STRICKEN

by James Michael Taylor

0:00

7:07

THERE SHE WAS 111411 - STRICKEN

Uploaded November 14, 2011 10:50am.

225

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 wrote
C
A week in Winslow, Arizona. A month in Omaha
G
He’d stood beneath that Golden Gate and he had felt the awe.
D
Tempted by the devil to take that fatal plunge
C
From the oil spill stains of Bakersfield to the damp Seattle grunge
G D
He’d fasted out of anger and he suffered from his thirst
C G
He just tried to forget her.

He’d tried his best to draw a blank when he went to sleep at night
G
Disappear into the darkness. Find some refuge from the fight
F
But when the dawn was breaking dawn did that thing dawn does
G C
His eyes moved beneath the lids and…… there she was.

One night in Fort Worth, Texas. Some Cowtown Stockyard stage
Where reds and blues make purple and the boots all smell like sage
And the girls all let their hair down and the cowboys wear their best
Another Cow Piss Margarita night, like all the rest

He set his tip jar on the railing. He tapped the mic for sound
He strapped on his old Martin and when he turned around
He thot he saw her. That rush of hopeful lies
He looked away. He strummed a chord and he closed his eyes

(F) He tried his best to draw a blank. Just make it thru his song
Just make his fingers make the chords. Of course, he’d seen it wrong.
But when he hit the chorus, the way he always does
A harmony was at his ear and there she was.

She turned and walked into the night and left him standing stunned
With three more hours to face the crowd he was feeling so outgunned
And tho the crowd had no idea what they had just seen
He was left to figure out what it all could mean
He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the job at hand
And sang the songs that he still held at memory’s command
He finally made it thru the night. He sang his final song
A song he’d written called One More and the people sang along

(https://alonetone.com/jamesmichaeltaylor/tracks/one-more/edit

(F) A song that she had told him to never sing again
He hummed the chorus to himself as he loaded up his van
He locked the back and he kicked the tires like he always does
And opening the front door, there she was

The moral of this story, perhaps you’d like to know
Is that there is no moral to this story and there’s no place else to go
Just a hope that hopes aren’t futile and that faith is more than fear
And the hope that things way out there someday will be here
We’re stuck here on this planet spinning round and round
And lucky we have gravity to keep us on the ground
But often gravity just isn’t quite enough
And that’s why we wonder off sometimes looking for some love
(F) So, when you’re sad and lonely and needing some relief
Just grab yourself a guitar and tell a story you believe
Sometimes imagination is our only hope because
It’s in our imagination. Where she was.

Jan 18, 2023
I never imagined I could actually learn THERE SHE WAS. So long and so much to remember. Then, twice in one week people told me how much they liked the song. That motivated me to do the work to learn the song. I sing that song to myself when I skate. I sing it enough to keep it working.

Peggy is the ghost that haunts my every thought. For so many years we stood , with Barbara, on that White Elephant stage. We were Texas Water and a picture of us, taken in 1980 is on the picture wall.

Download

James Michael Taylor said December 28, 2023 1:13pm

you are a great Songwriter my friend, lost my wife of 10 years little over a year ago So it touches home, done its job... Mr Jones

Guest said September 29, 2023 9:03am

Dang dude, I love it…🤠❤️🤠…just got on this site and read then listened to you sing this song…I’m gonna be 49 next month and just reading it pulled me in to listen to it…I’m a total ROOKIE…but I have a voice and blues everything that I’d kill this into a song… BUT NOT just one song I’d make three songs out of this whole thing…so the first two songs…I’d leave no ending…only to have people waiting and wanting more..to later on the radio station would get so many requests the DJays… would be forced into playing the 2nd and third part to get to the climax… of a brilliant Ending❤️❤️🤠🤠❤️❤️😎😎.. feel free to reach out to me through this dam computer stuff..HELL JAMIE H…… $$$ living in Baycity Michigan…EMPATH you later.zz

James Michael Taylor said September 27, 2023 11:57pm

Cory Michael -I listened to the song and think you should definitely sing it next week. You're a hell of a story teller, James!

lsnaples said August 13, 2023 5:20pm

Such a wonderful song, it may go on my list to learn but I'm not sure I could ever do it justice.

James Michael Taylor said March 29, 2023 5:44pm

Robert White Hey James Michael Taylor! Excellent Song and a beautiful Story! "There She Was" That is probably one of the longest songs and the story was so sad! You are a Singer and a Poet! Beautiful Voice! Thanks for Sharing! 🤗

James Michael Taylor said January 24, 2023 7:50pm

Yes. The listener knows from the beginning that she is gone, but the sadness becomes haunting when the harmony was t his ear. Enter You sent I see. Enter You sent My sadness begins when I sing, "She's been gone for three years..."

James Michael Taylor said January 24, 2023 7:42pm

When does THERE SHE WAS begin to engage the listener and what about it makes the listener sad? Enter Lazarus Lazarus Knight To me, iy was when he heard her harmony in his ear.

James Michael Taylor said January 23, 2023 5:36pm

Made me cry. - Laz

James Michael Taylor said January 19, 2023 6:17am

Please send me a link or the lyrics to the song about "there she was". That is a masterpiece! - Lazarus

James Michael Taylor said December 8, 2022 6:56pm

Thanks for taking time to listen and comment, I'm sure you know how nice it is to get any kind of feed back. Once I got two comments on a song in one week, a song called THERE SHE WAS. A long story song. 6 minutes. Never dreamed I could actually commit it to memory, but I was so motivated by the feedback, I DID learn it and I've been singing it ever since. So, thanks, again.

James Michael Taylor said August 25, 2022 10:31am

There She Was definitely captures that longing that the imagination tries but fails to satisfy Lazarus

James Michael Taylor said August 5, 2022 2:12pm

I sang this song at a Sunday night songwriter contest at The Playground in Fort Worth. No cigar.

James Michael Taylor said December 1, 2021 12:11am

"Plays out like a movie for me. Nice storytelling 👌" Vicki Me...Yes, but does the autism show? Vicki...Not necessarily. But the talent for music and creative expression coupled with the line voice of the narrator yearning to connect with others is pretty tell-tale imho It’s a recurrent theme. Even your social justice stance of anti-war. The outsider. The outlier. High intelligence and love of literature… Enter Vicki-Lee Peaceful nature Enter Vicki-Lee Vicki-Lee Cayrouse Not many other aspies have a handle on this too good. It would come down to sensory issues really. But if it’s not autism (Asperger’s syndrome) it’s probably something neurodivergent. And that could be ADHD (not always hyperactive presentation but more a neurology and the way you think) or bipolar (creatives) or something like sound synesthesia or dyslexia etc

James Michael Taylor said November 27, 2021 1:05pm

Rafi Arkin said, "Great story and song. I didn’t listen to it all as I’m trying to get through more songs on the list, but what I did hear I liked and enjoyed reading the rest of the lyrics too. Thought some of the verse melody notes were a little obvious and I could see them being stretched slightly but that shows I was into it. Wish I could write song stories like that!"

Guest said March 16, 2019 5:15am

Hey, James Michael Taylor, after I listened to your song, and wrote my praise of it, I couldn't get back on Facebook.....couldn't get it to open my page. It's that mass shooting in New Zealand has them freaked out, double checking every post. That murderer just killed all those people in our homes on Facebook. If we don't stop them, we probably won't survive in more ways than we can count.

Guest said March 16, 2019 5:07am

This is authentic, deep Texas traditional, story telling song writing. Damned hard to do this well. Good critique by: Estra (Estrella) Berosini, aka: "Estrella, Circus Girl."

James Michael Taylor said September 26, 2018 8:28pm

Mighty powerful feelings of aloneness and independence, songs and songwriting/singing a perfect fit! Keith Haas

Guest said July 23, 2017 6:03am

Nice song with a well told story.

Guest said November 14, 2011 9:09pm

Ah now, yes lovely lyrics! Oh, I knew I had heard part of it before, well, I love the expanded version. (smiley face)

terrysongs said November 14, 2011 6:23pm

Raw and gritty and very good

view all