svetlana-Lazareva
SVETLANA
Svetlana, the prettiest girl in the world
Flew in from Lithuania. Makes me go ho insania
What will I do now? What did I do before?
Svetlania has a…
CATFISH FISHIN'
a song by my buddie,
Guthrie Kennard
Three days of rain
Mud between my toes
First day of sun
Cut me a cain pole
I’m goin’ catfish fishin’
I’m goin’ catfish fishin
Catfish I’m fishin
Catfish fish fishin’
Lilly…
INFATUATION UNREQUITED
They say it's just infatuation
I only wish that it was true
Infatuation unrequited
feels like love to me for you
And then they say, "Silence is golden,"
and I don't know what to do
The Autumn leaves the branches…
INFATUATION UNREQUITED
They say it's just infatuation
I only wish that it was true
Infatuation unrequited
feels like love to me for you
And then they say, "Silence is golden,"
and I don't know what to do
The Autumn leaves the branches…
INFATUATION UNREQUITED
They say it's just infatuation
I only wish that it was true
Infatuation unrequited
feels like love to me for you
And then they say, "Silence is golden,"
and I don't know what to do
The Autumn leaves the branches…
I KEEP MY RADIO ON
I keep my radio on
From sunset to dawn
Keeps the spooks at bay
Scares them all away
I keep my radio on
I guess some folks got no problems
Some folks got no regrets
Don’t know how they do it
I’m not there yet…
You always have the most refreshing and honest songs!
I once had someone call me selling a security system. I told them "I don't need it." They will only come in here once.
EVERYTHING
Everything you know or think you know
Everything you know is wrong
Life ain't no hootenanny
and you don't have to sing along
You can laugh and you can mumble
You can hold your breath
Take a little piece of my heart now honey…
After Brook drowned.
Ra Byn did everything but rhythm guitar.
He must have been about 12.
Open 9th tuning...
Well, you say that you're lonely
I see that you are
Tell me, where have you been
Life ain't no lay pen
Yeah, you call it a…
Gwyn Henry
Meet Me at the Club-- darker than its exterior. I love it. Barbara and Peggy sound great! What a lot of pain must have been wrapped in those sassy harmonies. This song has a Bopcat feel,. musically--- apples that fell from the same tree, and didn't roll too far from ea other. Your vocals especially good in this.
BEAVERS AND WILLOWS
Capo @ 5 in C
FCG FC FCFG
F C G F C
Like beavers and willows
Bats and mosquitos
F) Toad C) frogs and F) flies (G
DA DA - E Am G C
Algae and oil spills
Shovels and coal hills
Black holes…
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…
I wrote this after I sang with a friend
at his mother's funeral.
He had always wondered
why he looked nothing like his brothers...
DOOR MAT
Key - A
A) My daddy treated Mama like a door mat
D) Me and little brother didn't like that…
I wrote this after I sang with a friend
at his mother's funeral.
He had always wondered
why he looked nothing like his brothers...
DOOR MAT
Key - A
A) My daddy treated Mama like a door mat
D) Me and little brother didn't like that…
I dreamed this song a while ago. Sort of a music circle in a pub. Lots of instruments and percussion and what not. I quite like it :)
(Bass, lyre, bodhran, bongos, shaker, 2 mandolin tracks, multiple clap tracks)
Here's an instrumental folk Celtic sort of tune I made today. Guitar, bass, pennywhistle, mandolin, bodhran.
Took about 4 hours to record all the parts properly. The result is a delightful minute and a half, I think!
A cover of Great Big Sea's cover of Ron Angel's song. I love both versions. I used guitar, bodhran, vocals.
Edit: reuploaded; fixed up the vocals a bit.
Messing around, playing a classic. Recorded on my phone. Lots of fun!
(Merle Travis, Tennesse Ernie Ford, Johnny Cash all did popular versions; probably a million others have played it at some point.)
It's a long-distance love song
Yes, a long-distance love song
I'll sing it just for you
I'll sing a long distance love song
When the night is long
And you've been gone from home
Sing a long-distance love song
Yeah a long-distance love…
When I was a kid, my dad was the preacher at the Church of Christ in Tehachapi, California. We lived in Palmdale, so we'd get up early on Sunday mornings, pile the 5 of us into our 1950 Chevy coupe and head up thru Lancaster and Mojave, over the…
There is nothing like the presence of a horse. The quiet understanding. The gentle strength.
Woodlake, California...1961. I had a horse. She was my friend.
There were times in my teens when Babe was the only being that did not judge me…
ADOBE & BLOOD
Thanks to David Kneller
for bringing up the subject
and creating that phrase:
ADOBE & BLOOD
I read a lotta stories about a lotta stuff
But I tell ya folks, I'll never read enough
To block out the memories what…
This is my adaptation of a poem by Rosemarie Kempton.
"I always felt that it was fitting that you turned the poem I wrote into a poignant hymn that captured the feeling of loss of a loved one. My words sprang from my attempts to understand…
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…
It’s an exceptional piece... I like pieces that “bother” and flip a phrase to a point... this one intrigues me....
You must keep writing James!!! Hope to cross paths again soon...
Blu (Sharon Walker)
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…
what awesome lyrics mate!
Reminds me of good old Robert Zimmerman... but it also doubles as metaphorical mastery!
The boy represents an issue within your community... one for which you are there, and MUST help... but which the community just sits back on, not really seeing the "problem" you are attempting to fix...
Powerful stuff, mate.
Love it. Mark Brookman
GHOST TOWN
Key C Capo @ 2 or whatever works for you...
C Em F G C
I live in a Ghost Town somewhere on the edge of space
C Em F G
Everything is dusty and everything is in it's place
Am Em F G C
All the doors hang open and when it rains…
...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…
Gwyn Henry
The Stienbeck excerpt: Especially the 2nd paragraph. My Gawd! I had forgotten how that man could write!!! I had forgotten why he is an icon among American writers,. Touched by the gods. As is your song, In Dubious Battle. It is an opus. imhop. If you had never written another song, just leaving this one would earn you a place in the echelons!! (OK, I'll calm down now.) These two pieces in combination have moved me greatly for their Truth. And so totally relevant today.
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
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
Hey, JMT fans... go to YouTube and look up this song, Stricken, and see JMT do a great acoustic cover of this great song of his!
Went check your profile John, after our brief conversation and found myself here. II am a music lover. So will give this a listen and feedback in a day or two. Ian
its sounds good now..... yooooowl!!
Yep. Like it. A lot.
This is really good....you could take this anywhere and it would make people smile. I can here ZZtop doin something like this.
magnificent............
Heartbreaking - nice space. A great raw honest voice.
Foot Tapping Good.
Simply gorgeous....
That'll make us get our jig on! Good jam!
You always have the most refreshing and honest songs! I once had someone call me selling a security system. I told them "I don't need it." They will only come in here once.
Very nice like it
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Gwyn Henry Meet Me at the Club-- darker than its exterior. I love it. Barbara and Peggy sound great! What a lot of pain must have been wrapped in those sassy harmonies. This song has a Bopcat feel,. musically--- apples that fell from the same tree, and didn't roll too far from ea other. Your vocals especially good in this.
Rocking the loops?
Bruce Balmer I listened to “My New Shorts.” Brilliant use of time. Like mini-oreos or something. Interesting production, nice vocals.
Holy cow. What a song. Michael Rehahn
Gwyn Henry Thanks for writing this, Jim.
"Powerful stuff." Ray Russell
Great "slap-back" feel.
Cool. I had to look up bodhran.
Love it when men sing these songs in unison. Well done.
Great old song, well done.
Very sweet. Nice solo.
That's some sweet guitar playing. Ray Russell
'Very good capture." Gwyn Henry
Visions and emotions that I haven't felt in a long time. Thank you so much. Jere Reiser
"EXCELLENT POINTED SONG RIGHT TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER!" -Don Law
That may be the most beautiful thing I ever heard. Breathtaking. Thanks for sharing. - Janet Fawcett
It’s an exceptional piece... I like pieces that “bother” and flip a phrase to a point... this one intrigues me.... You must keep writing James!!! Hope to cross paths again soon... Blu (Sharon Walker)
what awesome lyrics mate! Reminds me of good old Robert Zimmerman... but it also doubles as metaphorical mastery! The boy represents an issue within your community... one for which you are there, and MUST help... but which the community just sits back on, not really seeing the "problem" you are attempting to fix... Powerful stuff, mate. Love it. Mark Brookman
I ❤️ that song...Kavin Me too. One of his many good ones. JS Savage
Gwyn Henry The Stienbeck excerpt: Especially the 2nd paragraph. My Gawd! I had forgotten how that man could write!!! I had forgotten why he is an icon among American writers,. Touched by the gods. As is your song, In Dubious Battle. It is an opus. imhop. If you had never written another song, just leaving this one would earn you a place in the echelons!! (OK, I'll calm down now.) These two pieces in combination have moved me greatly for their Truth. And so totally relevant today.