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…
I learned a chord my teacher told me was called THE GYPSY CHORD. So I wrote a song using nothing but that chord. Initially I had a girl named ....... in it but she didn't like that so I changed her name to, what was it, Emily.
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…
I love the way you have made this true story into a song.
Straight to the point lyrics with tremendous backing vocals.
It's a very strong and determined sounding track.
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…
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…
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…
So in 1951 you lived in the desert just around the corner from where I grew up , except I wasn't there until 1953 at the ripe and smelly age of 1.I think I was considering buying a house out in the same patch of desert you grew up in. Your Dad might of known a Bob Dollins, he worked at Northrop for a short while . What year did you depart?
In 1951 I was eight years old but it's all like yesterday. The tumbleweeds and the horny toads. Flying kites so far into the desert air that I couldn't see them.
Palmdale, California, 1951
Pretty yellow chickens hating in the sun
Fertilizer…
Small world indeed. In 1953 I was 1 and we lived on the base. In old pics the housing were those Quansot Huts. Hell, if you lived out there at 8 years no wonder you got that dreamy like recollection. It be like living on the Moon, had barren can it get, and the bright sun beating down cooking that desert, sonic booms rattleing windows. I know, I don't know when they stop doing it but I remember as far back as 1964 of our classrooms windows rattling and that 's in Palmdale. They test artilliary as well out at EAB. Fortunately I was only 1 year old back then and i was shielded from the sun by my moma's breast and taken out there before I could develope a memory.Funny thing in early '54 my folks moved just off the south end of 15th. I still live close to it. There is no hope for Peace on Earth as long as militaries stand armed and ready.
You captured the mood! Good integration of song voice and guitar. It was warm & tender despite the hard cold reality the song spoke of. Imaginitive lyrics that mixed well with the sweet simplicity of the music.
In 1951 I was eight years old but it's all like yesterday. The tumbleweeds and the horny toads. Flying kites so far into the desert air that I couldn't see them.
Palmdale, California, 1951
Pretty yellow chickens hating in the sun
Fertilizer…
Another Palmdale resident. The horny toads you don't see to much anymore but he tumbleweeds and the wind are still here so kite flying is still around. Hey ,you forgot the rattlesnakes. I don't remember it being so dreamy though. Your song is different and somewhat interesting but I wouldn't vote for it to be the official Palmdale song. I arrived in Palmdale in 1953, maybe that's what it is.
The Cindy I mention in this song is Cindy Sheehan. This was before out trip to Crawford. The rest is pretty self-explained.
HEROS
No, I ain't no hero, I'm just trying to survive
Me and Cindy, just staying alive.
Got a hurt in our heart and…
The Cindy I mention in this song is Cindy Sheehan. This was before out trip to Crawford. The rest is pretty self-explained.
HEROS
No, I ain't no hero, I'm just trying to survive
Me and Cindy, just staying alive.
Got a hurt in our heart and…
Capo @ 2 in D (E) Dropped D tuning
Actually, it was almost two years. 1965-67.
Leavenworth, Kansas U S Army prison. I played the organ at the daily Protestant chapel. Took dictation and typed letters for the Protestant chaplain. Wrote 2-page…
As If It Really Matters - A A J Russe
Written 16th January 1999
Recorded 12th March 2022
The Shoebox Demos Vol 1
****
Crumbs, even this is 23 years old!
We used it as a set-opener in the last band I was in.
I've been trying to make…
Capo @ 2 in D (E) Dropped D tuning
Actually, it was almost two years. 1965-67.
Leavenworth, Kansas U S Army prison. I played the organ at the daily Protestant chapel. Took dictation and typed letters for the Protestant chaplain. Wrote 2-page…
Lee Snaples
And I've never heard you do this live because...
James Michael Taylor
...because. I've never sung it except when I was recording it as I "wrote" it. Are you suggesting I should?
You might notice that it's been on line since 2007 and not one comment.
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
My mom’s dad was a coal miner. Her mother died of TB when she was a kid. When she was twelve, her dad, dying of black lung, slit his throat with a butcher knife. That left her with a cripple little brother to take care of…
Kat Angel
James Michael Taylor awesome 💞 Your song is incredibly beautiful and soulful. My fav part was your narrative at the beginning. Haunting. My sister's name is Loretta 💕 My mom ....chose her namesake to tag her beautiful baby girl. Time. Goes. By.
For some reason this one demanded to be written...
So here's to all of us that have been in this situation a time or two! Hugs and love to us all!!!
Feel Just Like A Loner
Verse 1
We sit across the table
We share the same old food…
Here is the latest song challenge offered by the Minnesota Asscociation of Songwriters:
. . . . . . . .
Your mission this month is twofold:
1. Try creating a boundary between the production of content versus the judging…
I haven't listened to this for a while. Still knocks me out. Amazing presence. If this is not multitracked, if this is one of your coffee table productions, it... nope. No way. Every element is crisp. Flawless delivery. Master vocal. Pristine guitars...da da.
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…
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…
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…
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…
This is my mom's story.
Lula Teeters got off to
a pretty rough start.
She finally turned it
all lose last November.
May she rest in peace.
SISTER SAID
Daddy was a miner. He worked himself to death
Company said he killed himself, but…
Gwyn Henry said, "Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation." I said, "Where I put things when I find a place for them."
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
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!
You performed this so well. A very interesting story, perfectly done. Good luck, "Emily". Yeah, nice chord!
I love the way you have made this true story into a song. Straight to the point lyrics with tremendous backing vocals. It's a very strong and determined sounding track.
Oh JM, it is very loud! Come on, don't be like that, you can think of something.
Wow, JM! Grrreat harmonies, and a master class in lyrics.
nice job... its a snapshot in a snapshot.
So in 1951 you lived in the desert just around the corner from where I grew up , except I wasn't there until 1953 at the ripe and smelly age of 1.I think I was considering buying a house out in the same patch of desert you grew up in. Your Dad might of known a Bob Dollins, he worked at Northrop for a short while . What year did you depart?
These songs with the choir are cool. Are these friends , sounds like you got a regular choir doing back up
Small world indeed. In 1953 I was 1 and we lived on the base. In old pics the housing were those Quansot Huts. Hell, if you lived out there at 8 years no wonder you got that dreamy like recollection. It be like living on the Moon, had barren can it get, and the bright sun beating down cooking that desert, sonic booms rattleing windows. I know, I don't know when they stop doing it but I remember as far back as 1964 of our classrooms windows rattling and that 's in Palmdale. They test artilliary as well out at EAB. Fortunately I was only 1 year old back then and i was shielded from the sun by my moma's breast and taken out there before I could develope a memory.Funny thing in early '54 my folks moved just off the south end of 15th. I still live close to it. There is no hope for Peace on Earth as long as militaries stand armed and ready.
You captured the mood! Good integration of song voice and guitar. It was warm & tender despite the hard cold reality the song spoke of. Imaginitive lyrics that mixed well with the sweet simplicity of the music.
Another Palmdale resident. The horny toads you don't see to much anymore but he tumbleweeds and the wind are still here so kite flying is still around. Hey ,you forgot the rattlesnakes. I don't remember it being so dreamy though. Your song is different and somewhat interesting but I wouldn't vote for it to be the official Palmdale song. I arrived in Palmdale in 1953, maybe that's what it is.
Nice percussion. Strong message!
Most excellent lyrics! I admire those who will stand up and be counted! Great song!
LOL as they say
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Kat Angel James Michael Taylor please make your song shareable. It gave me chills....so good!
Love it. Not used to you and that acoustic guitar. Sounds solid with your voice. If it’s really like you say it is, there’s no need to worry..."
Jme Kinser Oh sure, couple times
Ha, I recognize that singer. Love this.
Love the breathy harmonies...
Are you English?
Love this. The pulsating...
Is that all you? Great vocal...
Great production! Such an emotional song! Great vocal mix. I'd like to hear a bit more of the lead vocal.
Deborah Claybourn Darr James Michael Taylor I completely Love this Song
Tim Robinson James Michael Taylor heavy song
Lee Snaples And I've never heard you do this live because... James Michael Taylor ...because. I've never sung it except when I was recording it as I "wrote" it. Are you suggesting I should? You might notice that it's been on line since 2007 and not one comment.
Kat Angel James Michael Taylor awesome 💞 Your song is incredibly beautiful and soulful. My fav part was your narrative at the beginning. Haunting. My sister's name is Loretta 💕 My mom ....chose her namesake to tag her beautiful baby girl. Time. Goes. By.
Could this be why she left me after 29 years? I never saw it like this.
I haven't listened to this for a while. Still knocks me out. Amazing presence. If this is not multitracked, if this is one of your coffee table productions, it... nope. No way. Every element is crisp. Flawless delivery. Master vocal. Pristine guitars...da da.
Rosemarie Kempton Love reading what you write!
Judith Ellen Lopez - that's magic
Has anyone ever told you you're like an awesome mix of Crosby Stills Nash and Young mainly Neil Young meets Frank Zappa? LeAnne E Christian
Tony Desmuke That was some mighty fine prose there James.
Gwyn Henry said, "Your song spoke of a much more major event, than my struggling to take that picture... my picture being my art, your song being your art in this train of logic. But even capturing images from what you see in the world around you that calls out to you... it is a life saving and nurturing process for me. Art as salvation." I said, "Where I put things when I find a place for them."