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.
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…
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…
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?
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…
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…
CHERRY LAUREL - James Michael Taylor - 081111
Dm C B A
There’s nothing quite so slow to grow as a cherry laurel tree
A fingerling beneath an old oak canopy
Presented as a volunteer, that creek bank west of town
One hundred yards from our…
Something of Neil Young for sure, some essence of David Crosby. And that refrain does sound spookily like you got Graham Nash in the studio with you. Nice.
Today I got an email about a lyric contest and the title had to be I WONDER...so I wrote this!
I WONDER by James Michael Taylor
I wonder, I wonder out loud
Why I wander under a cloud
A cloud with it's rain
It's lightning and pain…
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…
key - C
I’m clinging to the memories as the world falls apart
The falling leaves, dead Everleys are pulling at my heart.
My quest for rationality, I can’t even start.
So, I’m clinging to the memories as the world falls apart
I’m clinging…
VIDEO - https://www.facebook.com/100001468692811/videos/1120270078888215/
https://www.facebook.com/true.taylor.3/videos/397153049918748
GHOST TOWN capo @ 2 in C
C Em F G C
I…
I wrote this at my dad's urging. He likes it. We sing it together. I have YouTube Video of it up.
EULOGY
He grew up in Clinton, Oklahoma
Red dirt back yard, Gramma's place
Honey suckle in a dust bowl
Life as hard as limestone lace…
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…
IF ONLY
You are my favorite If Only
If only I'd showed up in time
If Only's the name of my pony
And we're always a little behind
If only, if only, if only
It echoes thru my lonely life
If only, if only, if only
I think I'd be ready…
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…
THE COUCH - key - C live - Capo @ 4
https://fb.watch/lIEUn31mBZ/
https://www.facebook.com/100054814402634/videos/2856132984527543/
1-C 4-F
Today we put the couch out by the…
I have a video called THE BROKE PIANO on line at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JON_poM_sdY
Ironically, it does not include this song.
Key D
D (figure is D D sus, D D sus)
I am a BROKE PIANO. Got no damper and no keys
G…
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…
A little bit of pop with a strong 80s touch (I hope).
=================================================
Summer Love
Lyrics: John Scunziano
Vocals: Domenico Mercurio
Guitars: David Patterson, Domenico Mercurio
Composed by Steffen…
LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
Capo @ 3 in C
C stepping down G
Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
She’s got a comfy shoulder and an empathetic sigh
Am. F. Am. F
Lisa’s…
LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
Capo @ 3 in C
C stepping down G
Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
She’s got a comfy shoulder and an empathetic sigh
Am. F. Am. F
Lisa’s…
LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
Capo @ 3 in C
C stepping down G
Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
She’s got a comfy shoulder and an empathetic sigh
Am. F. Am. F
Lisa’s…
LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
Capo @ 3 in C
C stepping down G
Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
She’s got a comfy shoulder and an empathetic sigh
Am. F. Am. F
Lisa’s…
LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
Capo @ 3 in C
C stepping down G
Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
She’s got a comfy shoulder and an empathetic sigh
Am. F. Am. F
Lisa’s…
PLEASE DON'T TELL ME ANY MORE
capo @ 3 in G
James Michael Taylor 09 26/7 14
VERSE ONE - You said you knew the story would upset me G
That you'd resolved to kept it to yourself G D
You said you knew how hard it would…
Remember that song, PLEASE DON'T TELL ME ANY MORE? You wrote. "What a hateful, miserable person that big mouth is." Well, Big Mouth, yes, and oblivious, but he's one among us and non of us think of him as hateful. People say things in a flash, not having a clue to how it's going to land.
The banjo, bass and guitar on this song
was played by Michael Jeffrey. This is one song off the record we did together back in 1975/6 on his 4 track machine. Michael and Barbara Anne Taylor sing harmony.
I LIVE WITH REBECCA
I live with…
My Rebecca married a buddy who was killed in a car wreck. Had a beautiful daughter who died in her teens. Such sadness I have lost touch with her. She and I met ay Abilene Christian College in 1964. One day we met at a park and she read THE LITTLE PRINCE to me.
Comments on James Michael Taylor's stuff
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.
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
Wistful though not wishful. The drum is very effective. Doubling the tempo for the spoken parts - excellent!
Your speaking voice is really believable. I like that! Sounds great! A most clever song JM Who's your friend?
Yeah, sure you would! Oh, love it! What a cracking good song.
Yep.
Great fun!
Ah now, yes lovely lyrics! Oh, I knew I had heard part of it before, well, I love the expanded version. (smiley face)
Something of Neil Young for sure, some essence of David Crosby. And that refrain does sound spookily like you got Graham Nash in the studio with you. Nice.
Some classy changes in this, and a really nice lyric.
Raw and gritty and very good
Comments made by James Michael Taylor
Me - Is this a country song? Johnny Delbert Mcloud - By all means.
That's awesome, James. - John Delbert McLoud
Lazarus Knight The last verse says it all.
https://stefanprigmore.bandcamp.com/track/i-play-c?fbclid=IwAR3UQXa1yThdHIBGgFLgedUn0O6sY4YgOK1fL-IDPore_VP_DZIMCB9J6Vo
Violet Lea James Michael Taylor you really are one of the best songwriters alive.
Violet Lea James Michael Taylor you really are one of the best songwriters alive.
Kat Angel James Michael Taylor soulful
Mary Guthrie James Michael Taylor favorite line:"... We dream deep. And we hold on to each other when we travel in our sleep."
Lee Edward Orr James Michael Taylor I feel that track.
Dyson Reich -I have to be honest…I got goosebumps at the end of the couch song. You really connected the emotions with the picture you painted.
Sara DeMore James Michael Taylor very very sad video, very good song. First verse and last lines are my favorites.
Dee Hill James Michael Taylor I love this
What a killer track. Got my head between my Toby speakers and it's like I'm inside the music. tobyspeakers.com
Lane Beauvais Definitely one of my favorite songs from a great album!
Roberta Hargrove Beautiful.
Jeff Prince Love these lyrics, especially the line about a lump beneath her rug.
David Young I've always liked this one!
Heartfelt story, I like your energy in this one - Kat Angel
Remember that song, PLEASE DON'T TELL ME ANY MORE? You wrote. "What a hateful, miserable person that big mouth is." Well, Big Mouth, yes, and oblivious, but he's one among us and non of us think of him as hateful. People say things in a flash, not having a clue to how it's going to land.
My Rebecca married a buddy who was killed in a car wreck. Had a beautiful daughter who died in her teens. Such sadness I have lost touch with her. She and I met ay Abilene Christian College in 1964. One day we met at a park and she read THE LITTLE PRINCE to me.