A CASKET AND A ROSE
capo @ 2 Am
There's nothing quite as slow to grow
Than a cherry laurel tree
A fingerling that grows beneath
That old oak canopy
Presented as a volunteer
On that creek bank south of town
One hundred yards from our…
STRICKEN - James Michael Taylor
Boy's Theme (River Phoenix) in River's last movie,
DARK BLOOD.
...none the less, in my broken mind,
some of the false hope leaks thru...
Key D capo @ 2 in C
I've been C stricken. I've been pierced…
A CASKET AND A ROSE
capo @ 2 Am
There's nothing quite as slow to grow
Than a cherry laurel tree
A fingerling that grows beneath
That old oak canopy
Presented as a volunteer
On that creek bank south of town
One hundred yards from our…
HAPPY
Happy is the anvil as the hammer strikes the blade
A fleeting spark that fades out as the memory is made
Happy is the spark when the hammer strikes the steel
Before the spit has sizzled into a vapor trail
And happy is the planner…
When it becomes apparent that the poor inheriting the earth means they become dirt when they die,
The Rich Man's Prayer - Em to D
I kneel down on a calloused knee
Hold my children close to me
And I pray The Rich Man's Prayer
It's…
When it becomes apparent that the poor inheriting the earth means they become dirt when they die,
The Rich Man's Prayer - Em to D
I kneel down on a calloused knee
Hold my children close to me
And I pray The Rich Man's Prayer
It's…
When it becomes apparent that the poor inheriting the earth means they become dirt when they die,
The Rich Man's Prayer - Em to D
I kneel down on a calloused knee
Hold my children close to me
And I pray The Rich Man's Prayer
It's…
When it becomes apparent that the poor inheriting the earth means they become dirt when they die,
The Rich Man's Prayer - Em to D
I kneel down on a calloused knee
Hold my children close to me
And I pray The Rich Man's Prayer
It's…
When it becomes apparent that the poor inheriting the earth means they become dirt when they die,
The Rich Man's Prayer - Em to D
I kneel down on a calloused knee
Hold my children close to me
And I pray The Rich Man's Prayer
It's…
HAPPY
Happy is the anvil as the hammer strikes the blade
A fleeting spark that fades out as the memory is made
Happy is the spark when the hammer strikes the steel
Before the spit has sizzled into a vapor trail
And happy is the planner…
I can't remember her name. I saw her at Kerrville back in 2005. A little blond that always wore a leather cowboy had, played keys and wrote music for movies. (Someone remind me.)
COULD SHE KNOW
Could she know I think about her
Thinking…
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…
Haven't read the book so I don't get it but it sounds good. Your production is very good. I hear a little David Bowie in the singing, but it's still your voice. there were just a couple of lines in there that made me flash on that
Well if you have to be in Oklahoma, you might as well be on one of the largest resevoirs in the USA so you can jump in and wash some of that hot red dust off.
As a Kansas man, that's just a bit too close to Texas for me.
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…
Tesla...maybe the smartest man that ever lived.
TESLA
Who invented remote control? TESLA
Who invented the fluorescent light? TESLA
Who invented the radio? TESLA
And who died alone and forgotten in 1943? TESLA
So, you say now, “Don’t…
Sometimes it might be best not to even think about what terrible things might happen. It might be part of setting those very terrible things in motion. How can one know?
HAPPY
Happy is the anvil as the hammer strikes the blade
A fleeting spark that fades out as the memory is made
Happy is the spark when the hammer strikes the steel
Before the spit has sizzled into a vapor trail
And happy is the planner…
One night after three month of no rain, as we were driving home from singing at Gringos in Grapevine a splash of water hit the windshield.
I said to myself, "Sweet Rain."
I went home and wrote the song. It's on the soundtrack of a movie called…
I never sing this song the same two times in a row.
The lyric below is pretty close to how I sing it now.
Listening again, this is an awful version of this song...
I have my recording machine working again...I must redo this.
I PLAY C…
Like most or all of your songs, there is always something really stands out and pays off big time. That last verse (or is it the last two) is absolutely, powefully emotion packed. And it is somewhat Vonnegut like in that so much is conveyed so precisely and with elegant simplicity. "... in the dream we left behind" - my God man, it's pure genius. Not the first two times I heard the song, but the first time I "listened" to it, I thought WHAT WAS THAT! And the it sunk in.
I have a new love
Of course she doesn’t know
How can a work of art
Know when lovers come and go
And when the artist is the art!
My eyes are the eyes of the beholder
And my eyes are the eyes of the world…
…when the artist is the art…
CATTAILS AND BUTTERFLIES capo @ 4 in C
C G repeat
There was a field around the corner
And a stream flowed cross the field
There were cat tails in the summer time
And monarch butterflies
And tadpoles sprouting wings
E…
"Somewhere between the stumbling and the falling..."
SOMEWHERE
G capo @ 2
Somewhere between the summer and the winter
The leaves between the tree tops and the fall
Somewhere between my heart and circled letters
Somewhere between it…
"Somewhere between the stumbling and the falling..."
SOMEWHERE
G capo @ 2
Somewhere between the summer and the winter
The leaves between the tree tops and the fall
Somewhere between my heart and circled letters
Somewhere between it…
"Somewhere between the stumbling and the falling..."
SOMEWHERE
G capo @ 2
Somewhere between the summer and the winter
The leaves between the tree tops and the fall
Somewhere between my heart and circled letters
Somewhere between it…
I sent that link to my bff Misty. Remember her?
This was her response: I love the juxtaposition of the absurdity of the subject to the poignancy of the underlying message. Spoken like an English teacher. Michael Soto
Yeah, there's an "Indian" graveyard somewhere out there at the Stock Yards.
COWTOWN Key Em
Em C D Em
In a courtyard down the alley there’s a graveyard…
Naad Kaur Khalsa
James Michael Taylor oooo...shadows and regret...I am happy to say I haven't much regret...a lot of deep sorrow...pocketed in loss...shock that is oh so slow to wear off
THE COUCH - key - C
https://fb.watch/lIEUn31mBZ/
https://www.facebook.com/100054814402634/videos/2856132984527543/
1-C 4-F
Today we put the couch out by the road
5-G…
So, this friend listens to The Couch and immediately tells me I MUST mention the imaginary friends behind the couch. That "hair" is gookie. It didn't occur to her that if I mentioned all the things listeners thought of when they listened to the song, we would still be singing...
I FELL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS
Well, I was not born in Texas
I just came here for a while
You give a state like this an inch
It turns into a mile
I came to stay a day or two
It turned into a life
Now I've got three hungry kids
And one Texas…
Robert Dwain Elliott
I met a man named Michael today, Standing beside a hallway, With a cool coat and wearing a throng, For some $$$ he’ll sing you a song. (He was not born in Texas, he just came here for a while).He did run over a chicken on the road once… Feathers in the Wind.
THE COUCH - key - C
https://fb.watch/lIEUn31mBZ/
https://www.facebook.com/100054814402634/videos/2856132984527543/
1-C 4-F
Today we put the couch out by the road
5-G…
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…
Lee, I just dialed up TROJAN. By the time I read the 1st four lines I was crying.. Maybe, after all these years it a lot deeper than back when I wrote it.
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
good driving beat, James, powerful lyrics.
Pared down to the bone. Really nice.
Unusual to hear electric guitar from you. Love the vocal and the unaccompanied one at the end.
Very cool!
Nice one mate really enjoyed it.
No, it "IS"!
Hey, this really catchy!
Only if you give it all away first apparently! Great song and wonderful music.
Powerful...
I love this, tremendously powerful lyrics. Yay, rock on!
Sounds brilliant, I love the chorus, it's really rhythmic and the lyrics are excellent!
Haven't read the book so I don't get it but it sounds good. Your production is very good. I hear a little David Bowie in the singing, but it's still your voice. there were just a couple of lines in there that made me flash on that
Well if you have to be in Oklahoma, you might as well be on one of the largest resevoirs in the USA so you can jump in and wash some of that hot red dust off. As a Kansas man, that's just a bit too close to Texas for me.
I am very sorry to hear about Brook.
Maybe he needed a better PR firm? Perhaps he should have considered late night info-mercials? Excellent concept!
Very Pretty story telling. I've been to Deadwood. What a place to spend eternity.
Excellent!
Another very clever one!
This one is one of my favourites of your tracks. The chorus is especially poignant.
I love this! The music is really driving!
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Cindy Grayson James Michael Taylor beautiful song
Pamela Steuber Anderson James Michael Taylor I love this song. Thank you.
Like most or all of your songs, there is always something really stands out and pays off big time. That last verse (or is it the last two) is absolutely, powefully emotion packed. And it is somewhat Vonnegut like in that so much is conveyed so precisely and with elegant simplicity. "... in the dream we left behind" - my God man, it's pure genius. Not the first two times I heard the song, but the first time I "listened" to it, I thought WHAT WAS THAT! And the it sunk in.
That is beautiful, James. Thank you. Rachel Eastman
It's fun trying to imagine the movie this is the sound to. "Hoooooonk." Thanks for listening to my music.
504 Hathaway, San Luis Obispo, California. 1954
Lazarus Knight Absolutely one of your best.
Kat Angel Absolutely beautiful!
Roberta Hargrove Bitter sweet! I love this!
I sent that link to my bff Misty. Remember her? This was her response: I love the juxtaposition of the absurdity of the subject to the poignancy of the underlying message. Spoken like an English teacher. Michael Soto
Terry Rasor James Michael Taylor btw love that tune my friend!
Linder Bassy Wow I love the song
Patty Brunson That is a great song.
Nola Lloyd Griffiths Wolley I love your story telling singing style. Takes me back to my childhood. Love it
Nola Lloyd Griffiths Wolley Very much enjoyed
Naad Kaur Khalsa James Michael Taylor oooo...shadows and regret...I am happy to say I haven't much regret...a lot of deep sorrow...pocketed in loss...shock that is oh so slow to wear off
So, this friend listens to The Couch and immediately tells me I MUST mention the imaginary friends behind the couch. That "hair" is gookie. It didn't occur to her that if I mentioned all the things listeners thought of when they listened to the song, we would still be singing...
Robert Dwain Elliott I met a man named Michael today, Standing beside a hallway, With a cool coat and wearing a throng, For some $$$ he’ll sing you a song. (He was not born in Texas, he just came here for a while).He did run over a chicken on the road once… Feathers in the Wind.
Grant Morrison Thanks for making me cry dude lol
Lee, I just dialed up TROJAN. By the time I read the 1st four lines I was crying.. Maybe, after all these years it a lot deeper than back when I wrote it.