And there’s nothing much finer
Than an old brown recliner
Rocking on the porch for my pain
Still here, if you still have my email, send me yours. David
FORTY YEAR BARN
words by Jacque Shelton and JMT (I wrote the chorus.)
I had a dream as a little boy
Not a policeman, a fireman or even a toy
I picked cotton, I waitered
My sox need darned
But all that I dreamed was my Forty Year Barn…
SIX OCLOCK SHADOWS
At six o'clock the windmill throws it's shadow on the grave
The cattle chew their cud and lowly low above the one we didn't save
The broken body buried there beneath the sod we carried there that day
And tho we hold each…
This song is a perfect companion to the other. Both are beautiful unto themselves, but together they compliment and fulfill each other... and together they become even more beautiful. Bravo Bravo
The story is at www.iburymydead.com
THE CHILD WITH THE BEAUTIFUL NAME
What remains of an eagle that's fallen
The roots of an oak tree now claim
To draw sap for the shade for the cattle
O're the child with the beautiful name
The law…
Jimmy, this song represents well, why I love you and yours. Thank you, so much, for sharing your life. This song is a masterpiece. I know it was birthed from deep shared pain. It is beautiful.
IN MY ROOM
In my room there's no day and there's no night
In my room, just an incandescent light
...hanging from a wire.
In my room there's no hot and there's no cold
In my room,I'm not young. I'm not old
...hanging from a wire…
Guilty Roses
Three dollars at the drug store
For a rose as real as life
Can't pass the display
I want to take one to my wife
But she's one suspicious lady
A rose herself you see
"I'm not that complicate."
That's what she said to me…
Guilty Roses
Three dollars at the drug store
For a rose as real as life
Can't pass the display
I want to take one to my wife
But she's one suspicious lady
A rose herself you see
"I'm not that complicate."
That's what she said to me…
I'm not at all sure what a "song-form context" is, but I bet it's important. On the other hand, I'm getting to this 12-13 years after the fact, so it probably doesn't matter. I kept hearing a Miles Davis muted horn wandering around in the background. JHardinStephens
DEAR PEGGY Capo 3 in Am
A bass stepping A G F G
Dear Peggy,I thot you'd like to know
That blue tile in our bathroom you said would have to go
I replaced with the slate that we bought at Home Depot
mmmmm mmmmm
Dear Peggy, The heat has…
I NEVER DREAM capo @ 2 in C
C
I never dream of building bridges. I never dream I’ll build a dam
I never dreamed of a cathedral for the mighty God, I Am
F
I never dreamed of founding clinics or make donations to the cause
C
I don’t see…
key of C - no capo
We listen for years for words to explain ourselves. "I'm good but not THAT good," was such a moment for me. Good enough to stay in the game but never good enough to win.
Last night I kissed somebody
I kissed somebody…
key of C - no capo
We listen for years for words to explain ourselves. "I'm good but not THAT good," was such a moment for me. Good enough to stay in the game but never good enough to win.
Last night I kissed somebody
I kissed somebody…
SOMETHING ABOUT THE NIGHT TIME - no Capo or Capo @ 4
(Am)Something about the (Bm)night time makes me feel alive
Makes me want to sing a song. Think about my life
(C)Maybe light a (D)candle. I like lemon grass
(Am)Something about the (Bm…
POTTER'S FIELD KEY Em Capo @ 3
Em……..(hold) Figure 1 is C G Am Em, Figure 2 is A A Em Em
F 1 - You might as well take me out and stand me up against the wall
F 1 - I don't want no bandanna, no cigarettes to ease the fall
F 2 - No…
POTTER'S FIELD KEY Em Capo @ 3
Em……..(hold) Figure 1 is C G Am Em, Figure 2 is A A Em Em
F 1 - You might as well take me out and stand me up against the wall
F 1 - I don't want no bandanna, no cigarettes to ease the fall
F 2 - No…
I found this poem I wrote back before she left. I put music to it and recorded it night before last.
Yeah, the high voice is me too.
LEAVING Key Am
Am Dm
He rattles like a tambourine, his…
I head this months ago and then had trouble finding it again. I think you're channeling Leonard Cohen here and that's a good thing. A very different JMT song.
LULLABY
Key D
D4 D sus D, D4 D sus D
(D) Close your eyes and tell me. Tell me what you see. In the sleepy landscape of your reverie. (G) Can you count the blossoms in the (Em) garden (A) of your (D) mind? Think about the mountains and the…
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
And there’s nothing much finer Than an old brown recliner Rocking on the porch for my pain Still here, if you still have my email, send me yours. David
I found this one recently and really enjoyed it. Nice job.
This song is a perfect companion to the other. Both are beautiful unto themselves, but together they compliment and fulfill each other... and together they become even more beautiful. Bravo Bravo
Jimmy, this song represents well, why I love you and yours. Thank you, so much, for sharing your life. This song is a masterpiece. I know it was birthed from deep shared pain. It is beautiful.
Wow, nicely poetic. Cool how your vocals and simple guitar work keep the lyrics centered for the listener.
James, this is unusually beautiful. Great job! James Oliver in Corpus Christi
I'm not at all sure what a "song-form context" is, but I bet it's important. On the other hand, I'm getting to this 12-13 years after the fact, so it probably doesn't matter. I kept hearing a Miles Davis muted horn wandering around in the background. JHardinStephens
I love it!
Oh, and could you add chords for this one please.
This is another country hit song and I think you need to start singing it again.
Dark, Solemn, & Sad w/ a bit of Humor. I Like 'Em Dark & Sometimes Uncertain Feeling. Sister or Lover ??
AWESOMENESS !! FANTASTIC WRITING !! MUCH ON THE TALENT, BROTHER !! WELL DONE, AGAIN.
AWESOMENESS. EXCELLENT WRITIN̈G !! LOVED IT !!
Excellent. Very Romantic, Melancholic, & a Tale of True Love. Great Writing / Loved It !!
Tears. Minor key makes it so tangible 🥺🥺Just want to hug you, comfort you, but I know I'm not the one who was hurting your heart😳
Hmm.........I like it !! BR
Excellent.
I head this months ago and then had trouble finding it again. I think you're channeling Leonard Cohen here and that's a good thing. A very different JMT song.
I just played this for my wife Rita. You now have another fan.
Thanks for sharing this with me. Lovely.
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.