Thursday, November 30, 2006
KAMP KERR
Jasper James and the CHOIR IN MY HEAD
June 1 2009...Sometimes I romanticise about the old days when the toilets were a stinking mess and the coffee was whatever and the showers were more likely to make things worse. But I wouldn’t want to kick out Starbucks and Home Depot and Waste Management and all the sponsors who have made this such a sanitized escape from the stresses of real life. I never thought I’d be saying this, but the Government is actually running these folk festivals more efficiently than the hodgepodge of hippies and folkies that used to be in charge. It gives us all a chance to get things off our chests so we can go back to work securing the peace in a dangerous world without letting our convictions get us into trouble. JJ
PS...and I want to thank the Ministry of Protest for commissioning and over- seeing the writing of the songs on this CD.
1. AMERICA
2. PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA - 1951
...when it was still today.
3. LITTLE BOYS LOVE BASEBALL
4. WE DON’T KNOW MUCH
5. JESSE
6. ADOLESCENT ANGEL
7. IF YOU LEFT ME
8. TESLA
9. HEROES
10. A NATION ROCKED TO SLEEP
...from a poem by Carly Sheehan
11. SHOES
12. YOU
13. AMERICA reprise
All songs by Jasper James Michael Taylor except where noted.
(C) 2006 Royal T Music (P) txh2o Records
1. AMERICA
America, where are you now? Don’t you care about your sons and daughters.
America, we need you now. We can’t fight alone against the Monster.
Would you believe my mom and my dad would send me off to war.
A “Good-bye,” and nothing more. And then I find out I’m training to be a killer
America...
(1970 by STEPPENWOLF with my arrangement and commentary. jj)
2. PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA - 1951 - when it was still TODAY
Palmdale, California, 1951. Pretty yellow chickens hatching in the sun.
Fertilizer spreader flings its fecal load. I climb up to watch in the trees along the road
Little chickens, running, pecking, darting, so aware
Tiny fluffy brand new babies hatching everywhere
Mojave Desert blows across the street. Calls to fly my kite now: cloudless smiling breeze
I will let my string out ‘til it's all unwound. Kite will fly to heaven. I'll stay on the ground Dusty devil grabs my string and jerks my kite a bit
"Snap," it breaks my string and I go running after it
Quartz path markers sparkle, spread along the trail. Horny toad smacks red ants, stubby
scaly tail. Tumble weeds are bouncing up against the trees. I climb down and bury naked
legs up to my knees... Tiny stickers prick my ankles, grab my socks and shoes I can't stop the itching and I scratch myself a bruise
Army worms are marching westward to the ditch. I stand there and watch them falling
Miniature migration, dusty black and green, following a silent calling
And they wiggle, such a struggle, but it's futile now
They can not escape the heat, no butterflies allowed
Cement chunk of rubble, origin unknown. I called it Bear's Head. I'd go there to be alone
'Neath blast of afterburners, deadly silver bird, echoes of the cannons so recently unheard
And I didn’t know the war was just the day before
And I didn’t know tomorrow there’d be another war
3. LITTLE BOYS LOVE BASEBALL
Little boys play baseball. The rules are very clear. You know if you're first or second or short or if you're forth on the batting order. Little boys play baseball.
Little boys love baseball on a sunny day. When Mom or Dad come to cheer for you there’s nothing more fun to do. Little boys love baseball.
It's a game with rules a child can understand. The score is how you tell who loses and who wins. And you know when the game is over. And you know there'll be another day. And you hop on to your bike and whistle a homeward way
Little boys love baseball. It's something they can do. A uniform and a shiny leather mitt. And there's a place where every little boy can fit. Little boys love baseball. .
A game with rules a child can understand. The score is how you tell who loses and who wins. And you know when the game is over. And you know there'll be another day. And you hop on to your bike and whistle a homeward way
Little boys miss baseball when they grow up to be men. When the game isn't over and it's getting dark and the rules aren't much good outside the park, little boys miss baseball
4. WE DON'T KNOW MUCH
I was mowing the lawn and it hit me!
We don't know much.
We can be sad and not know why
We can say we're happy and know that it's a lie
We can say we're finished and start right up again
We can swear we're losing and turn around and win
We can yearn for heaven and be afraid of hell
But it might just all be over if we tripped into a well
We don't know much
We know it's going to rain but we don't know where or when
We can guess and be right and be wrong when we guess again
We can think our love will last forever and lose interest in a year
We can say "Good-bye" to someone and they won't even hear
We can swear we saw a space ship but never be for sure
We can sell our wart to someone but that might not be the cure
We don't know much
We think hoping makes things happen and we hope it's true
But would it happen any way? Do we really have a clue
When we pray are we just asking for what's already on it's way
Now, tell me, is that true or just something that we say
When Dad says, "Wear your hat so you won't get sunstroke"
Did he read that somewhere and doesn't he know that it's a joke
We don't know much
We can't imagine being sick when we are feeling fine
We can't imagine being well when, in sickness, we recline
We can't imagine time coming to an end
But we believe all things have to begin.
And when we kill people who disagree about what happens
when we die. How can we refuse to face facts about the things
we know when we are alive. We don't know much!
5. JESSE
I never met Jesse, but I heard her howl in the night and I
heard her pups yelping for whatever they were yelping for.
She was strong and she was there. And in the Texas night,
out on the prairie between Alvarado and Lillian,
you could hear them singing their song.
I never saw Jesse, but sometime late at night
I lie awake and listen and I wonder whatever happened to Jesse .
6. ADOLESCENT ANGEL
Morning sun shines thru the curtains throwing shadows on your
face. I completely lose my bearings. Lose all sense of time and
space. Like an ADOLESCENT ANGEL, come to sleep here in
your place. Morning sun shines thru the curtains. Dancing shadows
on your face... Is it light or is it magic. Is it love or is it grace
Could an ADOLESCENT ANGEL really live there in your face
Sometimes as the day progresses she gets swept up in the race
Morning sunlight soon renews her. Yesterday leaves not a trace.
Could an ADOLESCENT ANGEL be the spirit you convey
Could an ADOLESCENT ANGEL deliver you to me each day...etc
7. IF YOU LEFT ME written with Lisa Aschmann
(With Lisa sitting there at the table with me.)
I wrote all the words and music.
But I changed course a time or two at her bidding.
I'm not going to write songs like this any more.
Songs seem to have a prophetic power
I'm not eager to play into any more.
IF YOU LEFT ME, I wouldn't want to talk. I'd set your sandals
by the curb and then I'd take a little walk. I'd buy a roll of paper
towels to soak up every tear. Then I'd hang it on the clothesline
and watch them disappear.
IF YOU LEFT ME I wouldn't want to think. I'd buy a batch of
oopsy paint and mix it right here in the sink. And I'd paint out all
your colors and I'd paint out all your smells. Paint whiskers on all
your pictures. Have my way with your pastels
I'd bang my head against the window 'til I broke out all the pane. Throw your beach towels on the counter to soak up all the rain
IF YOU LEFT ME I wouldn't want to eat. I'd stash the bird food
in the freezer next to your parakeet and I'd scoff at all my hunger
and I'd be mean as I could be. And I'd waste away to nothing just
so you couldn't see *..*
IF YOU LEFT ME I wouldn't want to live. I'd be a rhyme without a reason, a rope without a shiv. I'd steal the paper from the neighbors
and leave my trash out by the curb. I'd turn on my car alarm, hang
out a sign: DO NOT DISTURB..© 2005 Royal T Music/Nashville Geographic
8. TESLA (1856 - 1943)
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 be angry.”
And you say, “Just tell the story.”
But I’d like to ask a question: ”Why?”
Dumbing down. Dumbing down.
Who’d you never hear about in high school? Tesla!
Who’d you never hear about in college? Tesla!
Who’d you never hear about in science? Tesla!
Who’d you never hear about in physics? Tesla!
So, you say, “Now, don’t be angry.”
And you say, “Just tell the story.”
But I’d like to ask a question: ”Why?”
And what on earth would you do with a remote control devise?
Why didn’t anybody mention Tesla?
Why didn’t teachers tell us about Tesla?
Why didn't they even know about Tesla?
So, don’t tell me, “Don’t be angry.”
And I’ll try to tell the story
but right now I ask the question, “Why?”
Dumbing down. Dumbing down.
A guy named Marconi gets the Nobel Prize for inventing the radio.
So, what does Tesla do?
He invents this thing called the induction motor and he makes a deal with Westinghouse.
He lights up the Chicago World’s Fair with alternating current.
Take that Thomas “DC” Edison.
All praise Westinghouse. Let’s all praise Westinghouse.
And a nickety nackity Edison too.
So Westinghouse treats Tesla like the Unites States government treated the natives.
Lie, lie, lie.
Who could create and control plasma balls? Tesla!
And who created 100 foot lightning bolts? Tesla!
And who discovered the rotating magnetic field principle? Tesla!
And who invented the Tesla Coil? Tesla!
Did he really waste a lot a lot of money on silly projects.
Dang fool, thought we could control the weather.
It wasn’t Tesla that said that it was, “ 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.”
That was Thomas Edison.
9. HEROES
This came out of a conversation Cindy Sheehan and I were having back before she got famous.
Well, I ain't no hero. I'm just trying to survive. No, me and Cindy, we're just staying alive. We got a hurt in our heart and a tear in our eye. But we ain’t heroes.....Small town constable he liked to play cop. He got a cop radio and turned it way up. Chased a stolen van and he signaled 'em to stop...Small town constable got his self dead. Blew the shirt off his shoulders, the hat off his head. Shotgun blast turned everything red.....So he had hisself a funeral one fine day. Every cop in Texas came to sing his praise. Sounded like thunder when they roared away. Called him little rooster under their breath. “Just another unnecessary death.” Could have said it out loud but instead they called him a HERO So let's take a closer listen to this hero talk. When you save your own skin it's not a hero's walk. If the shoe don't fit you don't call it a sock. If you got an alligator you don't call it a crock. When you blacken up your skillet you don't call it a wok. You catch a school of fish you don't call it a flock. When you eat up all the gumbo you just gotta restock. If the boat don't float you don't call it Iraq. You call it a peerow.....It don't take a hero to say, "No!" to the draft. And it don't take a genius to see thru their crap. They can't take MY freedom and give it to Iraq. If I come into your country and you shoot my ass, and my buddies drag my body back over the pass, wrap me up in a flag and send my family some cash and call me a hero. “Please sign this receipt for an American flag, a certificate declaring your son a hero and $150,00.” “You gotta be kidding!” I ain't no hero. I'm just trying to survive. No, me and Cindy, we're just staying alive. We got a hurt in our heart and a tear in our eye But we ain't heroes. (background) When the mist lies o're the bayou you don't call it a fog. When you trip out to the outhouse you don't read the catalog. When you mix a Bloody Mary you don't call it eggnog. When you wander thru the Bayou you don't call it a bog. When you gig a big toad you don't call it a frog. When the people hug the trees you don't all 'em prologue. If you need a hound for hunting you don't want a lap dog. When you rustle up an oyster you don't call it a qauhog. When you need a tuxedo you don't order a tog. When the neighbors honk their horns you don't call it a knock. When you need to get a job done you don't call a peacock. When you go to buy a bond you don't call it a stock. When you're dancing to the fiddle you don't call it hard rock. When the boat's up in the driveway you don't call it dry dock. If you want dumplins for your dinner do you kill a game cock? When you love your perish priest do you vote to defrock.
10. A NATION ROCKED TO SLEEP
Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son? The torrential rains of a mother's weeping will never be done. She calls for her darling but she knows her darling’s gone. Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son? Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries? The only thing he allows him self is long deep sighs.
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries? Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave? They say he died so the flag will continue to wave, but I believe he died because they had oil to save. Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave? Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep? The leaders want to keep you numb so the pain won't be so deep, But if we the people don’t stop them, how many more will weep? Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?~ From a poem, A Nation Rocked To Sleep/For Casey by Carly Sheehan (C) 2004
11. SHOES
I wrote this after experiencing the EYES WIDE SHUT display in Dallas.
I complained because I had no shoes
until I saw the shoes that had no feet.
Every day another mother will smother
when she reads that letter. And should it
be a bother for a father to teach his son
“Son, there are things that we do not do.
And, Son, there are games we do not play.
And you don’t point guns at people
when we are at work or at play.
And you don’t follow your buddy when it’s clear
he’s lost his way.
And you don’t make others suffer because you are afraid.
I complained because I had no shoes until
I saw the shoes that had no feet.
13. YOU
There's a place in my mind where your face had a home.
Back before you walked into my life. Before you were a known.
There's a note in my song that I knew fit somewhere.
Tho the journey was long, I hoped I wouldn't be wrong.
You’d be meeting me there.
Every longing I knew proved there was you.
Just as I know there’s water because I get thirsty,
I knew there was YOU.
There’s a thought that I hold about a love that can be.
It’s a thought about you. It’s a thought about me.
There’s a place in my mind. Some will say, “an ideal.”
A cloud silver-lined, above a road that will wind
to a place that is real.
Every longing I knew proved there was you.
Just as I know there’s water because I get thirsty,
I knew there was YOU.
All the questions inside even tears couldn’t soothe.
Not to run, not to hide.
A need undenied, and the answer was YOU.....
All songs by Jasper James Michael Taylor except AMERICA which is my rearrangement of part of a song Steppenwolf did on the MONSTER LP in 1970, written by John Kay, J. Edmonton, M.St Nicholas & L. Byrum [(C)1969 MCA Music] and IF YOU LEFT ME was written with Lisa Aschmann. [(C) 2006 Royal T Music/Nashville Geographic]
Talk to me...
www.jamesmichaeltaylor.com
Jasper James and the CHOIR IN MY HEAD
June 1 2009...Sometimes I romanticise about the old days when the toilets were a stinking mess and the coffee was whatever and the showers were more likely to make things worse. But I wouldn’t want to kick out Starbucks and Home Depot and Waste Management and all the sponsors who have made this such a sanitized escape from the stresses of real life. I never thought I’d be saying this, but the Government is actually running these folk festivals more efficiently than the hodgepodge of hippies and folkies that used to be in charge. It gives us all a chance to get things off our chests so we can go back to work securing the peace in a dangerous world without letting our convictions get us into trouble. JJ
PS...and I want to thank the Ministry of Protest for commissioning and over- seeing the writing of the songs on this CD.
1. AMERICA
2. PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA - 1951
...when it was still today.
3. LITTLE BOYS LOVE BASEBALL
4. WE DON’T KNOW MUCH
5. JESSE
6. ADOLESCENT ANGEL
7. IF YOU LEFT ME
8. TESLA
9. HEROES
10. A NATION ROCKED TO SLEEP
...from a poem by Carly Sheehan
11. SHOES
12. YOU
13. AMERICA reprise
All songs by Jasper James Michael Taylor except where noted.
(C) 2006 Royal T Music (P) txh2o Records
1. AMERICA
America, where are you now? Don’t you care about your sons and daughters.
America, we need you now. We can’t fight alone against the Monster.
Would you believe my mom and my dad would send me off to war.
A “Good-bye,” and nothing more. And then I find out I’m training to be a killer
America...
(1970 by STEPPENWOLF with my arrangement and commentary. jj)
2. PALMDALE, CALIFORNIA - 1951 - when it was still TODAY
Palmdale, California, 1951. Pretty yellow chickens hatching in the sun.
Fertilizer spreader flings its fecal load. I climb up to watch in the trees along the road
Little chickens, running, pecking, darting, so aware
Tiny fluffy brand new babies hatching everywhere
Mojave Desert blows across the street. Calls to fly my kite now: cloudless smiling breeze
I will let my string out ‘til it's all unwound. Kite will fly to heaven. I'll stay on the ground Dusty devil grabs my string and jerks my kite a bit
"Snap," it breaks my string and I go running after it
Quartz path markers sparkle, spread along the trail. Horny toad smacks red ants, stubby
scaly tail. Tumble weeds are bouncing up against the trees. I climb down and bury naked
legs up to my knees... Tiny stickers prick my ankles, grab my socks and shoes I can't stop the itching and I scratch myself a bruise
Army worms are marching westward to the ditch. I stand there and watch them falling
Miniature migration, dusty black and green, following a silent calling
And they wiggle, such a struggle, but it's futile now
They can not escape the heat, no butterflies allowed
Cement chunk of rubble, origin unknown. I called it Bear's Head. I'd go there to be alone
'Neath blast of afterburners, deadly silver bird, echoes of the cannons so recently unheard
And I didn’t know the war was just the day before
And I didn’t know tomorrow there’d be another war
3. LITTLE BOYS LOVE BASEBALL
Little boys play baseball. The rules are very clear. You know if you're first or second or short or if you're forth on the batting order. Little boys play baseball.
Little boys love baseball on a sunny day. When Mom or Dad come to cheer for you there’s nothing more fun to do. Little boys love baseball.
It's a game with rules a child can understand. The score is how you tell who loses and who wins. And you know when the game is over. And you know there'll be another day. And you hop on to your bike and whistle a homeward way
Little boys love baseball. It's something they can do. A uniform and a shiny leather mitt. And there's a place where every little boy can fit. Little boys love baseball. .
A game with rules a child can understand. The score is how you tell who loses and who wins. And you know when the game is over. And you know there'll be another day. And you hop on to your bike and whistle a homeward way
Little boys miss baseball when they grow up to be men. When the game isn't over and it's getting dark and the rules aren't much good outside the park, little boys miss baseball
4. WE DON'T KNOW MUCH
I was mowing the lawn and it hit me!
We don't know much.
We can be sad and not know why
We can say we're happy and know that it's a lie
We can say we're finished and start right up again
We can swear we're losing and turn around and win
We can yearn for heaven and be afraid of hell
But it might just all be over if we tripped into a well
We don't know much
We know it's going to rain but we don't know where or when
We can guess and be right and be wrong when we guess again
We can think our love will last forever and lose interest in a year
We can say "Good-bye" to someone and they won't even hear
We can swear we saw a space ship but never be for sure
We can sell our wart to someone but that might not be the cure
We don't know much
We think hoping makes things happen and we hope it's true
But would it happen any way? Do we really have a clue
When we pray are we just asking for what's already on it's way
Now, tell me, is that true or just something that we say
When Dad says, "Wear your hat so you won't get sunstroke"
Did he read that somewhere and doesn't he know that it's a joke
We don't know much
We can't imagine being sick when we are feeling fine
We can't imagine being well when, in sickness, we recline
We can't imagine time coming to an end
But we believe all things have to begin.
And when we kill people who disagree about what happens
when we die. How can we refuse to face facts about the things
we know when we are alive. We don't know much!
5. JESSE
I never met Jesse, but I heard her howl in the night and I
heard her pups yelping for whatever they were yelping for.
She was strong and she was there. And in the Texas night,
out on the prairie between Alvarado and Lillian,
you could hear them singing their song.
I never saw Jesse, but sometime late at night
I lie awake and listen and I wonder whatever happened to Jesse .
6. ADOLESCENT ANGEL
Morning sun shines thru the curtains throwing shadows on your
face. I completely lose my bearings. Lose all sense of time and
space. Like an ADOLESCENT ANGEL, come to sleep here in
your place. Morning sun shines thru the curtains. Dancing shadows
on your face... Is it light or is it magic. Is it love or is it grace
Could an ADOLESCENT ANGEL really live there in your face
Sometimes as the day progresses she gets swept up in the race
Morning sunlight soon renews her. Yesterday leaves not a trace.
Could an ADOLESCENT ANGEL be the spirit you convey
Could an ADOLESCENT ANGEL deliver you to me each day...etc
7. IF YOU LEFT ME written with Lisa Aschmann
(With Lisa sitting there at the table with me.)
I wrote all the words and music.
But I changed course a time or two at her bidding.
I'm not going to write songs like this any more.
Songs seem to have a prophetic power
I'm not eager to play into any more.
IF YOU LEFT ME, I wouldn't want to talk. I'd set your sandals
by the curb and then I'd take a little walk. I'd buy a roll of paper
towels to soak up every tear. Then I'd hang it on the clothesline
and watch them disappear.
IF YOU LEFT ME I wouldn't want to think. I'd buy a batch of
oopsy paint and mix it right here in the sink. And I'd paint out all
your colors and I'd paint out all your smells. Paint whiskers on all
your pictures. Have my way with your pastels
I'd bang my head against the window 'til I broke out all the pane. Throw your beach towels on the counter to soak up all the rain
IF YOU LEFT ME I wouldn't want to eat. I'd stash the bird food
in the freezer next to your parakeet and I'd scoff at all my hunger
and I'd be mean as I could be. And I'd waste away to nothing just
so you couldn't see *..*
IF YOU LEFT ME I wouldn't want to live. I'd be a rhyme without a reason, a rope without a shiv. I'd steal the paper from the neighbors
and leave my trash out by the curb. I'd turn on my car alarm, hang
out a sign: DO NOT DISTURB..© 2005 Royal T Music/Nashville Geographic
8. TESLA (1856 - 1943)
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 be angry.”
And you say, “Just tell the story.”
But I’d like to ask a question: ”Why?”
Dumbing down. Dumbing down.
Who’d you never hear about in high school? Tesla!
Who’d you never hear about in college? Tesla!
Who’d you never hear about in science? Tesla!
Who’d you never hear about in physics? Tesla!
So, you say, “Now, don’t be angry.”
And you say, “Just tell the story.”
But I’d like to ask a question: ”Why?”
And what on earth would you do with a remote control devise?
Why didn’t anybody mention Tesla?
Why didn’t teachers tell us about Tesla?
Why didn't they even know about Tesla?
So, don’t tell me, “Don’t be angry.”
And I’ll try to tell the story
but right now I ask the question, “Why?”
Dumbing down. Dumbing down.
A guy named Marconi gets the Nobel Prize for inventing the radio.
So, what does Tesla do?
He invents this thing called the induction motor and he makes a deal with Westinghouse.
He lights up the Chicago World’s Fair with alternating current.
Take that Thomas “DC” Edison.
All praise Westinghouse. Let’s all praise Westinghouse.
And a nickety nackity Edison too.
So Westinghouse treats Tesla like the Unites States government treated the natives.
Lie, lie, lie.
Who could create and control plasma balls? Tesla!
And who created 100 foot lightning bolts? Tesla!
And who discovered the rotating magnetic field principle? Tesla!
And who invented the Tesla Coil? Tesla!
Did he really waste a lot a lot of money on silly projects.
Dang fool, thought we could control the weather.
It wasn’t Tesla that said that it was, “ 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration.”
That was Thomas Edison.
9. HEROES
This came out of a conversation Cindy Sheehan and I were having back before she got famous.
Well, I ain't no hero. I'm just trying to survive. No, me and Cindy, we're just staying alive. We got a hurt in our heart and a tear in our eye. But we ain’t heroes.....Small town constable he liked to play cop. He got a cop radio and turned it way up. Chased a stolen van and he signaled 'em to stop...Small town constable got his self dead. Blew the shirt off his shoulders, the hat off his head. Shotgun blast turned everything red.....So he had hisself a funeral one fine day. Every cop in Texas came to sing his praise. Sounded like thunder when they roared away. Called him little rooster under their breath. “Just another unnecessary death.” Could have said it out loud but instead they called him a HERO So let's take a closer listen to this hero talk. When you save your own skin it's not a hero's walk. If the shoe don't fit you don't call it a sock. If you got an alligator you don't call it a crock. When you blacken up your skillet you don't call it a wok. You catch a school of fish you don't call it a flock. When you eat up all the gumbo you just gotta restock. If the boat don't float you don't call it Iraq. You call it a peerow.....It don't take a hero to say, "No!" to the draft. And it don't take a genius to see thru their crap. They can't take MY freedom and give it to Iraq. If I come into your country and you shoot my ass, and my buddies drag my body back over the pass, wrap me up in a flag and send my family some cash and call me a hero. “Please sign this receipt for an American flag, a certificate declaring your son a hero and $150,00.” “You gotta be kidding!” I ain't no hero. I'm just trying to survive. No, me and Cindy, we're just staying alive. We got a hurt in our heart and a tear in our eye But we ain't heroes. (background) When the mist lies o're the bayou you don't call it a fog. When you trip out to the outhouse you don't read the catalog. When you mix a Bloody Mary you don't call it eggnog. When you wander thru the Bayou you don't call it a bog. When you gig a big toad you don't call it a frog. When the people hug the trees you don't all 'em prologue. If you need a hound for hunting you don't want a lap dog. When you rustle up an oyster you don't call it a qauhog. When you need a tuxedo you don't order a tog. When the neighbors honk their horns you don't call it a knock. When you need to get a job done you don't call a peacock. When you go to buy a bond you don't call it a stock. When you're dancing to the fiddle you don't call it hard rock. When the boat's up in the driveway you don't call it dry dock. If you want dumplins for your dinner do you kill a game cock? When you love your perish priest do you vote to defrock.
10. A NATION ROCKED TO SLEEP
Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son? The torrential rains of a mother's weeping will never be done. She calls for her darling but she knows her darling’s gone. Have you ever heard the sound of a mother screaming for her son? Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries? The only thing he allows him self is long deep sighs.
Have you ever heard the sound of a father holding back his cries? Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave? They say he died so the flag will continue to wave, but I believe he died because they had oil to save. Have you ever heard the sound of taps played at your brother's grave? Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep? The leaders want to keep you numb so the pain won't be so deep, But if we the people don’t stop them, how many more will weep? Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Rocked to Sleep?~ From a poem, A Nation Rocked To Sleep/For Casey by Carly Sheehan (C) 2004
11. SHOES
I wrote this after experiencing the EYES WIDE SHUT display in Dallas.
I complained because I had no shoes
until I saw the shoes that had no feet.
Every day another mother will smother
when she reads that letter. And should it
be a bother for a father to teach his son
“Son, there are things that we do not do.
And, Son, there are games we do not play.
And you don’t point guns at people
when we are at work or at play.
And you don’t follow your buddy when it’s clear
he’s lost his way.
And you don’t make others suffer because you are afraid.
I complained because I had no shoes until
I saw the shoes that had no feet.
13. YOU
There's a place in my mind where your face had a home.
Back before you walked into my life. Before you were a known.
There's a note in my song that I knew fit somewhere.
Tho the journey was long, I hoped I wouldn't be wrong.
You’d be meeting me there.
Every longing I knew proved there was you.
Just as I know there’s water because I get thirsty,
I knew there was YOU.
There’s a thought that I hold about a love that can be.
It’s a thought about you. It’s a thought about me.
There’s a place in my mind. Some will say, “an ideal.”
A cloud silver-lined, above a road that will wind
to a place that is real.
Every longing I knew proved there was you.
Just as I know there’s water because I get thirsty,
I knew there was YOU.
All the questions inside even tears couldn’t soothe.
Not to run, not to hide.
A need undenied, and the answer was YOU.....
All songs by Jasper James Michael Taylor except AMERICA which is my rearrangement of part of a song Steppenwolf did on the MONSTER LP in 1970, written by John Kay, J. Edmonton, M.St Nicholas & L. Byrum [(C)1969 MCA Music] and IF YOU LEFT ME was written with Lisa Aschmann. [(C) 2006 Royal T Music/Nashville Geographic]
Talk to me...
www.jamesmichaeltaylor.com
Labels: KAMP KERR
NameDropper
James Michael Taylor - unplugged
1. ANNAH Child of My Restless Dreams
2. ASA I Met a Man Named Asa Today
3. CEDRICH Cedrich Allrunner/Blackhawk
4. CRISTI Cry, Cry Cristi
5. DENA The Dena Wind
6. ROSE Last Night I Said “Good-bye” to Rose
7. JIMMY Forever Young, Forever Foolish
8. JONAH Jonah Lives Under the Bridge
9. REBECCA I Live With Rebecca
10. SCARLETT Oh, Scarlett
11. SONNY A Cloudy Day for Sonny
12. THEDA NELL The Ballad of Theda Nell
All songs by James Michael Taylor
(C) 2006 Royal T Music (P) 2006 txh2o Records
One sunny afternoon in the fall of 2005 my oldest daughter, Wyn elan and her two boys and I were relaxing in the shade of a big pecan tree at a festival called Raz on the Braz, Terry Razor's annual birthday bash. I don't know what brought it up but Wyn suggested I put together a CD of name songs. So, back home, I went thru my songbook and assembled about 25 name songs. I burned a few CD copies and passed them out to people whose opinions I valued.. I got an email from Jeff Prince that went like this...
.
"i like the name songs that are about specific people, and each song ought to be entitled by the name of the protagonist. that would make an interesting theme. some of the songs on this cd don't fit that theme. for instance, "cowtown" is nice but the song is about a city, not a person, and doesn't fit the more limited theme i envision. nor do "gramma's shampoo" (gramma is a title, not a name), "cactus flower," "california xmas memories," "feathers in the wind," etc. but that's just my opinion....jeff
Jeff is pretty smart. Besides, he's the only one so far that has taken the time to give me some feedback so this is what it has all come to. Most of these songs were written many years ago and most of them have not been included on a previous CD. All are real people and only, Jonah, who's name I do not know, is not the name of the person I wrote it about. jmt
1. CHILD OF MY RESTLESS DREAMS
I saw Annah last night, when she rose to hug me
I saw that she was with child
I saw Ahnna last night and she looked so happy
I had to stay for a while
Should I be happy or should
I morn another stranded soul thrown up on the shore?
I saw Ahnna last night. Has it been a year now since
I last looked in her eyes?
But I’ve warmed to her light loving up to her memory
To get some sleep in the night
So much goes unspoken
So much left unsaid it seems
But the child is my child
Child of my restless dreams
I saw Ahnna last nigh and she looked so happy
I had to stay for a while
I saw Ahnna last night. She said she had a sponsor
She won’t be keeping the child
So much goes unspoken
So much left unsaid it seems
But the child is my child
Child of my restless dreams
Should I be happy or should
I morn another soul thrown up on the shore?
I saw Ahnna last night...
2. ASA
I met a man named Asa today. Sweeping an apartment hallway.
A washer of windows, a painter of walls. He moves when the
manager calls. I was in San Francisco, visiting with a friend
at the door, about to walk in. I saw this fella sweeping the floor
That was all, a little later there was more. As I rode the elevator.
Getting off at the third floor the same fella reaches in, tapes a
note on the wall. It says, "If you need your windows washed,
here's a number to call. . ." Actually, the sign said, "For seven
measly bucks, get your windows washed, inside and out,
sparkling like a jewel. Contact Asa thru the manager."
And I said, "Isn't Asa a Bible name. He said, "Yes.
And ain't it a shame. I don't even know who the fella was
and I don't know anybody that does." Well, we started talking
and I told him I was a window washer too and it wasn't long before he said,
"I got a wife with a husband, you see. Trouble is, that husband ain't me.
She's a part of my body, it's becoming quite clear.
I'll not rest until I again have her near.” And then he said,
“I've spent two years searching my mind. Two years, and this is what I find:
Brothers and sisters, I have quite a few but as a wife just one person will do."
And then he said, "I saw her the other day and I took that opportunity to say,
‘Brothers and sisters, I have quite a few but as a wife I have only you.’
And he said she said, ‘Things aren't good between me and my man.
If you keep on trying, maybe you can get what your after,
In fact, you might be right, waiting for me.’"
I met a man named Asa today. Sweeping an apartment hallway.
A washer of windows, a painter of walls. He moves when the manager calls.
3. CEDRICH ALLRUNNER/BLACKHAWK
Albuquerque, '74. I pulled off the road. I opened the door. I said, "Hop in fellow if you're needing a ride. You got nothing to fear. I got nothing to hide." I could tell he'd been drinking. He could hardly walk. He dropped thru the door and he started to talk. He looked at his hands and he started to cry. He said, "Nobody cares if I live or die. . .
I’m just an Indian, drunken Indian.Just an Indian, drunken Indian."
He said, "I'm Cedric Allrunner Black Hawk."
He said, "I got a son. He's a football player. He kicks it here and he throws it there. He hasn't even got a pony but check his cheek and you'll find it bony. Take this ring. Take it well. What the heaven? What the hell? I got two. You got none. Take it from me boy. Please don't run.
*. . .*
He said, "I got a son. He is a doctor. Pick my brain. Pick my lock. Turn muddy water into liquor. Make me sick. Make me sick. Her daddy was a Choctaw warrior. Let me tell you how he tore your history book into pieces. One man lives and another man ceases.
*. . .*
“Well, picture that. Picture this. Try to walk. Try to piss. Try to stand. Try to move. I got nothing left to prove. Served my country, served her fine, spilled my blood out on t line. I watched it run. I watched it curdle. I'm the brother of the moon. I'm the son of a turtle.
*. . .*
Pour the water in the pot. Set it up and burn it hot. Pour the coffee in the water. Guadacanal was quite a slaughter. German army try to hear. I stick my tongue down in their ear. You kill then Jap! You kill the deer! I’m so drunk I got no fear.
*. . .*
4. CRY CRY CRISTI
Cristi reads books about radio.
She sits the children of light
Had a child of her own once in Mexico
Now her body's a dead end at night...
Cry Cry Cristi
One morning, I, sleeping beside her.
Dreaming what never could be.
New life to the desert inside her
Was not meant for Cristi and me
Bye Bye Cristi
Tho she left she's hardly gone.
So much of her is hanging around
She lives in my heart, ever on my mind
Could I be her lost and found
Why Why Cristi?
Sometimes time will take a memory
and twist it all out of whack
That must be what's happening to you and me
While we're searching for something we lack
Try Try Cristi
It's colder now, we're deep into fall.
The leaves have all to the ground
and things I could hardly see at all
Are now quite easily found
My My Cristi
Cristi reads books about radio.
She sits the children of light
Lost a child of her own once down in Mexico
Now her body's a dead end at night. Cry Cry Cristi...
5. THE DENA WIND
The winds they blow down thru the canyon
Blowing so wild and free
And the night is my only companion
As they're blowing Dena to me
Blowing in the wind. Canyons in the wind
Fire is in the wind of my life
Questions in the wind. Answers in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The sun it beats down Amarillo
The shadows they all fight for a place
And I'm finding that life is a riddle
That is staring me right in my face
Riddles in the wind. Puzzles in the wind
Fear is in the wind of my life
Faces in the wind. Voices in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life...
Pieces in the wind. Puzzles in the wind
Questions in the wind of my life
Faith is in the wind. Hope is in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The fires blow down thru the canyon
Burning so wild and free
And the wind is my only companion
And it's blowing La Dena to me...
6. LAST NIGHT I SAID “GOOD-BYE” TO ROSE
Last night I said, “Good Bye,” to Rose
But long ago I learned
The things that last we seldom know
And think a bridge is burned
Good Bye is just a passing thing
Hello, lasts for so long
That's why as I lay down my pen
I raise my voice in song
And Roses grow and Roses fade
and Roses sweetly bloom
So long I've lived in Rose's shade
Let Roses shade my tomb
I've tried my best to say it well
I said so well so much
But from your answers I can tell
That I have failed to touch you
Or could it be I have not failed
And it all goes to prove
There are those that we can touch
That we may never move?
And Roses grow and Roses fade
and Roses sweetly bloom
So long I've lived in Roses shade
Let Roses shade my tomb
Now, I'm not fooled by careless words
That dangle like a rope
And I'm not fooled by mocking birds
And I'm not fooled by hope
Tonight I said Good Bye to Rose
But I learned long ago
“Good-Bye.” is just a passing thing
Forever is, “Hello.”
And Roses grow and Roses fade
and Roses sweetly bloom
So long I've lived in Roses shade
Let Roses shade my tomb. . .
7. FOREVER YOUNG, FOREVER FOOLISH
Had he only known that his fate was his own
and he held it right there in his hand.
There was no guarantee what his children would be.
Some things were beyond his command
He was like many who plan, a disappointed man
whose Pretty Petite had grown fat.
He was smart and sincere and had just enough fear
to have known it would turn out like that
*Jimmy’s smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
Forever young. . .Forever foolish
Well, what was in store was so very much more
and he had not even a trace and had he but known,
perhaps he'd have flown like a dog on a track in a race.
He had a scheme or so it would seem:
He thought he would blow it all off.
He'd be on his own when the kids had all grown
but he did not hear the wind scoff.
*. . .*
The children were nice, but they each had their price
And he couldn't risk getting too close
And its simple and clean and I'll say it again
At the risk of seeming verbose
*. . .Jimmy's smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed that he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
Forever young. . .Forever foolish
8. JONAH
JONAH lives under the bridge
He's there up off the ground
His world is looking down
Bicycles pass him by
Children ask parents why
JONAH lives under the bridge
No insurance policy
On JONAH's odyssey
Send in the scholar see
JONAH in squalor
JONAH lives under the bridge
His roof is the pathway
The tires all travel
People with places to go
His floor is the grit and
The sand and the gravel and the
Rain and the wind and the cold, so
JONAH lives under the bridge
There are those with the will
To earn the dollar
People with something to buy
JONAH finds cardboard
To burn up the hours
To warm up the smoke in his eye
JONAH lives under the bridge
9. I LIVE WITH REBECCA
I live with Rebecca. I keep her by my side
I live with Rebecca. With her I do abide
Some people never see light at their door
While others, finding their fill, want no more
One day he blew it but he never knew it
No one has told him to this day.
He doesn't show it because he doesn't know it.
His Rebecca's gone away...
Some people never see light at their door
While others, finding their fill, want no more
I live with Rebecca. I keep her by my side
I live with Rebecca. With her I do abide...
10. OH, SCARLETT
If I was a stream I'd flow so free
And hope that you would drink of me
If I were a cloud and you were the sky
I'd savor you as I float by
Oh, Scarlett, eyes so bright
Oh, Scarlett, hold me tight
Oh, Scarlett, mouth so sweet
Oh, Scarlett, I'd kiss your feet
If you were earth and I was the sun
I'd shine on you when the day is done
If I were a mountain and you were the snow,
I'd cry. In springtime, tears would flow
And if I were a lover and you were alone,
I'd feel your needs as I feel my own
Oh, Scarlett, eyes so bright
Oh, Scarlett, hold me tight
Oh, Scarlett, mouth so sweet
Oh, Scarlett, I'd kiss your feet.
If I was a sream I’d flow so free
and hope that you would drink of me
11. A CLOUDY DAY FOR SONNY
They joke and they laugh and they smile and they sneer
They say things like, "I love you," so Sonny can hear.
And she thinks it's a reason to give love away
but Sonny's always crying because they never stay...
Well, Sonny's from Texas and Sonny is tall
and Sonny gives freely and Sonny gives all
but clouds follow Sonny where ever she goes.
Fair-weather friends soon fade and Sonny knows...
It must be time to move on
The boys are all tirted and the fun is all gone.
Who’s taking Sonny home? Who's taking Sonny home?
Who's taking Sonny tonight?
Sonny will smile till the smiles are all gone.
Then Sonny throws bar stools, runs and hides in the John.
And nobody will follow because they have learned
Sonny's so easy, when Sonny's been burned.
It must be time to move on.
The boys are all tired and the fun is all gone.
Who's taking Sonny home? Who's taking Sonny home?
Who's taking Sonny tonight?
12. THE BALLAD OF THEDA NELL
On the shoulder of the eagle where the sparrow builds her nest
Texas town of Palo Pinto, there's a courthouse in the West
Where the clerks all talk in whispers as tell their tattle tale
And the rich man pays his money and the poor man goes to jail
And her name was Theda Knell and she was buried there today
A child of class and beauty sleeps beneath a rose arrey
I was working down at Tony's, just a singing for my pay
I sang Bad Moon on the Rise. I should listen what I say
They tell me she’s is a lady and I know 'cause I can see
And the way she reached out with her eyes runs chills all over me
Her husband was a rich man. He could buy a racing horse
And he did and it could win a race of course
I sit here and I wonder how could I have gone so wrong
But I could not deny her. I could never be that strong
Oh, I remember nothing in my life to touch her art
The sadness in her smile, the way she took me to her heart
And her husband could not give her what she wanted most in life
A child that she could fondle like he never did his wife
He told then that I killed her and he wept to prove his pain
I said,"Oh, no. I only loved her." But of course, it was in vain
If I heal and if I live I know I never will be free
For I am poor and I am lost and have no family
He told me he could buy another, she was one of eight
But her mother and her father fear his shadow on their gate
On the shoulder of an eagle where the sparrow builds her nest
Texas town of Palo Pinto, there's a courthouse in the West
and the guards all talk in whispers as they tell their tattle tale
Of how rich men pays his money and the poor man goes to jail
Her name is Theda Nell and they buried her today...
All songs by James Michael Taylor
(C) 2006 Royal T Music - ASCAP
(P) 2006 txh2o Records & Stuff, Fort Worth, Texas
Talk to me...
www.jamesmichaeltaylor.com
James Michael Taylor - unplugged
1. ANNAH Child of My Restless Dreams
2. ASA I Met a Man Named Asa Today
3. CEDRICH Cedrich Allrunner/Blackhawk
4. CRISTI Cry, Cry Cristi
5. DENA The Dena Wind
6. ROSE Last Night I Said “Good-bye” to Rose
7. JIMMY Forever Young, Forever Foolish
8. JONAH Jonah Lives Under the Bridge
9. REBECCA I Live With Rebecca
10. SCARLETT Oh, Scarlett
11. SONNY A Cloudy Day for Sonny
12. THEDA NELL The Ballad of Theda Nell
All songs by James Michael Taylor
(C) 2006 Royal T Music (P) 2006 txh2o Records
One sunny afternoon in the fall of 2005 my oldest daughter, Wyn elan and her two boys and I were relaxing in the shade of a big pecan tree at a festival called Raz on the Braz, Terry Razor's annual birthday bash. I don't know what brought it up but Wyn suggested I put together a CD of name songs. So, back home, I went thru my songbook and assembled about 25 name songs. I burned a few CD copies and passed them out to people whose opinions I valued.. I got an email from Jeff Prince that went like this...
.
"i like the name songs that are about specific people, and each song ought to be entitled by the name of the protagonist. that would make an interesting theme. some of the songs on this cd don't fit that theme. for instance, "cowtown" is nice but the song is about a city, not a person, and doesn't fit the more limited theme i envision. nor do "gramma's shampoo" (gramma is a title, not a name), "cactus flower," "california xmas memories," "feathers in the wind," etc. but that's just my opinion....jeff
Jeff is pretty smart. Besides, he's the only one so far that has taken the time to give me some feedback so this is what it has all come to. Most of these songs were written many years ago and most of them have not been included on a previous CD. All are real people and only, Jonah, who's name I do not know, is not the name of the person I wrote it about. jmt
1. CHILD OF MY RESTLESS DREAMS
I saw Annah last night, when she rose to hug me
I saw that she was with child
I saw Ahnna last night and she looked so happy
I had to stay for a while
Should I be happy or should
I morn another stranded soul thrown up on the shore?
I saw Ahnna last night. Has it been a year now since
I last looked in her eyes?
But I’ve warmed to her light loving up to her memory
To get some sleep in the night
So much goes unspoken
So much left unsaid it seems
But the child is my child
Child of my restless dreams
I saw Ahnna last nigh and she looked so happy
I had to stay for a while
I saw Ahnna last night. She said she had a sponsor
She won’t be keeping the child
So much goes unspoken
So much left unsaid it seems
But the child is my child
Child of my restless dreams
Should I be happy or should
I morn another soul thrown up on the shore?
I saw Ahnna last night...
2. ASA
I met a man named Asa today. Sweeping an apartment hallway.
A washer of windows, a painter of walls. He moves when the
manager calls. I was in San Francisco, visiting with a friend
at the door, about to walk in. I saw this fella sweeping the floor
That was all, a little later there was more. As I rode the elevator.
Getting off at the third floor the same fella reaches in, tapes a
note on the wall. It says, "If you need your windows washed,
here's a number to call. . ." Actually, the sign said, "For seven
measly bucks, get your windows washed, inside and out,
sparkling like a jewel. Contact Asa thru the manager."
And I said, "Isn't Asa a Bible name. He said, "Yes.
And ain't it a shame. I don't even know who the fella was
and I don't know anybody that does." Well, we started talking
and I told him I was a window washer too and it wasn't long before he said,
"I got a wife with a husband, you see. Trouble is, that husband ain't me.
She's a part of my body, it's becoming quite clear.
I'll not rest until I again have her near.” And then he said,
“I've spent two years searching my mind. Two years, and this is what I find:
Brothers and sisters, I have quite a few but as a wife just one person will do."
And then he said, "I saw her the other day and I took that opportunity to say,
‘Brothers and sisters, I have quite a few but as a wife I have only you.’
And he said she said, ‘Things aren't good between me and my man.
If you keep on trying, maybe you can get what your after,
In fact, you might be right, waiting for me.’"
I met a man named Asa today. Sweeping an apartment hallway.
A washer of windows, a painter of walls. He moves when the manager calls.
3. CEDRICH ALLRUNNER/BLACKHAWK
Albuquerque, '74. I pulled off the road. I opened the door. I said, "Hop in fellow if you're needing a ride. You got nothing to fear. I got nothing to hide." I could tell he'd been drinking. He could hardly walk. He dropped thru the door and he started to talk. He looked at his hands and he started to cry. He said, "Nobody cares if I live or die. . .
I’m just an Indian, drunken Indian.Just an Indian, drunken Indian."
He said, "I'm Cedric Allrunner Black Hawk."
He said, "I got a son. He's a football player. He kicks it here and he throws it there. He hasn't even got a pony but check his cheek and you'll find it bony. Take this ring. Take it well. What the heaven? What the hell? I got two. You got none. Take it from me boy. Please don't run.
*. . .*
He said, "I got a son. He is a doctor. Pick my brain. Pick my lock. Turn muddy water into liquor. Make me sick. Make me sick. Her daddy was a Choctaw warrior. Let me tell you how he tore your history book into pieces. One man lives and another man ceases.
*. . .*
“Well, picture that. Picture this. Try to walk. Try to piss. Try to stand. Try to move. I got nothing left to prove. Served my country, served her fine, spilled my blood out on t line. I watched it run. I watched it curdle. I'm the brother of the moon. I'm the son of a turtle.
*. . .*
Pour the water in the pot. Set it up and burn it hot. Pour the coffee in the water. Guadacanal was quite a slaughter. German army try to hear. I stick my tongue down in their ear. You kill then Jap! You kill the deer! I’m so drunk I got no fear.
*. . .*
4. CRY CRY CRISTI
Cristi reads books about radio.
She sits the children of light
Had a child of her own once in Mexico
Now her body's a dead end at night...
Cry Cry Cristi
One morning, I, sleeping beside her.
Dreaming what never could be.
New life to the desert inside her
Was not meant for Cristi and me
Bye Bye Cristi
Tho she left she's hardly gone.
So much of her is hanging around
She lives in my heart, ever on my mind
Could I be her lost and found
Why Why Cristi?
Sometimes time will take a memory
and twist it all out of whack
That must be what's happening to you and me
While we're searching for something we lack
Try Try Cristi
It's colder now, we're deep into fall.
The leaves have all to the ground
and things I could hardly see at all
Are now quite easily found
My My Cristi
Cristi reads books about radio.
She sits the children of light
Lost a child of her own once down in Mexico
Now her body's a dead end at night. Cry Cry Cristi...
5. THE DENA WIND
The winds they blow down thru the canyon
Blowing so wild and free
And the night is my only companion
As they're blowing Dena to me
Blowing in the wind. Canyons in the wind
Fire is in the wind of my life
Questions in the wind. Answers in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The sun it beats down Amarillo
The shadows they all fight for a place
And I'm finding that life is a riddle
That is staring me right in my face
Riddles in the wind. Puzzles in the wind
Fear is in the wind of my life
Faces in the wind. Voices in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life...
Pieces in the wind. Puzzles in the wind
Questions in the wind of my life
Faith is in the wind. Hope is in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The fires blow down thru the canyon
Burning so wild and free
And the wind is my only companion
And it's blowing La Dena to me...
6. LAST NIGHT I SAID “GOOD-BYE” TO ROSE
Last night I said, “Good Bye,” to Rose
But long ago I learned
The things that last we seldom know
And think a bridge is burned
Good Bye is just a passing thing
Hello, lasts for so long
That's why as I lay down my pen
I raise my voice in song
And Roses grow and Roses fade
and Roses sweetly bloom
So long I've lived in Rose's shade
Let Roses shade my tomb
I've tried my best to say it well
I said so well so much
But from your answers I can tell
That I have failed to touch you
Or could it be I have not failed
And it all goes to prove
There are those that we can touch
That we may never move?
And Roses grow and Roses fade
and Roses sweetly bloom
So long I've lived in Roses shade
Let Roses shade my tomb
Now, I'm not fooled by careless words
That dangle like a rope
And I'm not fooled by mocking birds
And I'm not fooled by hope
Tonight I said Good Bye to Rose
But I learned long ago
“Good-Bye.” is just a passing thing
Forever is, “Hello.”
And Roses grow and Roses fade
and Roses sweetly bloom
So long I've lived in Roses shade
Let Roses shade my tomb. . .
7. FOREVER YOUNG, FOREVER FOOLISH
Had he only known that his fate was his own
and he held it right there in his hand.
There was no guarantee what his children would be.
Some things were beyond his command
He was like many who plan, a disappointed man
whose Pretty Petite had grown fat.
He was smart and sincere and had just enough fear
to have known it would turn out like that
*Jimmy’s smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
Forever young. . .Forever foolish
Well, what was in store was so very much more
and he had not even a trace and had he but known,
perhaps he'd have flown like a dog on a track in a race.
He had a scheme or so it would seem:
He thought he would blow it all off.
He'd be on his own when the kids had all grown
but he did not hear the wind scoff.
*. . .*
The children were nice, but they each had their price
And he couldn't risk getting too close
And its simple and clean and I'll say it again
At the risk of seeming verbose
*. . .Jimmy's smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed that he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
Forever young. . .Forever foolish
8. JONAH
JONAH lives under the bridge
He's there up off the ground
His world is looking down
Bicycles pass him by
Children ask parents why
JONAH lives under the bridge
No insurance policy
On JONAH's odyssey
Send in the scholar see
JONAH in squalor
JONAH lives under the bridge
His roof is the pathway
The tires all travel
People with places to go
His floor is the grit and
The sand and the gravel and the
Rain and the wind and the cold, so
JONAH lives under the bridge
There are those with the will
To earn the dollar
People with something to buy
JONAH finds cardboard
To burn up the hours
To warm up the smoke in his eye
JONAH lives under the bridge
9. I LIVE WITH REBECCA
I live with Rebecca. I keep her by my side
I live with Rebecca. With her I do abide
Some people never see light at their door
While others, finding their fill, want no more
One day he blew it but he never knew it
No one has told him to this day.
He doesn't show it because he doesn't know it.
His Rebecca's gone away...
Some people never see light at their door
While others, finding their fill, want no more
I live with Rebecca. I keep her by my side
I live with Rebecca. With her I do abide...
10. OH, SCARLETT
If I was a stream I'd flow so free
And hope that you would drink of me
If I were a cloud and you were the sky
I'd savor you as I float by
Oh, Scarlett, eyes so bright
Oh, Scarlett, hold me tight
Oh, Scarlett, mouth so sweet
Oh, Scarlett, I'd kiss your feet
If you were earth and I was the sun
I'd shine on you when the day is done
If I were a mountain and you were the snow,
I'd cry. In springtime, tears would flow
And if I were a lover and you were alone,
I'd feel your needs as I feel my own
Oh, Scarlett, eyes so bright
Oh, Scarlett, hold me tight
Oh, Scarlett, mouth so sweet
Oh, Scarlett, I'd kiss your feet.
If I was a sream I’d flow so free
and hope that you would drink of me
11. A CLOUDY DAY FOR SONNY
They joke and they laugh and they smile and they sneer
They say things like, "I love you," so Sonny can hear.
And she thinks it's a reason to give love away
but Sonny's always crying because they never stay...
Well, Sonny's from Texas and Sonny is tall
and Sonny gives freely and Sonny gives all
but clouds follow Sonny where ever she goes.
Fair-weather friends soon fade and Sonny knows...
It must be time to move on
The boys are all tirted and the fun is all gone.
Who’s taking Sonny home? Who's taking Sonny home?
Who's taking Sonny tonight?
Sonny will smile till the smiles are all gone.
Then Sonny throws bar stools, runs and hides in the John.
And nobody will follow because they have learned
Sonny's so easy, when Sonny's been burned.
It must be time to move on.
The boys are all tired and the fun is all gone.
Who's taking Sonny home? Who's taking Sonny home?
Who's taking Sonny tonight?
12. THE BALLAD OF THEDA NELL
On the shoulder of the eagle where the sparrow builds her nest
Texas town of Palo Pinto, there's a courthouse in the West
Where the clerks all talk in whispers as tell their tattle tale
And the rich man pays his money and the poor man goes to jail
And her name was Theda Knell and she was buried there today
A child of class and beauty sleeps beneath a rose arrey
I was working down at Tony's, just a singing for my pay
I sang Bad Moon on the Rise. I should listen what I say
They tell me she’s is a lady and I know 'cause I can see
And the way she reached out with her eyes runs chills all over me
Her husband was a rich man. He could buy a racing horse
And he did and it could win a race of course
I sit here and I wonder how could I have gone so wrong
But I could not deny her. I could never be that strong
Oh, I remember nothing in my life to touch her art
The sadness in her smile, the way she took me to her heart
And her husband could not give her what she wanted most in life
A child that she could fondle like he never did his wife
He told then that I killed her and he wept to prove his pain
I said,"Oh, no. I only loved her." But of course, it was in vain
If I heal and if I live I know I never will be free
For I am poor and I am lost and have no family
He told me he could buy another, she was one of eight
But her mother and her father fear his shadow on their gate
On the shoulder of an eagle where the sparrow builds her nest
Texas town of Palo Pinto, there's a courthouse in the West
and the guards all talk in whispers as they tell their tattle tale
Of how rich men pays his money and the poor man goes to jail
Her name is Theda Nell and they buried her today...
All songs by James Michael Taylor
(C) 2006 Royal T Music - ASCAP
(P) 2006 txh2o Records & Stuff, Fort Worth, Texas
Talk to me...
www.jamesmichaeltaylor.com
Labels: NameDropper
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
James Michael Taylor
1. BIG FAT HORSE
2. HOEDOWN
3. PROLOG
4. CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS MEMORIES
5. DIAMONDS & WATER
6. FRUSTRATED ARTIST
7. COAL FEVER
8. LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
9. HICKORY STIX
10. SUNLIGHT ON SPIDER WEBS
11. SOMEONE’S LITTLE BROTHER/HELP
12. OH, JIMMY!
13. SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
14. I’M STILL HERE
15. LULLABY
16. EPILOG
All songs by James Michael Taylor and published by Royal T Music except HICKORY STIX, Lisa Aschmann and James Michael Taylor Published by Nashville Geographic & Royal T Music
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN is not a name on a sign at the edge of any town or at the base of any mountain that I can show you on a map. But I can show you the creek into which my mother emptied her tubercular mother's spit bucket and I can show you the sealed entrance to the mine where my grandfather, Fred Teeters breathed the dust that destroyed his lungs. I can show you the mislabeled grave stones that mark their resting place. I can show you the cave my mother played in with her friends. The cave is now a national monument. I can show you the factory that makes the hickory handles. I can show you the river where someone's little brother was swept away that day and I can show you a picture in a yearbook of a girl named Marie Angel. I can show you sunlight on spider webs and I can show you a bale of cotton. The same five hundred pound bale of cotton that scabbed human hands picked for two dollars and fifty cents. I can show you the grave of those who demanded one dollar for each hundred pounds. I can show you the berries on the fence at the end of the trail and I can show you the same sun that sat on that mountain.
1. BIG FAT HORSE (From a folk song called SHADY GROVE)
Wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
Corn to feed him on
Pretty little girl to stay at home
Feed him when I’m gone
Wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
Wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE…
I wish I had a mountain top
Look out to the sea
Wish I had a mountain top
See what I could see
Wish I had a mountain top
Wish I had a mountain top…
I wish I had a buffalo
A bone to tan his skin
I wish I had a buffalo
Corn to feed my kin
I wish I had a buffalo
I wish I had a buffalo…
I wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
Corn to feed him, on
Pretty little girl to stay at home
Fed him when I’m gone
I wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
I wish I had a mountain top
I wish I had a buffalo
What can we do with the drunken miner
What can we do with the drunken soldier
What can we do with the drunken sailor
Early in the morning
I wish I had a big fat frog
Fry him in a pan
Open up some pork and beans
Eat ‘em from the can
I wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
I wish I had a mountain top
I wish I had a buffalo….
Wish I had a big fat frog.....
2. GRASSICAL HOEDOWN (From the traditional song PICK A BALE OF COTTON)
An effort to do a slide show at a dance that takes place
at the same time on two different ends of the country:
The San Jouquin Valley of California and the Sequatchie Valley in Tennessee.
Hey, now. Hoe, now. Hey, now. Hoe, now
Chop that cotton row. Oh. Oh
One, two, three, four Hoe now. Hey now.
What you got to say, now.
Tell me what you said. What’s in your pretty head
(Swing your partner) Oh, oh. Allemande right.
All together now. All together now
Got a little work gotta do today.
Gotta little work gotts do today
Gotta little work gotta do today
Before I get my paycheck
Hi, ho, here we go, make some money and buy some clothes.
Meet me at the dance hall.
Ha, ha, ha, ha. Hoe, now. Hey, now .
Pick a bale a day now. Oh, Yeah.
Sixty cents a hundred.
When I was a teenager my moma said
“You really know how to pick em.” Oh, oh, oh.
Pick one bale and I make three dollars
Oh, oh, bless my soul
Bolls hurt my fingers and it makes me holler
You got a june bug on your collar
I look at all the hungry people
I’m so hungry it makes me swaller
Hang it on the fence it’ll dry by evenin’
Gotta get to town now
Bathin’ in the creek and I think I’m freezin’
When I was a little boy my mama said,
“Now son, you really know how to pick em’.
Hey, now. Ho, now. Hey, now. Hoe now
Chop that cotton row now.
Woe. Vote for your sweet heart
Hoe now. Hey now
What you got to say, now.
Tell me what you said.
What’s in your pretty head now
Woe. Woe.
Got a little work gotta do today
Got a little work gotta do today
Before I get my paycheck
Hi, ho, here we go
Make some money and buy some clothes
Little bitty mouse runs across my banjo
Now I lay me down to sleep my soul to keep.
I’m waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
3. PROLOGUE
I was born in California. I was raised in California.
To me the world was California. Everything else was some strange place.
One place I knew about was Tennessee where my mom grew up.
I heard her stories about how her dad being a miner
and her brothers and sisters fighting and divorcing and trying to kill eachother
and being alcoholics and not getting along
I thought maybe I’d write some day, like Faulkner, about the South.
How sad it all was and how impossible it all seemed.
And then I left California. Spent the last thirty something years in Texas.
Tennessee still seems like a strange place that got lost somewhere in the past.
Back roads into Orem. Go to the hickory handle factory there in Sequatchie.
Take I 24 out of Marion County into Chattanooga...
4. CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS MEMORIES
This was one of the songs I entered in the Christmas Song contest sponsored by the Fort Worth Songwriters Association in 2005. I wanted to write about the importance of wrapping paper at Christmas. A song called REDNECK CHRISTMAS won.
Take me back to California on a sunny Christmas morn.
Well, Christmas there was different on those Mojave Desert nights.
No snow and not much money for sharp clothes or hunting knifes.
In fact we got a lot of toothpaste and some clothes we'd done worn
out. Once I unwrapped a can of Pork 'n Beans. I said, "Holy cow!"
Then, Dad would turn to Mom and see that twinkle in her eye. And he
almost broke out laughing when John unwrapped his old bow tie. It
was an instant disappointment, enough to ruin the year. Somehow
we rose above it all and we're all still glad to be here
Take me back to California, to the Christmas sunshine warm.
California Christmas memories where my expectations formed.
Just me and my two brothers and a happy dad and mom.
Take me back to California on that sunny Christmas morn.
Daddy had a sense of humor and he had a narrow smile
He made the best of what we had, sometimes it got real wild.
One time he took two mattresses and he made a trampoline.
Well, me and John would jump off the roof on the count of three.
Well, I'd jump off. John was what we call a fraidy cat.
He'd say, “Two and a quarter, two and a half, two and three quarters...”
He’s bigger than me now but he's still a fraidy cat.
Take me back to California on a sunny Christmas morn.
My dad, he had his theories about what matters in this world
It don't matter if you are a boy or if you are a girl
Inside we're all the same so we might as well be having fun
'Cause once we take off all the wrapping the guessing is all done.
And, my daddy had his theories about holidays and things
It wasn't how many quail you killed , it was all about the bang
And once the presents opened and living room's all clean
The wrapping's what it's all about in that desert Christmas scene
Take me back to California to the Christmas sunshine warm
California Christmas memories when my expectations formed
Just me and my two brothers and a healthy dad and mom
Take me back to California on a sunny Christmas morn.
5. DIAMONDS & WATER
I think I sleep-walked one night to the studio.
That's the only explanation that makes any sense to me about this...
You wear diamonds on your fingers.
You wear diamonds on your ears
and you wear diamonds on your necklace.
You wear diamonds to the party.
You wear diamonds to the banquet.
You wear diamonds to the opera.
But I’ll take a thousand gallons of water.
You can keep your diamonds.
You can keep your gold and you can keep your platinum.
But I’ll breathe fresh air in a meadow.
A meadow. Remember the meadow?
6. FRUSTRATED ARTIST
My argument for supporting the arts...
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST
trying to sell his pictures on the street.
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST,
never selling quite enough to eat, so
he overcompensated for the lack of
compensation for the pictures that he
drew, and he took out his frustrations
on the gypsies of the nation and an
occasional Jew
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST
Drawing some new borders on the map
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST
Drawing blood while Europe took a nap
We all know frustration can make a
man to do crazy things. We all know
frustration can black an eye and make
a gun go “Bang!” “Garble, garble.”
Roughly translated,
“If I had been taken seriously as an artist
I never would have gotten involved in politics.”
Da da da...
7. COAL FEVER
Sometime back in the 70s I was thinking about jumping freight trains when I was a boy and that old song Coal Tattoo. I wrote music again and again over the years but until recently the music wouldn't stick to it.
When I caught the fever I was ten years old
Mama called the doctor, so the story is told
And the doctor's diagnosis made her blood run cold
He said, "Your son's been infected by the #9 coal"
COAL FEVER
I never told my mama how I got the disease
I hid the black scars on my elbows and knees
You try to grab a boxcar when she's starting to roll
And you miss the first step, you get a fist full of coal
COAL FEVER
COAL FEVER. . .You know it runs in your blood
COAL FEVER. . .Turns your name into mud
You got to find a woman in every town
That's the only way to keep the fever down
COAL FEVER
They say you starve a fever when you feed it the coal,
but a wife and three kids can get mighty old
I didn't leave a trace. I never looked back
They found my old DeSoto on the railroad track
COAL FEVER
Well, my mama died of cancer and my daddy lost heart.
Try not to think about it, 'cause it tears me apart.
The fever keeps me hopping and I don't want to be late
when I ride that Midnight Special thru the pearly gate
COAL FEVER...
8. LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
She’s got a comfy shoulder and an empathetic sigh
Lisa’s had some troubles. Enough to last a life
But, Lisa makes appointments so her friends can come and cry
Her friends don’t see the fingers that her father broke, each one
Like pretzels, brittle snaps the little fingers soon were done
They don’t know about the husband that died so long ago
Or the house that washed into the sea and took away the road
I don’t know how Lisa does it but she does it every day
The music in her heart must wash it all away
Lisa’s not above the storm and Lisa’s not beneath the waves
I don’t know how Lisa does it but she does it every day
Yes, Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
About their freshly busted lip or a brand new blackened eye
Or a fingernail that’s damaged by the strings of a guitar
Or some imagined insult atop an imaginary scar
So her friends go cry on Lisa and she takes it with a shrug
The hell in all their lives won’t make a lump beneath her rug
And when the crying’s over, she knows it’s just a phase
Lisa hugs her friend and writes another song of praise.
I don’t know how Lisa does it but she does it every day
The music in her heart must wash it all away.
Lisa’s not above the storm and Lisa’s not beneath the waves
When Lisa goes to funerals Lisa smells the flowers on the graves
9. HICKORY STIX*
I wrote this poem sitting at the dining room table with Lisa Aschmann at her apartment in Nashville one evening. She kept saying "No, that verse belongs in another song," and "That's a keeper..." and at some point she started singing it back to me. I said, "We need a chorus." Lisa said, "No." The next morning she said, "You were right. We need a chorus," and she sang me three notes. I took those notes and made them into a howl. We liked that. Then we wrote the ending together. We celebrated. It was our first song together.
Billy Joe and Don McRay drive to work each dawn at six
Down the mountain to the factory that makes handles out of hickory sticks.
Their job is easy labor, hanging handles on the line that drags them thru the lacquer. Killing more than time
First batch of handles drying on the dripping drying rack
Another batch of brain cells dying. They'll never get them back
Bobtail full of handles. Yard high with hickory chips.
Eyes glazed like a pastry. They wipe sweat from their cracking lips
They don’t worry about no G-man come close the factory down
They got a cousin's got an uncle's got connections back in town.
And there's not a living thing within ten feet of that room
Not a silver fish, not a cockroach. Not a seedpod, not a bloom
The wind once blew a firefly, blinking thru the door
They swore it was a spaceship they swatted to the floor
They don't smoke tobacco. They don't need a whiskey fix
At night deep in their pillows they dream about hickory sticks
Hearse heads down the mountain, followed by pickup trucks
The boys are leaving early and they're going home deluxe
Teachers called them slackers. Boss said, “They’re just hicks,
But someone's got lacquer handles made of hickory sticks.”
Somebody’s gotta lacquor hickory handled hardware
Somebody’s gotts lacquor handles made of hickory stix.
10. SUNLIGHT ON SPIDER WEBS (an instrumental)
11. SOMEONE’S LITTLE BROTHER / HELP / THE SOUND OF WATER
A scene from RAZ ON THE BRAZ 2005
I open up the faucet. Water squirts out of the hose
Gurgle, gurgle, splitter, splatter on the lizards and the toads
The mulch rolls like it's boiling. River sound in miniature
Every day I think about it, but I never can be sure...
He said, "Help." A lonely cry for his existence
He said, "Help." The campground echoed his resistance
And as I see him in the distance I respond at his insistence
He said, "Help," as he flowed down with the water
Not a scream, just that word and not much louder
Just a statement, not a shout. He held his chin up like an otter
He said, "Help," as the swelling waters lift him
He said, "Help," the sand beneath his feet was shifting
Lost his footing so he's drifting.
Will the hands of time constrict him?
He said, "Help."
I got sunflowers and tomatoes, caster beans and summer squash
I got roses piled with coffee grounds but this summer is a wash
There's lightning and the thunder sparking ‘cross the dusty plane
Though I love the distant fireworks, what I really need is rain
He said, "Help." Not like he was dying
He said, "Help." And it was me that he was eyeing
Our time had come, there's no denying. Like a puppy's gentle crying.
He said, "Help." I knew I was rushing into trouble
He said, "Help." I knew the drowning could be double
That I must avoid a struggle with the boy that broke the bubble
He said, "Help." Oh, why can't I forget it?
He said, "Help." But to forget is not permitted
We can't stop once we've committed. I'm confused and I admit it.
He said, "Help."
We were meant to meet that day, bobbing in the current
You can't hold destiny at bay when you're stripped of all deterrents
And the memory will replay, yes, the river scene recurrent
He said, "Help." People standing there just talking
On the shore, just drinking beer and gawking
Smoking cigarettes and laughing, all, the fun that they were having
He said, "Help," as he felt the river's power
He said, "Help, help me delay my final hour."
Though unspoken, I could sense it. You can buy, but no one rents it.
He said, "Help." He was someone's little brother
He said, "Help," and somewhere he had a mother
And where’s this child’s father as I splash across the water
He said, "Help." I said, "Son, don't stop trying.
He was silent as I shoved him toward the shore line
All the people standing there.
I said, "Do something. Don't just stare."
I said, "Help!"
OH, JIMMY!
Upon seeing a picture of a beautiful girl named Marie Angel
in my mother's 1939 Marion County, Tennessee high school year book.
After a year of thinking about what the attraction could mean...
On page thirty of a yearbook
He found a picture sweet
A girl named Marie Angel
In school right down the street
He hadn’t noticed that the date was 1983
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
That night he told his mother
He’d finally found the one
She smiled and hugged her angel
She said, “That’s wonderful, Son.”
She didn’t think to ask him who this girl could be.
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
Later in the evening
Something on her mind
Prompted her to ask
About her darling’s loving find
He said, “I found her picture in a book at Dougan’s store.”
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
He said, “Her name is Marie Angel.”
And his mom began to cry
She couldn’t even say the words
When Jimmy asked her, “Why?”
How do you keep a secret you always thought was best?
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
On page ninety in that yearbook
Is a picture of that girl
She stands by Jimmy’s father
King and Queen of Homecoming World
Nobody seemed to notice that the Queen was great with child
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
No more words were spoken
About that day again
Jimmy bought the yearbook
And he holds it now and then
Perhaps, some things are best left unspoken if you can.
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
On page 30 of the yearbook he found the picture sweet...
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
For my mother's funeral.
My mom’s dad was a coal miner. Her mother died of TB when she was a kid. When she was 12 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 and a bunch of big brothers and sisters to take care of her...When I come to the end of that old dirt road where the berries all grow on the fence and the trail wonders down to the water’s edge and the footprints of all my old friends. She told John once if she hadn’t stuck with her guns as often as she did she wouldn’t have been right as often as she was. So he put that on a piece of paper and framed it and hung it on the wall so we could all remember her stradegy in life. And tho I follow in the footsteps of my friends and the road I walk down had been tramped in to stone. All the tears that I’ve cried will have turned into dust and my life will pass like shadow into the shade. Where the crickets are fiddling at midnight. And the toad frogs all sing to the moon, all the grasshoppers listening and smiling and the coyotes howling the tune. When I come to the end of life’s journey and I’m facing my last setting sun, it’s, “Goodbye,” to this old worn out body and a hope for a shiny new one.
I’M STILL HERE
I’m still here, I’m feeling kinda shoddy
I’m still here in mind and body
I’m still here. My hands are gnarled and knotty but,
I’m still here. I’m still here.
It was New Year’s eve 2005
26 men walked into the mine
There was an explosion and the cavein
13 came back out and 13 were left behind
Little girls play in the kitchen
Little boys play in the yard
Little girls watch what mama’s are fixin
For daddys out working so hard
I’m still here deep in the darkness
I’m still here in the cold cold ground
I’m still here, can you hear me
I’m still here praying to be found
So they drill down to the miners
Listning for a sound and there’s silence
At the truck stops and the diners
In this frozen little town
And the wifes wait on the surface
Children at their side
Praying Daddy’s coming home,
Coming home tonight
I’m still here. You can hear the pin drop
I’m still here but I won’t nbe long
I’m still here come and get me
I’m still here come take me home
LULLABY
Close your eyes and tell me. Tell me what you see
In that sleepy landscape of your reverie
Can you count the blossoms in the garden of your mind
Think about the mountains, the flowers and the trees
Think about the golden, amber autumn leaves
Imagine pretty patterns in the pictures that you’ll find
Can you see the sparrows and the pigeons clinging to
the wire? Can you hear the wind blowing thru their
feathers like an angel choir?
Close your eyes and listen. Listen to them sleeping
The bears are hibernating (Squirrels in the treetops)
Chickens cease their peeping
Sleepy blossoms closing in the garden of your mind
Listen to the water flowing in the river
Gophers in their burrows sleep without a shiver
Sleepy fading pictures of the patterns in your mind
Can you see the sparrows and the pigeons clinging to
the wire? Can you hear the wind blowing thru their
feathers like an angel choir?
Listen to the snowfall. Listen to your heart beat
Listen to the sunset. Mmmmmm
Listen to the moon as it whispers across the sky
The silence of your pillow. The quiet in your eyes.
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
Produced by James Michael Taylor
Good Oops Studios of Fort Worth,Texas
for TEXAS WATER RECORDS
contact - www.txh2o.com
All songs by James Michael Taylor
(C) 2006 Royal T Music - ASCAP
except * (HICKORY STIX) by JMT & Lisa Aschmann (C) 2006 Nashville Geographics/Royal T Music
Cover photo:Fred Teeters and fellow coal miner, circa 1919, Orme, TN
Photographer unknown
JMT photo by RaByn James 2004
RaByn James plays the VariAxe on HOEDOWN
These songs were recorded on my computer using
a program called NUENDO. I use an Earthworks mic
and a MOTU interface. Most of the drum sounds
are samples from a program called Acid.
jamesmichaeltaylor@earthlink.net
www.jamesmichaeltaylor.com
James Michael Taylor
1. BIG FAT HORSE
2. HOEDOWN
3. PROLOG
4. CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS MEMORIES
5. DIAMONDS & WATER
6. FRUSTRATED ARTIST
7. COAL FEVER
8. LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
9. HICKORY STIX
10. SUNLIGHT ON SPIDER WEBS
11. SOMEONE’S LITTLE BROTHER/HELP
12. OH, JIMMY!
13. SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
14. I’M STILL HERE
15. LULLABY
16. EPILOG
All songs by James Michael Taylor and published by Royal T Music except HICKORY STIX, Lisa Aschmann and James Michael Taylor Published by Nashville Geographic & Royal T Music
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN is not a name on a sign at the edge of any town or at the base of any mountain that I can show you on a map. But I can show you the creek into which my mother emptied her tubercular mother's spit bucket and I can show you the sealed entrance to the mine where my grandfather, Fred Teeters breathed the dust that destroyed his lungs. I can show you the mislabeled grave stones that mark their resting place. I can show you the cave my mother played in with her friends. The cave is now a national monument. I can show you the factory that makes the hickory handles. I can show you the river where someone's little brother was swept away that day and I can show you a picture in a yearbook of a girl named Marie Angel. I can show you sunlight on spider webs and I can show you a bale of cotton. The same five hundred pound bale of cotton that scabbed human hands picked for two dollars and fifty cents. I can show you the grave of those who demanded one dollar for each hundred pounds. I can show you the berries on the fence at the end of the trail and I can show you the same sun that sat on that mountain.
1. BIG FAT HORSE (From a folk song called SHADY GROVE)
Wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
Corn to feed him on
Pretty little girl to stay at home
Feed him when I’m gone
Wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
Wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE…
I wish I had a mountain top
Look out to the sea
Wish I had a mountain top
See what I could see
Wish I had a mountain top
Wish I had a mountain top…
I wish I had a buffalo
A bone to tan his skin
I wish I had a buffalo
Corn to feed my kin
I wish I had a buffalo
I wish I had a buffalo…
I wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
Corn to feed him, on
Pretty little girl to stay at home
Fed him when I’m gone
I wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
I wish I had a mountain top
I wish I had a buffalo
What can we do with the drunken miner
What can we do with the drunken soldier
What can we do with the drunken sailor
Early in the morning
I wish I had a big fat frog
Fry him in a pan
Open up some pork and beans
Eat ‘em from the can
I wish I had a BIG FAT HORSE
I wish I had a mountain top
I wish I had a buffalo….
Wish I had a big fat frog.....
2. GRASSICAL HOEDOWN (From the traditional song PICK A BALE OF COTTON)
An effort to do a slide show at a dance that takes place
at the same time on two different ends of the country:
The San Jouquin Valley of California and the Sequatchie Valley in Tennessee.
Hey, now. Hoe, now. Hey, now. Hoe, now
Chop that cotton row. Oh. Oh
One, two, three, four Hoe now. Hey now.
What you got to say, now.
Tell me what you said. What’s in your pretty head
(Swing your partner) Oh, oh. Allemande right.
All together now. All together now
Got a little work gotta do today.
Gotta little work gotts do today
Gotta little work gotta do today
Before I get my paycheck
Hi, ho, here we go, make some money and buy some clothes.
Meet me at the dance hall.
Ha, ha, ha, ha. Hoe, now. Hey, now .
Pick a bale a day now. Oh, Yeah.
Sixty cents a hundred.
When I was a teenager my moma said
“You really know how to pick em.” Oh, oh, oh.
Pick one bale and I make three dollars
Oh, oh, bless my soul
Bolls hurt my fingers and it makes me holler
You got a june bug on your collar
I look at all the hungry people
I’m so hungry it makes me swaller
Hang it on the fence it’ll dry by evenin’
Gotta get to town now
Bathin’ in the creek and I think I’m freezin’
When I was a little boy my mama said,
“Now son, you really know how to pick em’.
Hey, now. Ho, now. Hey, now. Hoe now
Chop that cotton row now.
Woe. Vote for your sweet heart
Hoe now. Hey now
What you got to say, now.
Tell me what you said.
What’s in your pretty head now
Woe. Woe.
Got a little work gotta do today
Got a little work gotta do today
Before I get my paycheck
Hi, ho, here we go
Make some money and buy some clothes
Little bitty mouse runs across my banjo
Now I lay me down to sleep my soul to keep.
I’m waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
3. PROLOGUE
I was born in California. I was raised in California.
To me the world was California. Everything else was some strange place.
One place I knew about was Tennessee where my mom grew up.
I heard her stories about how her dad being a miner
and her brothers and sisters fighting and divorcing and trying to kill eachother
and being alcoholics and not getting along
I thought maybe I’d write some day, like Faulkner, about the South.
How sad it all was and how impossible it all seemed.
And then I left California. Spent the last thirty something years in Texas.
Tennessee still seems like a strange place that got lost somewhere in the past.
Back roads into Orem. Go to the hickory handle factory there in Sequatchie.
Take I 24 out of Marion County into Chattanooga...
4. CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS MEMORIES
This was one of the songs I entered in the Christmas Song contest sponsored by the Fort Worth Songwriters Association in 2005. I wanted to write about the importance of wrapping paper at Christmas. A song called REDNECK CHRISTMAS won.
Take me back to California on a sunny Christmas morn.
Well, Christmas there was different on those Mojave Desert nights.
No snow and not much money for sharp clothes or hunting knifes.
In fact we got a lot of toothpaste and some clothes we'd done worn
out. Once I unwrapped a can of Pork 'n Beans. I said, "Holy cow!"
Then, Dad would turn to Mom and see that twinkle in her eye. And he
almost broke out laughing when John unwrapped his old bow tie. It
was an instant disappointment, enough to ruin the year. Somehow
we rose above it all and we're all still glad to be here
Take me back to California, to the Christmas sunshine warm.
California Christmas memories where my expectations formed.
Just me and my two brothers and a happy dad and mom.
Take me back to California on that sunny Christmas morn.
Daddy had a sense of humor and he had a narrow smile
He made the best of what we had, sometimes it got real wild.
One time he took two mattresses and he made a trampoline.
Well, me and John would jump off the roof on the count of three.
Well, I'd jump off. John was what we call a fraidy cat.
He'd say, “Two and a quarter, two and a half, two and three quarters...”
He’s bigger than me now but he's still a fraidy cat.
Take me back to California on a sunny Christmas morn.
My dad, he had his theories about what matters in this world
It don't matter if you are a boy or if you are a girl
Inside we're all the same so we might as well be having fun
'Cause once we take off all the wrapping the guessing is all done.
And, my daddy had his theories about holidays and things
It wasn't how many quail you killed , it was all about the bang
And once the presents opened and living room's all clean
The wrapping's what it's all about in that desert Christmas scene
Take me back to California to the Christmas sunshine warm
California Christmas memories when my expectations formed
Just me and my two brothers and a healthy dad and mom
Take me back to California on a sunny Christmas morn.
5. DIAMONDS & WATER
I think I sleep-walked one night to the studio.
That's the only explanation that makes any sense to me about this...
You wear diamonds on your fingers.
You wear diamonds on your ears
and you wear diamonds on your necklace.
You wear diamonds to the party.
You wear diamonds to the banquet.
You wear diamonds to the opera.
But I’ll take a thousand gallons of water.
You can keep your diamonds.
You can keep your gold and you can keep your platinum.
But I’ll breathe fresh air in a meadow.
A meadow. Remember the meadow?
6. FRUSTRATED ARTIST
My argument for supporting the arts...
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST
trying to sell his pictures on the street.
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST,
never selling quite enough to eat, so
he overcompensated for the lack of
compensation for the pictures that he
drew, and he took out his frustrations
on the gypsies of the nation and an
occasional Jew
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST
Drawing some new borders on the map
He was a FRUSTRATED ARTIST
Drawing blood while Europe took a nap
We all know frustration can make a
man to do crazy things. We all know
frustration can black an eye and make
a gun go “Bang!” “Garble, garble.”
Roughly translated,
“If I had been taken seriously as an artist
I never would have gotten involved in politics.”
Da da da...
7. COAL FEVER
Sometime back in the 70s I was thinking about jumping freight trains when I was a boy and that old song Coal Tattoo. I wrote music again and again over the years but until recently the music wouldn't stick to it.
When I caught the fever I was ten years old
Mama called the doctor, so the story is told
And the doctor's diagnosis made her blood run cold
He said, "Your son's been infected by the #9 coal"
COAL FEVER
I never told my mama how I got the disease
I hid the black scars on my elbows and knees
You try to grab a boxcar when she's starting to roll
And you miss the first step, you get a fist full of coal
COAL FEVER
COAL FEVER. . .You know it runs in your blood
COAL FEVER. . .Turns your name into mud
You got to find a woman in every town
That's the only way to keep the fever down
COAL FEVER
They say you starve a fever when you feed it the coal,
but a wife and three kids can get mighty old
I didn't leave a trace. I never looked back
They found my old DeSoto on the railroad track
COAL FEVER
Well, my mama died of cancer and my daddy lost heart.
Try not to think about it, 'cause it tears me apart.
The fever keeps me hopping and I don't want to be late
when I ride that Midnight Special thru the pearly gate
COAL FEVER...
8. LISA MAKES APPOINTMENTS
Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
She’s got a comfy shoulder and an empathetic sigh
Lisa’s had some troubles. Enough to last a life
But, Lisa makes appointments so her friends can come and cry
Her friends don’t see the fingers that her father broke, each one
Like pretzels, brittle snaps the little fingers soon were done
They don’t know about the husband that died so long ago
Or the house that washed into the sea and took away the road
I don’t know how Lisa does it but she does it every day
The music in her heart must wash it all away
Lisa’s not above the storm and Lisa’s not beneath the waves
I don’t know how Lisa does it but she does it every day
Yes, Lisa makes appointments for her friends to come and cry
About their freshly busted lip or a brand new blackened eye
Or a fingernail that’s damaged by the strings of a guitar
Or some imagined insult atop an imaginary scar
So her friends go cry on Lisa and she takes it with a shrug
The hell in all their lives won’t make a lump beneath her rug
And when the crying’s over, she knows it’s just a phase
Lisa hugs her friend and writes another song of praise.
I don’t know how Lisa does it but she does it every day
The music in her heart must wash it all away.
Lisa’s not above the storm and Lisa’s not beneath the waves
When Lisa goes to funerals Lisa smells the flowers on the graves
9. HICKORY STIX*
I wrote this poem sitting at the dining room table with Lisa Aschmann at her apartment in Nashville one evening. She kept saying "No, that verse belongs in another song," and "That's a keeper..." and at some point she started singing it back to me. I said, "We need a chorus." Lisa said, "No." The next morning she said, "You were right. We need a chorus," and she sang me three notes. I took those notes and made them into a howl. We liked that. Then we wrote the ending together. We celebrated. It was our first song together.
Billy Joe and Don McRay drive to work each dawn at six
Down the mountain to the factory that makes handles out of hickory sticks.
Their job is easy labor, hanging handles on the line that drags them thru the lacquer. Killing more than time
First batch of handles drying on the dripping drying rack
Another batch of brain cells dying. They'll never get them back
Bobtail full of handles. Yard high with hickory chips.
Eyes glazed like a pastry. They wipe sweat from their cracking lips
They don’t worry about no G-man come close the factory down
They got a cousin's got an uncle's got connections back in town.
And there's not a living thing within ten feet of that room
Not a silver fish, not a cockroach. Not a seedpod, not a bloom
The wind once blew a firefly, blinking thru the door
They swore it was a spaceship they swatted to the floor
They don't smoke tobacco. They don't need a whiskey fix
At night deep in their pillows they dream about hickory sticks
Hearse heads down the mountain, followed by pickup trucks
The boys are leaving early and they're going home deluxe
Teachers called them slackers. Boss said, “They’re just hicks,
But someone's got lacquer handles made of hickory sticks.”
Somebody’s gotta lacquor hickory handled hardware
Somebody’s gotts lacquor handles made of hickory stix.
10. SUNLIGHT ON SPIDER WEBS (an instrumental)
11. SOMEONE’S LITTLE BROTHER / HELP / THE SOUND OF WATER
A scene from RAZ ON THE BRAZ 2005
I open up the faucet. Water squirts out of the hose
Gurgle, gurgle, splitter, splatter on the lizards and the toads
The mulch rolls like it's boiling. River sound in miniature
Every day I think about it, but I never can be sure...
He said, "Help." A lonely cry for his existence
He said, "Help." The campground echoed his resistance
And as I see him in the distance I respond at his insistence
He said, "Help," as he flowed down with the water
Not a scream, just that word and not much louder
Just a statement, not a shout. He held his chin up like an otter
He said, "Help," as the swelling waters lift him
He said, "Help," the sand beneath his feet was shifting
Lost his footing so he's drifting.
Will the hands of time constrict him?
He said, "Help."
I got sunflowers and tomatoes, caster beans and summer squash
I got roses piled with coffee grounds but this summer is a wash
There's lightning and the thunder sparking ‘cross the dusty plane
Though I love the distant fireworks, what I really need is rain
He said, "Help." Not like he was dying
He said, "Help." And it was me that he was eyeing
Our time had come, there's no denying. Like a puppy's gentle crying.
He said, "Help." I knew I was rushing into trouble
He said, "Help." I knew the drowning could be double
That I must avoid a struggle with the boy that broke the bubble
He said, "Help." Oh, why can't I forget it?
He said, "Help." But to forget is not permitted
We can't stop once we've committed. I'm confused and I admit it.
He said, "Help."
We were meant to meet that day, bobbing in the current
You can't hold destiny at bay when you're stripped of all deterrents
And the memory will replay, yes, the river scene recurrent
He said, "Help." People standing there just talking
On the shore, just drinking beer and gawking
Smoking cigarettes and laughing, all, the fun that they were having
He said, "Help," as he felt the river's power
He said, "Help, help me delay my final hour."
Though unspoken, I could sense it. You can buy, but no one rents it.
He said, "Help." He was someone's little brother
He said, "Help," and somewhere he had a mother
And where’s this child’s father as I splash across the water
He said, "Help." I said, "Son, don't stop trying.
He was silent as I shoved him toward the shore line
All the people standing there.
I said, "Do something. Don't just stare."
I said, "Help!"
OH, JIMMY!
Upon seeing a picture of a beautiful girl named Marie Angel
in my mother's 1939 Marion County, Tennessee high school year book.
After a year of thinking about what the attraction could mean...
On page thirty of a yearbook
He found a picture sweet
A girl named Marie Angel
In school right down the street
He hadn’t noticed that the date was 1983
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
That night he told his mother
He’d finally found the one
She smiled and hugged her angel
She said, “That’s wonderful, Son.”
She didn’t think to ask him who this girl could be.
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
Later in the evening
Something on her mind
Prompted her to ask
About her darling’s loving find
He said, “I found her picture in a book at Dougan’s store.”
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
He said, “Her name is Marie Angel.”
And his mom began to cry
She couldn’t even say the words
When Jimmy asked her, “Why?”
How do you keep a secret you always thought was best?
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
On page ninety in that yearbook
Is a picture of that girl
She stands by Jimmy’s father
King and Queen of Homecoming World
Nobody seemed to notice that the Queen was great with child
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
No more words were spoken
About that day again
Jimmy bought the yearbook
And he holds it now and then
Perhaps, some things are best left unspoken if you can.
Oh, Jimmy! Oh, Jimmy!
On page 30 of the yearbook he found the picture sweet...
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
For my mother's funeral.
My mom’s dad was a coal miner. Her mother died of TB when she was a kid. When she was 12 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 and a bunch of big brothers and sisters to take care of her...When I come to the end of that old dirt road where the berries all grow on the fence and the trail wonders down to the water’s edge and the footprints of all my old friends. She told John once if she hadn’t stuck with her guns as often as she did she wouldn’t have been right as often as she was. So he put that on a piece of paper and framed it and hung it on the wall so we could all remember her stradegy in life. And tho I follow in the footsteps of my friends and the road I walk down had been tramped in to stone. All the tears that I’ve cried will have turned into dust and my life will pass like shadow into the shade. Where the crickets are fiddling at midnight. And the toad frogs all sing to the moon, all the grasshoppers listening and smiling and the coyotes howling the tune. When I come to the end of life’s journey and I’m facing my last setting sun, it’s, “Goodbye,” to this old worn out body and a hope for a shiny new one.
I’M STILL HERE
I’m still here, I’m feeling kinda shoddy
I’m still here in mind and body
I’m still here. My hands are gnarled and knotty but,
I’m still here. I’m still here.
It was New Year’s eve 2005
26 men walked into the mine
There was an explosion and the cavein
13 came back out and 13 were left behind
Little girls play in the kitchen
Little boys play in the yard
Little girls watch what mama’s are fixin
For daddys out working so hard
I’m still here deep in the darkness
I’m still here in the cold cold ground
I’m still here, can you hear me
I’m still here praying to be found
So they drill down to the miners
Listning for a sound and there’s silence
At the truck stops and the diners
In this frozen little town
And the wifes wait on the surface
Children at their side
Praying Daddy’s coming home,
Coming home tonight
I’m still here. You can hear the pin drop
I’m still here but I won’t nbe long
I’m still here come and get me
I’m still here come take me home
LULLABY
Close your eyes and tell me. Tell me what you see
In that sleepy landscape of your reverie
Can you count the blossoms in the garden of your mind
Think about the mountains, the flowers and the trees
Think about the golden, amber autumn leaves
Imagine pretty patterns in the pictures that you’ll find
Can you see the sparrows and the pigeons clinging to
the wire? Can you hear the wind blowing thru their
feathers like an angel choir?
Close your eyes and listen. Listen to them sleeping
The bears are hibernating (Squirrels in the treetops)
Chickens cease their peeping
Sleepy blossoms closing in the garden of your mind
Listen to the water flowing in the river
Gophers in their burrows sleep without a shiver
Sleepy fading pictures of the patterns in your mind
Can you see the sparrows and the pigeons clinging to
the wire? Can you hear the wind blowing thru their
feathers like an angel choir?
Listen to the snowfall. Listen to your heart beat
Listen to the sunset. Mmmmmm
Listen to the moon as it whispers across the sky
The silence of your pillow. The quiet in your eyes.
SLAUGHTER MOUNTAIN
Produced by James Michael Taylor
Good Oops Studios of Fort Worth,Texas
for TEXAS WATER RECORDS
contact - www.txh2o.com
All songs by James Michael Taylor
(C) 2006 Royal T Music - ASCAP
except * (HICKORY STIX) by JMT & Lisa Aschmann (C) 2006 Nashville Geographics/Royal T Music
Cover photo:Fred Teeters and fellow coal miner, circa 1919, Orme, TN
Photographer unknown
JMT photo by RaByn James 2004
RaByn James plays the VariAxe on HOEDOWN
These songs were recorded on my computer using
a program called NUENDO. I use an Earthworks mic
and a MOTU interface. Most of the drum sounds
are samples from a program called Acid.
jamesmichaeltaylor@earthlink.net
www.jamesmichaeltaylor.com
Labels: Slaughter Mountain James Michael Taylor
COUNTER CLOCKWISE
Jasper James and the COWTOWN BONERS
When I was a kid, the songs on the radio were my parents songs. Then, when I was in 7th grade, the Everly Brothers sang Bye Bye Love and the radio was talking to me. I saw them at the State Fair of California one year when I was in high school. Matching black guitars. It's still burned in my brain. My junior year I sang Everly Brothers songs with a senior named Bob Waterman. We would play their records at talent shows and sing real loud over them. We were THE JIMBOBS. It was our music. Then, my senior year I had a girlfriend named Cathy and the Everly Brothers sang a song called Cathy's Clown. It was personal. I was humiliated. The Kingston Trio sang BLOWING IN THE WIND and I discovered "Question Songs." WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? Questions that were suggesting that there were answers. Eventually I began to formulate my own questions and I'd either find some answers in the songs I was singing or I would take my guitar for a walk and listen for some answers of my own. I came to understand what the poet meant when he said, "The unexamined song is not worth writing." jmt
COUNTER CLOCKWISE
Jasper James and the COWTOWN BONERS
1. PROBLEMS *(F&B Bryant for the Everly Brothers 1958)
2. NO NEW LOVE
3. MEETING MAIA
4. CHOICES
5. BROKE PIANO
6. JUST A CAT
7. ACID TEARS
8. DENIAL SONATA
9. SHE DIDN’T KNOW
10. LAMENT FOR HORNY TOAD
11. SLOOP JOHN B (9/11 Update)
12. SONG of the CIRCLING MOON
13. TEENAGERS
14. THERE IS A LOVE
15 PROBLEMS *(REVISITED)(F&B Bryant)
All songs by Jasper James except where noted*.
Produced by “Sequatchie” Bill Burnette
at GOOD OOPS studios of Fort Worth
contact Jasper James at jasperjames@txh2o.com
PROBLEMS (Everly Brothers 1958)
PROBLEMS, problems, problems all day long.
Will my problems work out right or wrong?
I can’t get the car. My grades ain’t been so good.
My love life’s just not swinging like it should.
WORRIES, pile upon my head.
Woe is me, I should have stayed in bed.
My parents don’t like anything I do.
My teachers seem to feel the same way too
PROBLEMS, problems, problems
All on account of me loving you like I do
PROBLEMS problems, problems
Won’t be solved until I’m sure of you
PROBLEMS, problems, problems all day long.
Will my problems work out right or wrong.
My parents don’t like anything I do.
My teachers seem to feel the same way too.
PROBLEMS, problems, problems all day long…
© 1958 Acuff-Rose
Words and music by F. & B. Bryant
An Everly Brothers song arranged by Jasper James
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old in this town
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old love
To take and turn my heart around
Stop it on a dime when you said that you’d be mine
Oh, oh yeah
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old love in my heart
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old love
Take and tear my world apart
Bringing back the time I dreamed that you’d be mine...Oh, oh yeah.
CHORUS...Tell me what a year or two can mean
After almost twenty years
And tell me why my heart is so serene
Every day when you are near
"Skateland would like to welcome the
Woodlake Future Farmers here tonight
And their adviser, Mr. Taylor
And their special guests,
the Future Homemakers of America and their adviser,
the lovely Ramona Diez. Everybody get a partner now and skate,
COUNTER CLOCKWISE."
There ain’t no fool like an old fool
And I’m going to prove that to you honey
No there ain’t no fool like an old fool…
Bringing back the time when you said
that you’d be mine...Oh, oh yeah.
MEETING MAIA
Where the tram stops in front of the Van Gogh Museum, I waited there.
She said she’d be wearing, “Oh never mind.” She’d find me. Cowboys were rare.
The sun don’t shine on Amsterdam and no one seems to care.
In the tunnel underneath the Reich’s Museum there was this brass quartette
standing over to the side, waiting for the guitar player to get through.
And then he packed his bag and they stood there and played as the bicycles rolled by.
She said she’s be wearing, “Oh never mind,” she’d find me. Cowboys were rare
The sun don’t shine on Amsterdam
The sun don’t shine on Amsterdam
And no one seems to care…
CHOICES
“After our house was bomb
I was confuse. Why are they burning down my house?
My neighbor house? It’s very confuse to me.”
“Is your husband a hero? Is he a murderer? What is he? Did he kill people over there?
Yes, he probably did. And were these people threatening his country? No they were not.
I don’t see my husband as a murderer.
But at the same time we have to look at it for what it is.”
“He’d spent his life playing football.
And a Navy attack squadron is like a flying football team. You can’t let your team down.”
“We never talked about the fact that he would have to kill people. Maybe even a child.
I realized that we hadn’t ever talked honestly about what war means.”
If you say you have no choice, you’re a liar and a coward
I should know.
(You’re a liar and a coward.)
Because every time you get an order you decide to say “Yes” or “No.”
(You decide.)
I told you, “No I won’t.”
And I mean, “I won’t.”
It’s not, “I can’t.” I won’t.
When I got to basic I realized I wasn’t going to kill anybody, so I wasn’t about to go out there and learn how to kill people or practice killing people. I just said, “No!.”
“ I wouldn’t do the thing that I did if I have another choice.”
“We sentence you to three years at hard labor, suspension of pay and a dishonorable discharge.”
We call it the Viet Nam war but,
Zoran and everybody else that I met there call it the American War.”
“I tried to tell you in my letters how detached I feel from the whole situation. It’s as if I were a bystander at my own life, calmly watching myself do things that I never expected or desired to do and merely marking time in a life which is too short to mark time in.”
“I don’t think he wanted to be an aggressor and I think he was unwillingly cast in that roll the moment that he started flying those missions over North Viet Nam, and I think he knew it was not something that he wanted to do, even thought he was following orders.”
“I can’t see killing a man for holding a hoe or a rake.
And if it was a weapon I want to be damned sure before I killed him. Damned sure.”
“He didn’t like the idea of having to kill.”
Italacised voices are from the movie, REGRET TO INFORM, written, directed and produced by Barbara Sonneborn (www.regrettoinform.org)
BROKE PIANO
I have these piano harps that I salvaged from Pianos that paople threw away.
I built one into the wall at my house. I made another into a bed. Another I destroyed in the course of trying to make it into something else...
I am a BROKE PIANO.
I got no damper and no keys
The only thing that moves my strings
is when somebody breathes
And when you laugh I shutter,
and when you cry I moan
And as long as voices reach to me
I will not sing alone
I am a BROKE PIANO
you made into this bed
And no one knows I’m under here
listening to everything that’s said
Did you know that cries are music
and laughter is a song
And did you know that as you speak
my strings will sing along
It’s the same with your guitar
Or a French Harp I presume
Or the water in your bathtub
Or the curtains in your room
I am a BROKE PIANO
You built into this wall
I listen and I answer
Every time you call
I feel it when you pluck me
I feel the slamming door
I echo when you grumble
And when you cry out for more
I am a BROKE PIANO
You dumped here by the curb
Just waiting for the rain to fall
And warp my sounding board
My strings will rust and rattle
As booming speakers pass
And I will finally lose my voice
Be hauled away as trash
It’s the same with your guitar
Or a French Harp I presume
Or the bubbles in your bathtub
Or the water in your womb
I am a BROKE PIANO
So what then could I know
Oh, I’m no more a cripple
Than a fiddle without a bow
Each thing you do starts something
A ripple or a wave
That might go on forever
Far beyond your grave
I am a BROKE PIANO
JUST A CAT
Firecracker was our cat from the day we found him taped to a spent firecracker,
burned and scarred for life. A friend's dog played to rough with him one day
and we buried his frail old body down by the creek.
It looks like someone taped a
firecracker to him and blew it off.
“Firecracker?”
Just a cat.
He was just a cat
Just a cat.
He was just a cat
A raggedy old cat.
So, why are we crying?
The world is on fire.
Light the fuse, it’s a firecracker.
“Firecracker?”
“Firecracker?”
“Here he is!”
“Oh, no!”
Just a cat,
He was just a cat.
Just a cat,
He was just a cat.
So, why are we crying?
The world is on fire.
It’s a firecracker.
ACID TEARS
As the hours turn into days
And the weeks turn into years
I am happy
But I’m always close to tears
As surely as the love that we share will last forever
Our bodies will die and our love will go on
And though the thought that love will last forever
Is an interesting idea
The fact that you and I must part with our love
It’s no fun at all.
DENIAL SONATA
Denial’s not a river in Egypt
Oh, yes it is. Oh, yes it is.
The Nile is a river in Egypt
Oh, yes it is. Oh, yes it is.
Put your feet in the water
Put your head in the sand
Put your hands in your pockets
Try to clap for the band
Put your nose to the grindstone
Look straight ahead
I was reading this book the other day
and it said we souldn’t edit reality
for the sake of simplicity so I guess it’s true.
Get your mind out the gutter
Get your head out your ass
SHE DIDN’T KNOW
A song for BeJae Flemming
Her flame wasn’t orange. It was white.
The kind you can’t see at the noonday bright
Not the fickle flicker of a candlelight
But a point miles off on a moonless night
She didn’t know she was beautiful
Nobody told her. I sure didn’t
She didn’t know she was beautiful
How could I know she didn’t know
Her smile was not painted
Red and rich
Her bosom no cartoon
No break a stitch
And her hair was not teased to a silly nest
She just walked by. She just walked by.
She didn’t boast about songs she wrote
She didn’t utter the poet’s quote
And she didn’t purr like a motor boat
She just walked by. She just walked by
Every time she walked by me
I couldn’t reach but I could see
She didn’t know she was beautiful
Nobody told her. I sure didn’t
She didn’t know she was beautiful
How could I know she didn’t know
LAMENT FOR HORNY TOAD
I wrote this rant to Keren Freedman
one afternoon and she wrote me back and said I should put it to music.
What a joke!
Yep, yep, yep…
We were listening to this radio program
And this guy was being interviewed
and every time he would answer a question he would go, “Yep!”
Mother explained to me that you are supposed to say, “Yes.”
That saying “Yep” is rude.
So, now, whenever I want to be rude I just say, “Yep, yep…”
So, what’s new?
Just another day at the world.
One to fight for.
Maybe we could save the horny toad.
Maybe we could save the horny toad.
But that would require we save the earth.
Ok. Good idea. Where do we start?
I don’t know.
Well, let’s see.
Teach me to read.
Teach me to think. Never mind.
Just help me consume more stuff.
It helps to keep the background noises down
And where and I going to get my next
Starbucks frappuccino if we destroy the world?
Okay. Good idea. Where do we start?
I don’t know.
Maybe you could save the horny toad.
Maybe we could save the horny toad…
But that would require we save the earth.
When I was a kid I lived on the desert and horny toads
could be found at every red ant hill. I would catch them
and put them in glass jars, and then I would forget them
and then I would find them in the sun and I would have
to go find more horny toads.
Teach me to read.
Teach me to think. Never mind.
Just help me consume more stuff
It helps keep the background noise down
But where will I get my next Starbucks cappuccino
if we destroy the world?
SLOOP JOHN B 9/11
(My take on 9/11)
‘Come on the SLOOP JOHN B
My grandfather and me…
Blindly sailing. Hopes are failing
Storm hangs o’re the sea
Guns a blazing. Waves amazing
Pants down around my knees
Captain he got drunk
Just sits there in a funk
Arms are aching. Back is breaking
How I need some sleep
Planes will crash. Glass will smash
And we will watch it on TV
Captain’s winking
Ship is sinking
And I just want to go home
I just want to go home
We come on the SLOOP JOHN B
My grandfather and me
I just want to believe
SONG OF THE CIRCLING MOON
Midland, Texas - 1978
We live on the shore of a mighty sea
Where the current’s strong and nothing is free
The water is cool at the warmest noon
And the tides are ruled by a circling moon
We live on the edge of eternity
With our minds entombed in the ceremony
And the dollar is strong where the blind can see
When the truth is a lie that’s nothing to me
Oh, how can we think that we run free
with the monkey s all a monkin’ in the monkey tree
And how can we think that you and me
Are freer than the wind or the Frickin Sea
We live at the heart of a Sicon Tree
Blame the signs of the times on illiteracy
We search for the power where the eye can see
And we find it not in the President Sea
We live in the midst of the Milli Tree
With the bombs at the bowels of Oblitera Sea
Where the waters are warmed by the Atom
And my love and my life need a Secera Sea
Oh, how can we think that we run free
with the monkey s all a monkin’ in the monkey tree
And how can we think that you and me
And freer than the wind or the Frickin Sea…
We live on the shore of a mighty sea
Where the current’s strong and nothing is free
The water is cool at the warmest noon
And the tides are ruled by a circling moon...
PEGGY MITCHELL - Background vocal on Round
TEENAGERS ARE STUPID
Teenagers are stupid. At least I was.
All the silly things they say:
“But daddy, everybody’s doing it.”
It’s a wonder we lived to be this old.
Teenagers are stupid.
Teenagers are stupid What a hoot!
How can you be so clueless
and not forget to breathe?
Teenagers are stupid.
THERE IS A LOVE
THERE IS A LOVE that withers. THERE IS A LOVE that fades
The kind of love that makes you want to hide behind the door Pull down the all shades.
THERE IS A LOVE that makes me want to tell you about how good I feel
THERE IS A LOVE that heals
Now THERE IS A LOVE that looks a lot like all the Other Loves
Tell me now, how can I tell One Love from Another Love
Get all mixed up and accuse some mother of a Smother Love
Get all puffed up and pass laws against Brother Love
Now, wait a minute!
THERE IS A LOVE that withers. THERE IS A LOVE that fades
The kind of love makes you want to lock all your doors, pull down all the shades.
THERE IS A LOVE that makes me want to tell you how good I feel
THERE IS A LOVE that heals
And then there’s the kind of love where folks just fight
and then make up and fight some more they call Love/Hate Love
And there’s those people who just kinda stumble around waiting for what they call Fate Love.
All them soccer dads checking out all them soccer moms looking around for some of that Yuppy Love
Or you can pin your hopes on some of that Good Old Fashioned Puppy Love.
Now, wait a minute.
THERE IS A LOVE that withers. THERE IS A LOVE that fades
Kind of love make you want to lock your door. Pull down all the shades
THERE IS A LOVE that makes me want to tell you how I feel.
THERE IS A LOVE that heals.
Well, I’d like to see some statistics on this thing they call Prim and Proper Love
Compare that to good old fashioned, god old fashioned, old fashioned Teeny bopper Love
I heard this song by this girl said she thought she’d fooled around and missed her love
I met a girl leaving the BLACK DOG one day, couldn’t believe anybody could resist her love….
Now, wait a minute!
DAVE ALLEN - Drums, PHIL WHITE - Guitar & Bass
COUNTER CLOCKWISE
produced by Jasper James & the Cowtown Boners
at The Good Oops Studios of Fort Worth, Texas
(in the vicinity of Eagle, Goldenrod, Riverside, Robinwood, Gwynn and Britian Streets - all of which contain the name of one of my children)
for TEXAS WATER ROCORDS & STUFF
Fort Worth, Texas
All songs except PROBLEMS by Jasper James
www.jamesmichaerltaylor.com
Horn arrangements by Deitle Dahm
COWTOWN BONERS, courtesy of Athol Records
Cover photo (C) 2004 Noah Telling
This CD was recorded and mixed (LOUD) using Sony MDR-7502 headphones (that’s $120.00 headphones) so it probably sounds like crap thru regular or high dollar speakers.
THE SMALL PRINT
If, for some reason, there is nothing on this disc, or there is a bunch of stuff you wish you hadn’t wasted your money on, just email me at any address you can find on this package and I will refund your money. If I gave it to you don’t act like I owe anything but I do thank you for taking the time to give it a listen...and I want to thank all the girls that turned me down when I was in high school and college so I didn’t end up married with children before I got a chance to spend some private time with Uncle Sam at the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary barracks. Seriously!
Yours truly,
Jasper James Michael Taylor
Jasper James and the COWTOWN BONERS
When I was a kid, the songs on the radio were my parents songs. Then, when I was in 7th grade, the Everly Brothers sang Bye Bye Love and the radio was talking to me. I saw them at the State Fair of California one year when I was in high school. Matching black guitars. It's still burned in my brain. My junior year I sang Everly Brothers songs with a senior named Bob Waterman. We would play their records at talent shows and sing real loud over them. We were THE JIMBOBS. It was our music. Then, my senior year I had a girlfriend named Cathy and the Everly Brothers sang a song called Cathy's Clown. It was personal. I was humiliated. The Kingston Trio sang BLOWING IN THE WIND and I discovered "Question Songs." WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? Questions that were suggesting that there were answers. Eventually I began to formulate my own questions and I'd either find some answers in the songs I was singing or I would take my guitar for a walk and listen for some answers of my own. I came to understand what the poet meant when he said, "The unexamined song is not worth writing." jmt
COUNTER CLOCKWISE
Jasper James and the COWTOWN BONERS
1. PROBLEMS *(F&B Bryant for the Everly Brothers 1958)
2. NO NEW LOVE
3. MEETING MAIA
4. CHOICES
5. BROKE PIANO
6. JUST A CAT
7. ACID TEARS
8. DENIAL SONATA
9. SHE DIDN’T KNOW
10. LAMENT FOR HORNY TOAD
11. SLOOP JOHN B (9/11 Update)
12. SONG of the CIRCLING MOON
13. TEENAGERS
14. THERE IS A LOVE
15 PROBLEMS *(REVISITED)(F&B Bryant)
All songs by Jasper James except where noted*.
Produced by “Sequatchie” Bill Burnette
at GOOD OOPS studios of Fort Worth
contact Jasper James at jasperjames@txh2o.com
PROBLEMS (Everly Brothers 1958)
PROBLEMS, problems, problems all day long.
Will my problems work out right or wrong?
I can’t get the car. My grades ain’t been so good.
My love life’s just not swinging like it should.
WORRIES, pile upon my head.
Woe is me, I should have stayed in bed.
My parents don’t like anything I do.
My teachers seem to feel the same way too
PROBLEMS, problems, problems
All on account of me loving you like I do
PROBLEMS problems, problems
Won’t be solved until I’m sure of you
PROBLEMS, problems, problems all day long.
Will my problems work out right or wrong.
My parents don’t like anything I do.
My teachers seem to feel the same way too.
PROBLEMS, problems, problems all day long…
© 1958 Acuff-Rose
Words and music by F. & B. Bryant
An Everly Brothers song arranged by Jasper James
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old in this town
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old love
To take and turn my heart around
Stop it on a dime when you said that you’d be mine
Oh, oh yeah
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old love in my heart
AIN'T NO NEW LOVE like an old love
Take and tear my world apart
Bringing back the time I dreamed that you’d be mine...Oh, oh yeah.
CHORUS...Tell me what a year or two can mean
After almost twenty years
And tell me why my heart is so serene
Every day when you are near
"Skateland would like to welcome the
Woodlake Future Farmers here tonight
And their adviser, Mr. Taylor
And their special guests,
the Future Homemakers of America and their adviser,
the lovely Ramona Diez. Everybody get a partner now and skate,
COUNTER CLOCKWISE."
There ain’t no fool like an old fool
And I’m going to prove that to you honey
No there ain’t no fool like an old fool…
Bringing back the time when you said
that you’d be mine...Oh, oh yeah.
MEETING MAIA
Where the tram stops in front of the Van Gogh Museum, I waited there.
She said she’d be wearing, “Oh never mind.” She’d find me. Cowboys were rare.
The sun don’t shine on Amsterdam and no one seems to care.
In the tunnel underneath the Reich’s Museum there was this brass quartette
standing over to the side, waiting for the guitar player to get through.
And then he packed his bag and they stood there and played as the bicycles rolled by.
She said she’s be wearing, “Oh never mind,” she’d find me. Cowboys were rare
The sun don’t shine on Amsterdam
The sun don’t shine on Amsterdam
And no one seems to care…
CHOICES
“After our house was bomb
I was confuse. Why are they burning down my house?
My neighbor house? It’s very confuse to me.”
“Is your husband a hero? Is he a murderer? What is he? Did he kill people over there?
Yes, he probably did. And were these people threatening his country? No they were not.
I don’t see my husband as a murderer.
But at the same time we have to look at it for what it is.”
“He’d spent his life playing football.
And a Navy attack squadron is like a flying football team. You can’t let your team down.”
“We never talked about the fact that he would have to kill people. Maybe even a child.
I realized that we hadn’t ever talked honestly about what war means.”
If you say you have no choice, you’re a liar and a coward
I should know.
(You’re a liar and a coward.)
Because every time you get an order you decide to say “Yes” or “No.”
(You decide.)
I told you, “No I won’t.”
And I mean, “I won’t.”
It’s not, “I can’t.” I won’t.
When I got to basic I realized I wasn’t going to kill anybody, so I wasn’t about to go out there and learn how to kill people or practice killing people. I just said, “No!.”
“ I wouldn’t do the thing that I did if I have another choice.”
“We sentence you to three years at hard labor, suspension of pay and a dishonorable discharge.”
We call it the Viet Nam war but,
Zoran and everybody else that I met there call it the American War.”
“I tried to tell you in my letters how detached I feel from the whole situation. It’s as if I were a bystander at my own life, calmly watching myself do things that I never expected or desired to do and merely marking time in a life which is too short to mark time in.”
“I don’t think he wanted to be an aggressor and I think he was unwillingly cast in that roll the moment that he started flying those missions over North Viet Nam, and I think he knew it was not something that he wanted to do, even thought he was following orders.”
“I can’t see killing a man for holding a hoe or a rake.
And if it was a weapon I want to be damned sure before I killed him. Damned sure.”
“He didn’t like the idea of having to kill.”
Italacised voices are from the movie, REGRET TO INFORM, written, directed and produced by Barbara Sonneborn (www.regrettoinform.org)
BROKE PIANO
I have these piano harps that I salvaged from Pianos that paople threw away.
I built one into the wall at my house. I made another into a bed. Another I destroyed in the course of trying to make it into something else...
I am a BROKE PIANO.
I got no damper and no keys
The only thing that moves my strings
is when somebody breathes
And when you laugh I shutter,
and when you cry I moan
And as long as voices reach to me
I will not sing alone
I am a BROKE PIANO
you made into this bed
And no one knows I’m under here
listening to everything that’s said
Did you know that cries are music
and laughter is a song
And did you know that as you speak
my strings will sing along
It’s the same with your guitar
Or a French Harp I presume
Or the water in your bathtub
Or the curtains in your room
I am a BROKE PIANO
You built into this wall
I listen and I answer
Every time you call
I feel it when you pluck me
I feel the slamming door
I echo when you grumble
And when you cry out for more
I am a BROKE PIANO
You dumped here by the curb
Just waiting for the rain to fall
And warp my sounding board
My strings will rust and rattle
As booming speakers pass
And I will finally lose my voice
Be hauled away as trash
It’s the same with your guitar
Or a French Harp I presume
Or the bubbles in your bathtub
Or the water in your womb
I am a BROKE PIANO
So what then could I know
Oh, I’m no more a cripple
Than a fiddle without a bow
Each thing you do starts something
A ripple or a wave
That might go on forever
Far beyond your grave
I am a BROKE PIANO
JUST A CAT
Firecracker was our cat from the day we found him taped to a spent firecracker,
burned and scarred for life. A friend's dog played to rough with him one day
and we buried his frail old body down by the creek.
It looks like someone taped a
firecracker to him and blew it off.
“Firecracker?”
Just a cat.
He was just a cat
Just a cat.
He was just a cat
A raggedy old cat.
So, why are we crying?
The world is on fire.
Light the fuse, it’s a firecracker.
“Firecracker?”
“Firecracker?”
“Here he is!”
“Oh, no!”
Just a cat,
He was just a cat.
Just a cat,
He was just a cat.
So, why are we crying?
The world is on fire.
It’s a firecracker.
ACID TEARS
As the hours turn into days
And the weeks turn into years
I am happy
But I’m always close to tears
As surely as the love that we share will last forever
Our bodies will die and our love will go on
And though the thought that love will last forever
Is an interesting idea
The fact that you and I must part with our love
It’s no fun at all.
DENIAL SONATA
Denial’s not a river in Egypt
Oh, yes it is. Oh, yes it is.
The Nile is a river in Egypt
Oh, yes it is. Oh, yes it is.
Put your feet in the water
Put your head in the sand
Put your hands in your pockets
Try to clap for the band
Put your nose to the grindstone
Look straight ahead
I was reading this book the other day
and it said we souldn’t edit reality
for the sake of simplicity so I guess it’s true.
Get your mind out the gutter
Get your head out your ass
SHE DIDN’T KNOW
A song for BeJae Flemming
Her flame wasn’t orange. It was white.
The kind you can’t see at the noonday bright
Not the fickle flicker of a candlelight
But a point miles off on a moonless night
She didn’t know she was beautiful
Nobody told her. I sure didn’t
She didn’t know she was beautiful
How could I know she didn’t know
Her smile was not painted
Red and rich
Her bosom no cartoon
No break a stitch
And her hair was not teased to a silly nest
She just walked by. She just walked by.
She didn’t boast about songs she wrote
She didn’t utter the poet’s quote
And she didn’t purr like a motor boat
She just walked by. She just walked by
Every time she walked by me
I couldn’t reach but I could see
She didn’t know she was beautiful
Nobody told her. I sure didn’t
She didn’t know she was beautiful
How could I know she didn’t know
LAMENT FOR HORNY TOAD
I wrote this rant to Keren Freedman
one afternoon and she wrote me back and said I should put it to music.
What a joke!
Yep, yep, yep…
We were listening to this radio program
And this guy was being interviewed
and every time he would answer a question he would go, “Yep!”
Mother explained to me that you are supposed to say, “Yes.”
That saying “Yep” is rude.
So, now, whenever I want to be rude I just say, “Yep, yep…”
So, what’s new?
Just another day at the world.
One to fight for.
Maybe we could save the horny toad.
Maybe we could save the horny toad.
But that would require we save the earth.
Ok. Good idea. Where do we start?
I don’t know.
Well, let’s see.
Teach me to read.
Teach me to think. Never mind.
Just help me consume more stuff.
It helps to keep the background noises down
And where and I going to get my next
Starbucks frappuccino if we destroy the world?
Okay. Good idea. Where do we start?
I don’t know.
Maybe you could save the horny toad.
Maybe we could save the horny toad…
But that would require we save the earth.
When I was a kid I lived on the desert and horny toads
could be found at every red ant hill. I would catch them
and put them in glass jars, and then I would forget them
and then I would find them in the sun and I would have
to go find more horny toads.
Teach me to read.
Teach me to think. Never mind.
Just help me consume more stuff
It helps keep the background noise down
But where will I get my next Starbucks cappuccino
if we destroy the world?
SLOOP JOHN B 9/11
(My take on 9/11)
‘Come on the SLOOP JOHN B
My grandfather and me…
Blindly sailing. Hopes are failing
Storm hangs o’re the sea
Guns a blazing. Waves amazing
Pants down around my knees
Captain he got drunk
Just sits there in a funk
Arms are aching. Back is breaking
How I need some sleep
Planes will crash. Glass will smash
And we will watch it on TV
Captain’s winking
Ship is sinking
And I just want to go home
I just want to go home
We come on the SLOOP JOHN B
My grandfather and me
I just want to believe
SONG OF THE CIRCLING MOON
Midland, Texas - 1978
We live on the shore of a mighty sea
Where the current’s strong and nothing is free
The water is cool at the warmest noon
And the tides are ruled by a circling moon
We live on the edge of eternity
With our minds entombed in the ceremony
And the dollar is strong where the blind can see
When the truth is a lie that’s nothing to me
Oh, how can we think that we run free
with the monkey s all a monkin’ in the monkey tree
And how can we think that you and me
Are freer than the wind or the Frickin Sea
We live at the heart of a Sicon Tree
Blame the signs of the times on illiteracy
We search for the power where the eye can see
And we find it not in the President Sea
We live in the midst of the Milli Tree
With the bombs at the bowels of Oblitera Sea
Where the waters are warmed by the Atom
And my love and my life need a Secera Sea
Oh, how can we think that we run free
with the monkey s all a monkin’ in the monkey tree
And how can we think that you and me
And freer than the wind or the Frickin Sea…
We live on the shore of a mighty sea
Where the current’s strong and nothing is free
The water is cool at the warmest noon
And the tides are ruled by a circling moon...
PEGGY MITCHELL - Background vocal on Round
TEENAGERS ARE STUPID
Teenagers are stupid. At least I was.
All the silly things they say:
“But daddy, everybody’s doing it.”
It’s a wonder we lived to be this old.
Teenagers are stupid.
Teenagers are stupid What a hoot!
How can you be so clueless
and not forget to breathe?
Teenagers are stupid.
THERE IS A LOVE
THERE IS A LOVE that withers. THERE IS A LOVE that fades
The kind of love that makes you want to hide behind the door Pull down the all shades.
THERE IS A LOVE that makes me want to tell you about how good I feel
THERE IS A LOVE that heals
Now THERE IS A LOVE that looks a lot like all the Other Loves
Tell me now, how can I tell One Love from Another Love
Get all mixed up and accuse some mother of a Smother Love
Get all puffed up and pass laws against Brother Love
Now, wait a minute!
THERE IS A LOVE that withers. THERE IS A LOVE that fades
The kind of love makes you want to lock all your doors, pull down all the shades.
THERE IS A LOVE that makes me want to tell you how good I feel
THERE IS A LOVE that heals
And then there’s the kind of love where folks just fight
and then make up and fight some more they call Love/Hate Love
And there’s those people who just kinda stumble around waiting for what they call Fate Love.
All them soccer dads checking out all them soccer moms looking around for some of that Yuppy Love
Or you can pin your hopes on some of that Good Old Fashioned Puppy Love.
Now, wait a minute.
THERE IS A LOVE that withers. THERE IS A LOVE that fades
Kind of love make you want to lock your door. Pull down all the shades
THERE IS A LOVE that makes me want to tell you how I feel.
THERE IS A LOVE that heals.
Well, I’d like to see some statistics on this thing they call Prim and Proper Love
Compare that to good old fashioned, god old fashioned, old fashioned Teeny bopper Love
I heard this song by this girl said she thought she’d fooled around and missed her love
I met a girl leaving the BLACK DOG one day, couldn’t believe anybody could resist her love….
Now, wait a minute!
DAVE ALLEN - Drums, PHIL WHITE - Guitar & Bass
COUNTER CLOCKWISE
produced by Jasper James & the Cowtown Boners
at The Good Oops Studios of Fort Worth, Texas
(in the vicinity of Eagle, Goldenrod, Riverside, Robinwood, Gwynn and Britian Streets - all of which contain the name of one of my children)
for TEXAS WATER ROCORDS & STUFF
Fort Worth, Texas
All songs except PROBLEMS by Jasper James
www.jamesmichaerltaylor.com
Horn arrangements by Deitle Dahm
COWTOWN BONERS, courtesy of Athol Records
Cover photo (C) 2004 Noah Telling
This CD was recorded and mixed (LOUD) using Sony MDR-7502 headphones (that’s $120.00 headphones) so it probably sounds like crap thru regular or high dollar speakers.
THE SMALL PRINT
If, for some reason, there is nothing on this disc, or there is a bunch of stuff you wish you hadn’t wasted your money on, just email me at any address you can find on this package and I will refund your money. If I gave it to you don’t act like I owe anything but I do thank you for taking the time to give it a listen...and I want to thank all the girls that turned me down when I was in high school and college so I didn’t end up married with children before I got a chance to spend some private time with Uncle Sam at the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary barracks. Seriously!
Yours truly,
Jasper James Michael Taylor
Labels: Counter Clockwise
Saturday, June 14, 2003
Lyrics for the CD called...
imPossible stArts
This is the preliminary release of the music I worked on “with” Michael Jeffrey from 2000 to 2002. We started the project on 8 track with Michael playing all the instruments and when that didn’t seem like enough I bought digital equipment but Michael wasn’t able to make the transition. An importat part of recording to him was being able to see the reel going round and round. So after he left the project I transfered all of his tracks to the computer and added and subtracted until I came up with the arrangements you hear on this six song cd.
LA DENA WIND
June 28 1978
I wrote this song back in the late 70’s while I was doing a gig at a place called Rhet Butler’s in Amarillo. There was a very touchy-feely waitress there named Dena and one day I hitch hiked out to Canyon and she and I did a little tour of the Pan Handle Museum. I “imbedded” her last name in the song. It served to create an interesting image. Her last name was Fite.
The winds they blow down thru the canyon
Blowing so wild and free
And the night is my only companion
As they're blowing La Dena to me
Blowing in the wind
Canyons in the wind
Fires in the wind of my life
Questions in the wind
Answers in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The sun it beats down Amarillo
The shadows they all fight for a place
And I'm finding my life is a riddle
And it’s staring me right in my face
Riddles in the wind
Puzzles in the wind
Fear is in the wind of my life
Faces in the wind
Voices in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The fires blow down thru the canyon
Burning so wild and free
And the wind is my only companion
And it's blowing La Dena to me
Blowing in the wind
Canyons in the wind
Fires in the wind of my life
Questions in the wind
Answers in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
Faith is in the wing
Hope is in the wind
Dena’s in the wind of my life
Harmonies - Peggy, Michael and JMT
(C)1990 Royal T Music
HAPPY NOW
One of Peggy's old friends from her former life came to see us sing at Tinkers, our first club gig, and he said he could tell that she was happy now.
Pretty girl turning into a woman
I never thot the day would be coming
Pretty smile turned into crying
I wondered why her true love was dying
HAPPY NOW. .There's no way to miss it
HAPPY NOW. .I wonder, why is it
She's happy and I'm so blue. . .
HAPPY NOW. .Everyone knows it
HAPPY NOW. .And she clearly shows it
She's happy and I'm so blue. . .She's happy with you
She gave me love. . . . .and I couldn't take it
Gave me her heart. . . .all I did was break it. . .ooo
I didn't care . . .I could do better
I told her so . . .I wrote her a letter
HAPPY NOW. .There's no way to miss it
HAPPY NOW. .I wonder why is it
She's happy and I'm so blue. . .
HAPPY NOW. .Everyone knows it
HAPPY NOW. .And she clearly shows it
She's happy and I'm so blue. She's happy with you
- - -Instrumental of verse & repeat chorus- - -
. . .She's happy with you. . . . . .Why am I blue?
(C)1990 ROYAL T MUSIC
SAY THE WORD
Buddy Holly's birthday - 1989
She's cool and collected. I never feel rejected
But she'll never SAY THE WORD
So unaffected. I never feel neglected
But she'll never SAY THE WORD
She's smart and she's pretty. .Now we're going steady
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
I laugh when she giggles. I tremble when she wiggles
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
*. . .She won't talk about it
But who can doubt it
She's acting out it
She's so good at Braille
She keeps me on her trail
Her eyes, how they twinkle. Her dimples, how they wrinkle
But she never SAYs THE WORD
Ask me why I hover. It's because I love her
Even if she'll never SAY THE WORD
- - -BRIDGE 2- - -
She's smart and she's pretty. Now we're going steady
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
She's so respected. .I feel so protected
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
*. . .She won't talk about it
But who can doubt it
She's acting out it
She's so good at Braille
She keeps me on her trail
- - -VERSE of Na Na Na Nas. . .
- - -CHORUS. . .(Instrumental). . .
She's cool and collected. .I never feel rejected
But she'll never SAY THE WORD
So unaffected, .I feel so connected
Even if she'll never SAY THE WORD
(C)1990 ROYAL T MUSIC
WAKING UP TO YOU
1978
I wrote this one morning a day after I met Peggy in Midland.
I didn't want to tell you I'd been crying
I'd hoped that I could dry up all my tears
But my hearts were like the compass
On the bridge of a sinking ship
And I was drowning in the ocean of my fears
I remember that I said there was no hurry
I'd sing a song. I’d write a verse or two
But I stayed up late on purpose
So I'd sleep into the day
Thinking I'd be WAKING UP TO YOU
WAKING UP TO YOU, WAKING UP TO YOU
I stayed up late on purpose so
I'd sleep into the day
Thinking I'd be WAKING UP TO YOU
In hopeful dreams I listened for your footsteps
But all I heard was ticking of the clock
I couldn’t sleep forever so I had to face the day
Not knowing what to think of all our talk
The easy way you answered all my questions
The ones I spoke the ones within my heart
The answers beyond questions that I found there in your smile
Left me hoping we would never be apart
WAKING UP TO YOU, WAKING UP TO YOU
I stayed up late on purpose so
I'd sleep into the day
Thinking I'd be WAKING UP TO YOU
And then I heard your footsteps in the stairwell
I kicked myself for doubting you were true
You said you’d had a flat tire and you had to fix it by yourself
That’s when I started waking up to you
WAKING UP TO YOU, WAKING UP TO YOU
I’d stayed up late on purpose
So I’d sleep into the day
Hoping I’d be waking up to you
Original words to second and third verse.
(My heart was like a leaf the cold winds wither
Clinging to a limb with all its mite
And there's one thing worse than falling
And it's drifting in the wind
And I was falling like a string that lost its kite
I guess that I had hoped you'd catch me crying
If there's one thing worse, it's crying all alone
But I knew I couldn't trust me
If I wasn't trusting you
Enough to tell you that I felt so alone. . . )
(C)1990 ROYAL T MUSIC
TRAIL of TEARS1990
Peggy and I were at THE HOP one night. It was open mic and a girl from Dallas named Emily Arinson sang her new song, TRAIL OF TEARS. It was a sentimental sugar cube of a song. I said to Peggy, “Write this down,” and proceeded to dictate this chorus to her.
*. . .Trees won't grow
Grass won't grow
Flowers won't grow
On a trail of tears
After all these years
*. . .You can see it from the sky
You can smell it in the wind
You can feel it in your heart
Like a dying twin
When will it end
*. . .You can talk about the Nazis
Killing all the Jews and Gypsies
So self-righteous
So self-righteous
*. . .inst. . .*
You can talk about your Okies
Going from Place to Noplace
Or should I warn ya'
About California
*. . .*
There ought to be a flower
For every tear that fell there
But a flower won't grow
On a trail of bitter tears
*. . .Na na na. . .*
#. . .inst. . .#
Trees won't grow
And the grass won't grow
And the flowers won't grow
On a trail of tears. . .
This is now
That was then
Do you really think
It could happen again
Tell me friend
Where and when
Harmonies, tambourine and flute - JMT
(C)1990 Royal T Music
THERE’LL COME A LOVE
1993
An undelivered message to a kid named Tony Brownrigg
There’ll come a time
There’ll come a woman
There’ll come a love
There’ll come a day when she’ll stand beside you
The one you’re thinkin’ of
There’ll come a time
There’ll come a woman
There’ll come a love
There’ll come a day when she’ll be there with you
The one you’re dreaming of
So, don’t be afraid of the fears that invade your heart
Don’t be unkind to the love in your mind
There’ll come time
You’ll know the moment
You’ve seen it in your mind
There’ll come a day when the rock rolls away
Your clouds are silver lined
The voices around you are pushing and shoving
Ripe with their own points of view
I’ll not be undressing the motives of others
But what do they know about you?
There’ll come a time, you’ll think you’re dreaming
You’ll reach out and find
With the wink of an eye, you’ll see her reply
It’s not love but fear that’s blind
Your clouds are silver-lined
Harmonies – Michael, Peggy and JMT
(C)2000 Royal T Music
Contact: jamesmichaeltaylor@email.com
imPossible stArts
This is the preliminary release of the music I worked on “with” Michael Jeffrey from 2000 to 2002. We started the project on 8 track with Michael playing all the instruments and when that didn’t seem like enough I bought digital equipment but Michael wasn’t able to make the transition. An importat part of recording to him was being able to see the reel going round and round. So after he left the project I transfered all of his tracks to the computer and added and subtracted until I came up with the arrangements you hear on this six song cd.
LA DENA WIND
June 28 1978
I wrote this song back in the late 70’s while I was doing a gig at a place called Rhet Butler’s in Amarillo. There was a very touchy-feely waitress there named Dena and one day I hitch hiked out to Canyon and she and I did a little tour of the Pan Handle Museum. I “imbedded” her last name in the song. It served to create an interesting image. Her last name was Fite.
The winds they blow down thru the canyon
Blowing so wild and free
And the night is my only companion
As they're blowing La Dena to me
Blowing in the wind
Canyons in the wind
Fires in the wind of my life
Questions in the wind
Answers in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The sun it beats down Amarillo
The shadows they all fight for a place
And I'm finding my life is a riddle
And it’s staring me right in my face
Riddles in the wind
Puzzles in the wind
Fear is in the wind of my life
Faces in the wind
Voices in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
The fires blow down thru the canyon
Burning so wild and free
And the wind is my only companion
And it's blowing La Dena to me
Blowing in the wind
Canyons in the wind
Fires in the wind of my life
Questions in the wind
Answers in the wind
Dena's in the wind of my life
Faith is in the wing
Hope is in the wind
Dena’s in the wind of my life
Harmonies - Peggy, Michael and JMT
(C)1990 Royal T Music
HAPPY NOW
One of Peggy's old friends from her former life came to see us sing at Tinkers, our first club gig, and he said he could tell that she was happy now.
Pretty girl turning into a woman
I never thot the day would be coming
Pretty smile turned into crying
I wondered why her true love was dying
HAPPY NOW. .There's no way to miss it
HAPPY NOW. .I wonder, why is it
She's happy and I'm so blue. . .
HAPPY NOW. .Everyone knows it
HAPPY NOW. .And she clearly shows it
She's happy and I'm so blue. . .She's happy with you
She gave me love. . . . .and I couldn't take it
Gave me her heart. . . .all I did was break it. . .ooo
I didn't care . . .I could do better
I told her so . . .I wrote her a letter
HAPPY NOW. .There's no way to miss it
HAPPY NOW. .I wonder why is it
She's happy and I'm so blue. . .
HAPPY NOW. .Everyone knows it
HAPPY NOW. .And she clearly shows it
She's happy and I'm so blue. She's happy with you
- - -Instrumental of verse & repeat chorus- - -
. . .She's happy with you. . . . . .Why am I blue?
(C)1990 ROYAL T MUSIC
SAY THE WORD
Buddy Holly's birthday - 1989
She's cool and collected. I never feel rejected
But she'll never SAY THE WORD
So unaffected. I never feel neglected
But she'll never SAY THE WORD
She's smart and she's pretty. .Now we're going steady
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
I laugh when she giggles. I tremble when she wiggles
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
*. . .She won't talk about it
But who can doubt it
She's acting out it
She's so good at Braille
She keeps me on her trail
Her eyes, how they twinkle. Her dimples, how they wrinkle
But she never SAYs THE WORD
Ask me why I hover. It's because I love her
Even if she'll never SAY THE WORD
- - -BRIDGE 2- - -
She's smart and she's pretty. Now we're going steady
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
She's so respected. .I feel so protected
But she still won't SAY THE WORD
*. . .She won't talk about it
But who can doubt it
She's acting out it
She's so good at Braille
She keeps me on her trail
- - -VERSE of Na Na Na Nas. . .
- - -CHORUS. . .(Instrumental). . .
She's cool and collected. .I never feel rejected
But she'll never SAY THE WORD
So unaffected, .I feel so connected
Even if she'll never SAY THE WORD
(C)1990 ROYAL T MUSIC
WAKING UP TO YOU
1978
I wrote this one morning a day after I met Peggy in Midland.
I didn't want to tell you I'd been crying
I'd hoped that I could dry up all my tears
But my hearts were like the compass
On the bridge of a sinking ship
And I was drowning in the ocean of my fears
I remember that I said there was no hurry
I'd sing a song. I’d write a verse or two
But I stayed up late on purpose
So I'd sleep into the day
Thinking I'd be WAKING UP TO YOU
WAKING UP TO YOU, WAKING UP TO YOU
I stayed up late on purpose so
I'd sleep into the day
Thinking I'd be WAKING UP TO YOU
In hopeful dreams I listened for your footsteps
But all I heard was ticking of the clock
I couldn’t sleep forever so I had to face the day
Not knowing what to think of all our talk
The easy way you answered all my questions
The ones I spoke the ones within my heart
The answers beyond questions that I found there in your smile
Left me hoping we would never be apart
WAKING UP TO YOU, WAKING UP TO YOU
I stayed up late on purpose so
I'd sleep into the day
Thinking I'd be WAKING UP TO YOU
And then I heard your footsteps in the stairwell
I kicked myself for doubting you were true
You said you’d had a flat tire and you had to fix it by yourself
That’s when I started waking up to you
WAKING UP TO YOU, WAKING UP TO YOU
I’d stayed up late on purpose
So I’d sleep into the day
Hoping I’d be waking up to you
Original words to second and third verse.
(My heart was like a leaf the cold winds wither
Clinging to a limb with all its mite
And there's one thing worse than falling
And it's drifting in the wind
And I was falling like a string that lost its kite
I guess that I had hoped you'd catch me crying
If there's one thing worse, it's crying all alone
But I knew I couldn't trust me
If I wasn't trusting you
Enough to tell you that I felt so alone. . . )
(C)1990 ROYAL T MUSIC
TRAIL of TEARS1990
Peggy and I were at THE HOP one night. It was open mic and a girl from Dallas named Emily Arinson sang her new song, TRAIL OF TEARS. It was a sentimental sugar cube of a song. I said to Peggy, “Write this down,” and proceeded to dictate this chorus to her.
*. . .Trees won't grow
Grass won't grow
Flowers won't grow
On a trail of tears
After all these years
*. . .You can see it from the sky
You can smell it in the wind
You can feel it in your heart
Like a dying twin
When will it end
*. . .You can talk about the Nazis
Killing all the Jews and Gypsies
So self-righteous
So self-righteous
*. . .inst. . .*
You can talk about your Okies
Going from Place to Noplace
Or should I warn ya'
About California
*. . .*
There ought to be a flower
For every tear that fell there
But a flower won't grow
On a trail of bitter tears
*. . .Na na na. . .*
#. . .inst. . .#
Trees won't grow
And the grass won't grow
And the flowers won't grow
On a trail of tears. . .
This is now
That was then
Do you really think
It could happen again
Tell me friend
Where and when
Harmonies, tambourine and flute - JMT
(C)1990 Royal T Music
THERE’LL COME A LOVE
1993
An undelivered message to a kid named Tony Brownrigg
There’ll come a time
There’ll come a woman
There’ll come a love
There’ll come a day when she’ll stand beside you
The one you’re thinkin’ of
There’ll come a time
There’ll come a woman
There’ll come a love
There’ll come a day when she’ll be there with you
The one you’re dreaming of
So, don’t be afraid of the fears that invade your heart
Don’t be unkind to the love in your mind
There’ll come time
You’ll know the moment
You’ve seen it in your mind
There’ll come a day when the rock rolls away
Your clouds are silver lined
The voices around you are pushing and shoving
Ripe with their own points of view
I’ll not be undressing the motives of others
But what do they know about you?
There’ll come a time, you’ll think you’re dreaming
You’ll reach out and find
With the wink of an eye, you’ll see her reply
It’s not love but fear that’s blind
Your clouds are silver-lined
Harmonies – Michael, Peggy and JMT
(C)2000 Royal T Music
Contact: jamesmichaeltaylor@email.com
Friday, June 13, 2003
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
Barbara and I moved our little brood from Portland, Oregon to Texas in the spring of 1974. One Sunday afternoon Barbara and I were doing this song circle at Rick Babb's in Arlington and as we sang CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT a guitar player in the corner joined in with "the other harmony" and then took the guitar part to a new level. His name was Michael Jeffrey. He liked my songs and we liked what happened when he played and sang along.
We talked about making a record together. (This was back in the days of vinyl.) So he set up some drums and a four-trac recorder in his dining room, renamed it MOOSE MEADOW, played all the instruments, arranged all the songs, all the time complaining that he didn't really know enough to make an album. I told him, "Do what he can do and don't worry about what you can't do."
Michael went on to play guitar and sing backup with Steve Fromholtz, Jimmy Buffet, Gary Stewart, etc. Barbara and I sang colleges and then I started singing clubs, mostly in Texas. I changed my name to Wilbur Pig so I wouldn't be confused with that other guy. These are some of the songs that I was singing back then and some of the songs I still sing every chance I get.
I asked friends and students at colleges where we played to pay in advance for their copy of FEATHERS IN THE WIND. Peggy Ann Mitchell, a student at TEXAS A&M, later 1/3 of TEXAS WATER, was one of the first students to pre-buy a copy. We took delivery of our first box of FEATHERS IN THE WIND at A & R in Dallas on the fourth of March, 1976. A date I will always remember. The day we marched forth. jmt
The songs were all written between the time I came to Texas in the spring of 1974 and 1976.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT
The Bug Song - June 1 1974
They're flying in from miles around
They circle and they settle down
They sit and feel the world go round with you
They've come to share the night with you
They sit. They stare. That's what they do
They've come to share the light with you
*. . .When the sun begins to shine
They'll be leaving you behind
Where do they go? Where do they go?
Fuzzy, chocolate, stripped, white
Peaches, pickles, humpbacks might
Be leaving you but how they love the light
Angle wings and butterflies
Because the caterpillar dies
That Old Designer, how he tries for you
*. . .*
Red and yellow, black and white
All are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT
Red and yellow, black and white
All are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT
*. . .*
Tiny bodies left behind
You know their mama doesn't mind
Because it's spider feeding time again
Eight legs, six legs, five or four
One, toe, three and sometimes more
Left there in the painted door for you
*. . .*
When the sun shoos out the night
Your fuzzy little friends take flight
Where do they go. They're out of sight
Be back when the sun goes down
Just leave a little light around
They will return without a sound for you
(C) 1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
HUNGRY EYES
1975
I go (He goes. . etc.) down to the honkey tonk to see the peoplethere
I'll pick me out an angel and I'll stare
And it doesn't really matter if she is alone
It's not my thot to take the lady home
*. . .HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
I've just come to feed my HUNGRY EYES
HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
I've just come to feed my HUNGRY EYES
Men make a lot of jokes about their women and the dark
But we don't think they're (they don't think we're) all the same
In the light she can't compete because our life has left it'smark
(In the light I can't compete. . .)
But she's (I've) found a way to win a losing game
*. . .HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
She let's me go and feed my HUNGRY EYES
(I let him go and feed his. . .)
HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
She can't begin to feed my HUNGRY EYES
(I can't begin to feed. . .)
Though I'm (he's) not a shy man, sometimes it seems that way
I (He) just know (knows) how easily men stray
Mistakes are often make by men who fail to realize
They just need to feed their HUNGRY EYES
HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
I (He) just need to feed my HUNGRY EYES
Mistakes are often made by men who fail to realize
They just need to feed their HUNGRY EYES
(C) 1975 Royal T Music
I FELL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS
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 got three hungry kids and one Texas wife
I FELL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS. . . .What else could I do?
I FELL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS when I fell in love with you
I really hate to sing so late, the night bird sings so sweet
The crickets and the bull frogs, they all got that Texas beat
There's a lot of moisture in the air, but I can stand the heat
Of this big flat land, my guitar in my hand, I'm counting my feet
*. . .*
You've seen your bug collections. I bet I've seen more
Fling 'round my porch light, at night. Circling on the floor
I've learned to live with the chigger mites, down around my shoes
And the feeling of a fresh mosquito bite is a feel I never loose
*. . .*
Every night the moon's so bright, it couldn't be too far
There was a time, it took a week to drive across Texas in a car
When you have seen what I have seen, there's no place else to go
From the Oklahoma border to the Gulf of Mexico
*. . .*
I was not born in Texas but I love her just the same
It seems there's so much music written in her name
Just check a map, read a history book and you will see
Why the old lone star is dug down so far inside of you and me
*. . .*
I was not born in Texas, but my grand daddy was
People say, "That don't transmit!" Well, I believe it does
And down around Comanche, there are others just like me
Take a weekend off sometime and drive down there and see
(C) 1975 ROYAL T MUSIC
BENEATH THE AUGUST MOON
1976
BENEATH THE AUGUST MOON
My Summer Love is shed
Once again I'm left to ponder
What we said
Was it with words or smile
My heart was taken
I should know but can't get beyond
I'm forsaken
Father of mountains
You've washed me thru the years
Consider your child now
And wash away her tears
White River rapids
Pound out
All but the present
Help me stop asking
Where his welcoming smile went
AMEN
Rose Kempton wrote a poem and I arranged it and wrote the music.
(C) 1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
CEDRIC ALLRUNNER/BLACKHAWK
74/76
(The opening words on the record are different. I rewrote the 1st verse after Rush Beasley said to me, "I can tell it's about Indians or something." I set the scene but too late to help the LP. Lyle Lovette learned the recorded version and I have heard him sing it that way. He can do it any way he wants to do it. I just wish he would put it on one of his records.)
Albuquerque, '74. I pulled off the road. I opened the door
I said, "Hop in fellow if you're needing a ride.
You got nothing to fear. I got nothing to hide."
I could tell he'd been drinking. He could hardly walk
He dropped thru the door and he started to talk
He looked at his hands and he started to cry
He said, "Nobody cares if I live or die. . .
*. . . Just an Indian, drunken Indian
Just an Indian, drunken Indian."
He said, "I'm Cedric Allrunner
I'm a Black Hawk."
He said, "I got a son. He is a doctor.
Pick my brain. Pick my lock. Turn
Muddy water into liquor. Make me sick. Make me sick. Her
Daddy was a Choctaw warrior. let me tell you how your
History book into pieces. One man lives and another man ceases.
*. . .*
He said, "I got a son. He's a football player.
He kicks it here and he throws it there.
He hasn't even got a pony
But check his cheek and you'll find it bony.
Take this ring. Take it well. What the heaven. What the hell.
I got two. You got none. Take it from me boy. Please don't run.
*. . .*
He said, "Picture that. Picture this. Thy to walk. Try to piss.
Try to stand. Try to move. I got nothing left to prove.
Served my country, served her fine, spilled my blood out n t line
I watched it run. I watched it curdle. I'm the son of the moon
I'm the brother of the turtle.
*. . .*
Pour the water in the pot. Set it up. Burn it hot.
Pour the coffee in the water. Guadalcanal was quite a slaughter.
German army try to hear. Stick my tongue down in their ear.
Kill the Jap. Kill the deer. I'm so drunk I got no fear.
*. .*
(C) 1977 Royal T Music
I'M AN EAGLE
Feb 17,1975
(A song for my brother Joe. He rode a Beech Craft Bonanza into a forest in Wyoming a few years ago. After I wrote this song he bought the vanity plate that said IMN EGL)
I'M AN EAGLE
I'm an arrow
I'm a swallow
I'm a sparrow
And I feel the wind crossing my feathers in the morning
Flying high above the fields, I swoop down without a warning
Do do dooot do doot doo. . .
- *
And I find a thermal and I ride it high
Incredible is normal when you're in the sky
I build my nest high up on a ridge crest
I stand the test, doing what I do best
I build my nest high up on a ridge crest
I fly East and I fly West(2)
* - *
And I tuck my legs up underneath my body. I don't need 'em
Creatures looking for direction, I can lead 'em
* - *
(C)1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
BALI HI
BALI HI, at Sixth and Broadway
Just a little place where people go
To have a quiet drink
Listen to the band and think
Maybe meet a friend, you never know
I said, "Hi. I'm kind of lonely.
My wife and I just had a fight.
Been married seven years.
We got three kids, now it appears
I need someone to talk to tonight
She said, "Hi. I'm kind of thirsty.
I could sure enjoy something cold.
My interest is stirred
If you'll let me add a word
That's the same story I could have told.
I said, "Say. You understand then
She said, "Of course I do. We're a lot the same.
I've been married seven years
I got three kids, now it appears
I need someone to talk to tonight
"Drink up, you all. It's time to go now
The band's all packed up
I'm gonna turn out the lights
I've been married seven years
Got three kids, now it appears
It's time to go on home tonight."
- repeat verse one -
(C)1975 Royal T Music
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
December 7/8 1975
(A song for Carolyn Opitz. My writing life began as notes to her in high school)
. . .She lives above the ocean. She lives above the crowd
Her eye is on the sparrow and her mind is in a cloud
She wrestles with the question, Yes, she asks herself at times
Does it really matter if it always rhymes. . .
She's a poet, she's a poet
You can see it in her eyes
Yeah, all the pretty lies of a poet. . .
Who would think a boy of seventeen could meet a girl
And learn enough from her to change his vision of the world
Learn from her at childhood's end the meaning of a friend
And live to look back on it all as
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
Today I blame myself for what I didn't say
And ignorance is no excuse. I look at it that way.
Harboring a rumor was my part of the sin
And to try and change it now's like chasing
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
Well, her years went by and so did I as did a husband or two
And with my pride all laid aside, I'll tell it now to you
I believed the whole damned story. I believed it to the end
Her words they linger in my ears like
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
She said, What night? What fireplace? She said, What friend?
I said, Keren told me, Carolyn. It's foolish to pretend.
Then she said,It never happened.I've done nothing to defend.
That's when I knew I'd scattered
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
We all know, when we accuse someone, we ought to do it to
their face. It's wrong to go assuming guilt when there is
no evidence to trace. And it's best that you be careful,
what you believe about a friend
Unless you think it's easy catching
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
(C)1977 Royal T Music
I'D BE GLAD TO LET YOU LOVE ME
1974, after a scene I saw in the Leather Ball Saloon one night while Texas Weather was playing.
I'd be glad to let you love me
If you'll just hold me for a while
You can take your time and linger
I will not demand a smile
I'd be glad to let you touch me
If you'll just hold me for a while
I'm hungry like a woman,
But I'm lonely like a child
Children die when they're lonely
Women cry, you know they're only human
My, oh my, oh my
You don't have to talk or listen
You can forget me when I'm gone
But tonight I need somebody
Who is looking/lonely for someone
I won't ask you for tomorrow
I won't ask you for your name
You don't have to try to please me
I know that would be a game
*. . .*
You don't have to try to please me
If you'll just hold me, that will do
Just to know I've been your pleasure
Is all I ask of you (changing to key of A)
So come on while I am able
To control my bitter tears
I can hear, my heart is pounding
As it's drowning out the fears
*. . .*
MALE response. . .
I'll be glad to hold you darling. But I can't just love you for a while
You see, I've never met a woman who could touch me like a child
All the dams I've tended are overflowing with your tears
By the time they are all mended they will have washed away the years
DUET
I'd be glad to let you love me if you'll just hold me for a while
We could take our time and linger, we could both enjoy a smile
I'd be glad the let you touch me if you'll just hold me for a while
I'm hungry for/like a woman who is lonely like a child.
(C) 1976 Royal T Music
SHE DOESN'T THINK WE CAN MAKE IT
October 17 1975
She doesn't think we can make it
She doesn't think you can take it
She'll do what she can to break it
If she can't have me, she'd rather see me alone
She asked me into her mind and
She knew the things I would find and
Said we were two of a kind and
She said that she was a diamond and I was her mount
She said that she was water and I was her fount
She said that she was Woman and I was her man and
She asked me into her heart and
Said that we never should part and
She'd had someone do our chart and
She said that she was a star and I was her sky
She said that she'd always wondered and I'd shown her why
She said that she was a dreamer and I was her dream
She said so many things. . .so many things. . .
She doesn't think we can make it
She doesn't think you can take it
She'll do what she can to break it
I'll do what I can to make it
You do what you can to take it
We'll do what we can to break it
Woo, Woo, Woo. . .
This song has something to do with Rose Kempton.
(C) 1977 Royal T Music
I LIVE WITH REBECCA
(Thoughts of Becky Jarrell plus a book called Logo Therapy added up to this...)
I live with Rebecca
I keep her by my side
I live with Rebecca
With her I do abide
Some people never see
Light at their door
While others, finding their fill
Want no more
One day he blew it
But he never knew it
No one has told him
To this day
He doesn't show it
Because he doesn't know it
His Rebecca's gone away
*. . .*
musical interlude
repeat first verse
(C)1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
.........................................................................................
Que Pasooriginated as a cd in 2000
Que Paso
I wrote this song after reading the Novel THE STONE RAFT which was later made into a movie. I traveled to Spain to play a small part in that movie in the summer of 2001.
The man on the radio said we were falling apart, Que pasa?
The words on the front of the paper said we were drifting away, Que Pasa?
Nunca me ah gustado la gasolina(I never was that fond of Gasoline)
Me rio quando el buay alla la macina (please excuse my spelling)
(I laugh to see the ox pull the machine)
La risa de los ninos se esta muriando, esta muriendose, Que paso?
(The laughter of the children is dying. What's happening?
I'm sorry if I fail to find the news within the news
One stormy night I dreamed I snatched the hand of peace
from the jaws of the peacekeepers.
And as I push the pillow from my bed I can't recall.
Is it my memory o es me memoria?
The voices that speak for my heart tell me I'm breaking away,
drifting away. Que paso?
OUT THERE SOMEWHERE
Here eyes were blurry
Her face was painted
Her hair was died black
Her bag was heavy
And she said something
I asked her to repeat it
She said, "Stop the car.
I thought I could trust you."
I pulled it over and I waited.
If you will tell me where you are going
Then I will take you there.
I'm in no hurry.
She turned to me and spoke so softly
"What did I do wrong?"
I said, "I don't know."
The night was dark and getting darker.
Out there somewhere numb and fading
Void of love, too hurt for hating
It's all over but the waiting
Out there somewhere without a notion
Adrift on some indifferent ocean
Without direction, only motion.
I drove on home and folded my pillow
Tossed my body as dreams unfolded
Sun come shining on clean clothes waiting
I hit the highway. Pulled down my sun visor
There she is standing out by the highway
Where she is going she does not know
But she is befuddled by the notion
that so many people know where they are going
Out there somewhere numb and fading
Void of love, too hurt for hating
It's all over but the waiting
Out there somewhere without a notion
Adrift on some indifferent ocean
Without direction, only motion.
That Night Long Ago
I sit on a bench on the banks of the Brazos
Remembering a night long ago
The swans paddle slowly, the traffic hums lowly
Things I didn't notice that night
And sweat drips from the joggers with musical earmuffs
Girls swing tethered breasts to and fro
Chemical toilets, gum wrappers, spent cigarettes
Things I didn't notice that night long ago
A little girl yells, "Hey! Come look, there's a turtle."
To parents with faces aglow
Cutworms eat the pecan tree, stripping it tenderly
But I didn't notice that night
And couples with children
And childrenless couples with k9s almost in tow
Crawl out of cars comfortable
Almost affordable
Things I didn't notice that night long ago.
So I grab my guitar and I search it for memories
A song that we both used to know
My fingers are awkward, guitar facing backward
But who would have noticed that night
So I find me a pay phone and I dial up your number
You answer and I say, "Hello."
At first you don't know me and then you remember
When we slept in your Fairlane that night long ago.
And you were so comfortable. Almost affordable
When we slept in your Fairlane that night long ago.
And the difference I'd say is between night and day.
THE LAST TIME
The last time we said Good-bye I didn't even look her in the eye.
The last time I kissed her mouth I didn't even think about some day
I'd have to do without.
If I never see her again I don't know why
If I never see her again I don't know when
The last time I held her hand
I didn't know that time was sand, slipping away
The last time I watched her smile I didn't know
I watched a child, slipping away
If I never see her again I don't know why
If I never see her again I don't know when
The last time it got real loud
She was hurt and I was proud
I wonder what she's thinking now
The last time she held me tight was just like any other night
Who's holding her now?
If I never see her again I don't know why
If I never see her again I don't know when
The last time we said good-bye I didn't even look her in the eye
THE BRIGHTER CANDEL
John and I were going door to door in Portland, Oregon asking if we could put a campaign sign in people's front yards. As I paced the streets above the river I remembered something "our candidate for judge" had said at dinner the night before about his late wife.
The brighter candle knows the truth
in golden glow of darkest sun
It knows there's no eternal youth
The brighter candle
So many, rushing, go nowhere
On bikes and skates with silver hair
It's like a dream she once was here
The brighter candle
Though you pay your debt of admiration
You know your tears won't wash the hurt away
All your heady talk of inspiration
Just adds up to one more lonely day
We've all known one, he or she
And often shared the memory
We bow our head and bend or knee
The brighter candle
Though you paid your debt of admiration
You know your tears won't wash the hurt away
And all your heady talk of inspiration
Just adds up to one more lonely day
All the friends that fan the flame
Enjoyed the light
Now share the blame
I've heard them say, "It's such a shame."
The brighter candle always knows
The wind consumes it as it blows
We must accept that's how it goes.
Gramma's Shampoo
(Capo at 3rd fret)
1. (Bm7) Gramma's sham (Am7) poo (Bm7) is washing my (Am7) hair
And I (G) hope it will (D) notice that (C) Gramma's not (Bm7) there
(CM7) It's the kind that knows just what to do
Says it right there on the bottle, sham...(G) poo
(CM7) Automatically adjusts to your hair's cleansing needs
How does it do that? Sham.. (G) poo
2. (Bm7) Gramma's sham... (Am7) poo (Bm7) is washing my (Am7) hair
And I (G) hope it re... (D) members that (C) Gramma's not (Bm7) there
(CM7) Kathy got the washer, Silky got the dryer, Joel got the ca... (G) noe
(CM7) River got the shot gun, Toy got the rifle
and he got the arrowheads (G) too
(Em) All the boxes stacked out in the garage nobody wants to go (C) thru
ENDING (Bm7) Gramma's sham... (Am7) poo (Bm7) is washing my (Am7) hair
And I (G) hope it will (D) notice that (C) Gramma's not (Bm7) there.
Alternate chords for Last line
And I (G) hope it will (D) notice that (Am) Gramma's not (Em) there
(C) 2000 Royal T Music
Hello
You're some kind of prophet I'll give you that
But what I'm needing now is a nurse
An emergence entrance, can you show me that
Before my condition gets worse
Hello I just said good-bye
And I feel like a bird with no sky
You said I should call if I ever hit the wall
Hello
You said, "Love is a healer."
I'll give it a chance.
Can love heal what time can't forget
It's the hole in my dreams and the rip in the pants
Of a world that I don't seem to fit
Hello, I just said "Good-bye"
And I feel like a bird with no sky
You said I should call if I ever hit the wall
Hello
You're some kind of prophet I'll give you that
But what I'm needing now is a nurse
An emergence entrance, can you show me that
Before my condition gets worse
HOLDINGS OF THE HEART
This was written for a movie by that name but it wasn't used in the movie.
The heart can hold a lot of things
The sunshine and the flowers
The chill that springs the falling leaves
Winter's darkest hours
The rains that quench the thirsty earth
The buds that sprout and bloom
Sometimes it tries to hold too much
And there isn't enough room
The heart can hold a multitude
Family and friends
There are things that life will give
And things it only lends
A wife becomes a mother
A son becomes a man
There are things a heart can't hold
And still it thinks it can
The holdings of the bank are cold
Holding hands are warm
The holdings of the mind are thoughts
that in the moment form
The hands that hold the tools
that build the brushes for our art
None are as enduring as the holdings of the heart
(The holdings of the heart are self-renewing
On holdings of the heart, high interest paid.
But holdings sometimes must be liquidated
Yet we stay)
The heart can hold the music
The voices of the time
The heart collects the little things
The pennies and the dimes
The heart can try to measure the stature of a dream
Pounding like the waters on the stones that block the stream
The holdings of the bank are cold
Holding hands are warm
The holdings of the mind are thoughts
that in the moment form
The hands that hold the tools
that build the brushes for our art
None are as enduring as the holdings of the heart
None are self-renewing like the holdings of the heart
YOU
There's a place in my mind
Where your face had a home
Back before you walked into my life
Before you were a known
There's a note in my song
That I knew fit somewhere
Though the journey was long
I hoped I wouldn't be wrong
You would be meeting me there
Every longing I knew proved there was you
Just as I know there's water because I get thirsty
I knew there was you
One day SIlky was mentioning songs to sing at her wedding.
I pulled this song out and realized it needed more so I wrote
another verse and chorus.
There's a thought that I hold
About a love that can be
It's a thought about you
It's a thought about me
There's a place in my mind
SOme will say, "An ideal."
'Neith a cloud, silver-lined
Down a road that will wind
To a plcee that is real
Every longing I knew
Said there was you
And though the questions inspired
They just left me tired
Until the answer was you.
Instrumental break
ALl the questions inside
Even tears couldn't sooth
Not to run, not to hide
A need undenied
And the answer was you
Every longing I knew
Proved there was you
Just as I know there's water becasue I get thirsty
I knew there was you
PIE IN THE SKY
I trip and fall by the road
beneath the sun on the snow
Lost in darkness so thick I can feel it
And the things I was taught and the things that I know
are confusing what's right and what's real
I'm returning a ring to the store where I bought it
Rejected by woman and god
And I lie cold and wet, thinking, "Is this my lot?"
Face-down in the slush and the sod.
I don't want no pie in the sky
I need some help right now
And I don't fear I'll burn when I die
I fear the here and now
We all know heaven waits
Golden streets, pearly gates
Why does that sound so cold?
And the pit for lost souls
Sulphur smoke, glowing coals
A fear we've all been sold
I don't want no pie in the sky
I need some help right now
And I don't fear I'll burn when I die
I fear the here and now
A fear we've all been sold
Then a voice echoes thru all the dogma and rules
It rings so clear and bright
And it says, "Come to me. Thru my eyes you can see
what things are true and right.
Oh, the voice is so clear.
It brings joy to my ear
I'll be your sacrifice
Put your burden on me.
We will be family today in paradise.
I don't want no pie in the sky
And I don't fear I'll burn when I die
So I pick myself up and I brush off the snow
That's reflecting the sun so bright
And where ever I am and where ever I go
now I reflect the light
Now it's been forty years
I've seen sorrow and tears
But I've always been renewed
And the joys of each day
Keep the darkness away
When threatening clouds intrude
FOREVER YOUNG/FOREVER FOOLISH
Had he only known that his fate was his own
And he held it right there in his hand
There was no guarantee what his children would be
Some things were beyond his command
Like many who plan, a disappointed man
Who's pretty petite had grown fat
He was smart and sincere and had just enough fear
To have known it would turn out like that
And Jimmy's smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
What was in store was a whole lot more
He had not even a trace
Had he but known perhaps he'd have flown
Like a dog on a track in a race
He had a scheme or wo it would seem
He thought he would blow it all off
He'd be on his own when the kids had all grown
He did not hear the wind scoff
And Jimmy's smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
AFTER WE'RE BROKEN
After we're broken we'll turn from a fight
Ask what it pays and not if it's right
Reaching for balance while falling from grace
Try to fall from the light without losing our face
After we're broken we know it's too late
We don't trim our lamps. We don't knock at the gate
Pressing our ear to the crack in the wall
We know we're straining for whispers but we're missing the ball
After we're broken we'll sit thru the show
When we're tired and we're sure that it's moving too slow
We know it's the truth. No more and no less
We nod when they curse. We sneeze when they bless.
After we're broken the songs are all true
They all tell what we feel they all say what we do
We all keep on running though it's not for the prize
Because we run from the past and from the smoke in our eyes
After we're broken we can sleep anywhere
It becomes so important what we eat what we wear
Our minds must have something to follow away
From the dreams of the past of what we lost yesterday
After we're broken we cannot be hurt
We turned from the sky after we tasted the dirt
Only the broken are broken in rhyme
And what is broken in spirit can't be mended in time
After we're broken we're unlikely to blame
Our folks for failing for now we've done the same
We learn why so many decide to submit
They turn loose of their dream. There's no future in it.
After we're broken we can be nonchalant
We will take what we're given because we've lost what we want
Chasing a rainbow is fine for a lark
But where is the bow when it rains in the dark?
PRETTY THING
This guy at work said...Well, listen to the song!
She hears the termites in the wall while he's sleepin'
He can't even hear the phone from outside
She smells the cigarettes from neighbors out smokin'
He's got a nose but best she figures it died.
She likes the bed made up he leaves it messy
She's always cold he's always hot
She locks the doors he leaves them standing wide open
She cranks the windows shut but he'd rather not
She's such a pretty thing
What does she see in him
He eats a plate-full while she's taking a nibble
She likes to taste her food. He gobbles it down
She runs the air he hangs his arm out the window
She's next to modest while he's more of a clown
She's such a pretty thing
What does she see in him
She drives a Volvo he likes his old Chevy
She cleans the supercharger he mows the lawn
She gets unanimous while he's always iffy
You got the point by now so we will move on
This guy at work said, "What a jerk.
She's such a pretty thing, what does she see in him?"
Yeah there they go, holding hands and just smiling and acting silly.
EASY ANSWERS
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
You tell me what I feel
What is right and what is real
What do you know?
You say like all the rest
What is worst is what is best
What do you know?
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
You say that I'm in sin
What is out and what is in
What do you know?
The vision that I knew
Was real to me but false to you
What do you know?
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
I fear the truth unkind
That hope's in vain and love is blind
What do you know?
I don't know but I've been told
The streets of heaven are lined with condos
What do you know?
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
Easy answers coming down on me
Easy answers don't mean that much to me
THE HAND OF GOD
This song, I wrote for and performed in a movie called SURVEILLANCE. Available on video.
The hand of God reached down and made Adam
He said, Don't eat the apple but you can eat the plum.
Then he made him Eve. The snake did deceive her
They disobeyed when they should have prayed.
The hand of God reached down and stopped Abraham
He saved the life of Isaac but he doomed the lamb
It was sure a relief. Saved him from some grief.
Wouldn't it be grand if God would show his hand?
Well, I'd like to feel the hand of God on my shoulder
Oh, maybe it would help me be a little bit bolder
What a comfort it would be to feel him here with me
Wouldn't it be grand just to feel his hand on my shoulder?
...................................................................
SOLITARY WALK
YOU CAN'T GO BACK
(I added music and a chorus to a poem by Carolyn Opitz in 1959. Our first song.)
I'll never want to let you go although we're far apart
Our love will linger on I know and live within my heart
Someday you must return to me and start anew with dreams
For only then how right we'll see were all our tender schemes
You can't go back!
You can't go back.
And darling while so far away, don't forget to send
All the love you once did say, for my heart to mend.
You can't go back.
You can't go back.
Hey!
Hey! Yeah! Unnh, unnh,! Hey! Where you going? Hey! Think I'll go with you! What you thinking? That's what I think too!
As I walked out in the streets of Laredo, as I walked out in Laredo one day, I spied a young man all wrapped in white linen, wrapped in white linen as cold as they clay.
Hey! Testing? Hey! Testing? One, Two! One, Two! Hey! Where you going? I think I'll go with you. What you thinking. That's what I'm thinking too.
Lisa's Fingernail
Lost in a tangle of words, her life is a shambles, her dreams are in tatters. Her thots are a garland of thorns, her wounds are internal, her smile for survival. And her breasts are so large she has to hold them when she runs.
DREAM BOOK
Don't wake me up. Can't you see that I'm sleeping. Turn out the light. I'm bound in a dream. Don't raise your voice. I'm crossing the border. Take a note from me. Write it down. I will tell you the words. There in my dreambook at the top of the bed it's got stories that you never heard. Don't wake me up. Can't you see that I'm sleeping. Turn out the light. I'm bound in a dream. Well, I was in the desert climbing some huge bridges, explaining to someone that they are the perfect super structure for buildings. All they needed to do was build the walls. I told them that someday it would be taken for granted. They would use these structures for a duel purpose. Don't wake him up. Can't you see that he's dreaming. Don't pull the plug. We got plenty of time. Write it in your dreambook. Write it in your dreambook. I awakened from being awake in a dream and remembered that I had been thinking in my dream that it was foolish not to have brought my video camera. The colors of the sky and many other things were spectacular but I couldn't remember what they are. That's what you get for not writing it down, Buddy. Yeah, you tell 'em man.. Well a pretty girl drives up to a country stop sign. I run to the car and grab her and open her door and drag her down off the road by the hair and when I get her down to the creek under the bridge I take out a toothbrush and I force her to brush her teeth in front of me. So, I told him I had everything under control. Then he pointed to the pavement. There was a wet spot and a flattened lizard. Then I could see that he flattened lizard was still alive. It ran up over a little raised median and I followed and it turned out to be a horney toad.
(Rabyn on Bass and Bill Pohl plays guitar. I took a piece they had done and added the vocal and words)
JONAH
Jonah lives under the bridge
He's there up off the ground
His world is looking down
Bycycles pass him by
Children ask parents why
Jonah lives under the bridge
No insurence policy on Jonah's oddesy
Send in the scholar see Jonah in squalor
Jonah lives under the bridge
His roof is the pathway the tires all travel
The people with places to go
His floor is the grit and the sand and the gravel
The rain and the wind and the cold
Jonah lives under the bridge
For those with th will to earn up the dollar
The people with something to buy
Jonahj finds cardboard to burn up the hours
To warm up the smoke in his eyes
Jonah lives under the bridge
(And then a reporter from the Star Telegram wrote a story about him and the guy from the city ran him off.)
PRUNING OLIVES
I am a child of Judah
And the mark of Cain is on me
I'm a fugitive in every place I go
And my name is Joseph Freidman
And I tend an olive orchard
On a hillside just a short walk from my home
There the silver trunks are ancient
And the olive branch is fruitful
But the breeze that shakes the leaves still whispers low,
"Where is God? Where is God?"
I am a child of Esau
I am Ali Abed Jabar
I once would harvest olives near my home
I would prune the trees in winter
When the sap seeped deep in Gaza
And the children woke each day to throw their stones
But the soldiers came at midnight
With their power saws remarking
And now the sap has nowhere left to go
"Where is God? Where is God?"
My name is Jimmy Taylor
And I am a Future Farmer
And my project is nine trees out by the road
And the trees have been neglected
All these many years untended
A home now to a solitary crow
So I climb with saw and clippers
Up into the brittle thicket
I'm busy choosing what will stay and what will go
And I note my meager progress
And I wonder if I'll ever
Rid the olive trees of dead wood, I'm so slow
And I read the Sunday paper
And I daily read my Bible
And I see the scars of pruning down below
PIECES
He stands outside her window
Hour after hour he watches
Piece by piece he sees her disappearing
Once she was his flower and he was her fellow
Who can say what comes between lovers?
He takes his blame for reasons they're apart
And thinks it's hard she's selling pieces of her heart.
Pieces of his heart
He stands outside her window
Thinks of the time he's wasting
Piece by piece he feels her disappearing
Once she was his flower and he was her fellow
Who can say what comes between lovers?
(Amsterdam 1988)
The Last Woman on Earth
You will admit, of course, that the life of the world is your life. What you know of history is your history and what you know of the future is your future. Well, this goes for women, we must presume. The women you have access to, to state it bluntly, are the only women on earth. And if there is only one woman you have access to, she is the only woman on earth. And what happens when this woman slams the only door in the world on the only face you have in this world. Well, you sink into the ocean. The only ocean in the world and you begin to exhaust the only breath you have left in the world and you begin to see other worlds and you begin to realize that that last breath in the worldis more important to you than the last woman on earth.
(Rabyn James & Bill Pohl did this piece and I added the reading.)
THE DRAGONFLY
The Dragon Fly - I was sitting at a red light at the corner of Northwest highway and some ragged street just east of Grapevine yesterday when my eyes were caught by a dragonfly. I guess he’d been hit by a car. He was broken. He would lift off the ground, twisting and turning and then a rush of turbulant air, created by a passing car would wash out and he would whack back into the black top. He was one of those big dragonflies. The kind with the huge irredescent multifacited eyes and the pencil-slinder body with the four cellophane leaf wings. What I think of as a prehistoric creature. A left over from a time when there were still turtles in the creek and cat tails on the bank. When there were polly wogs seething in the puddles. A fantasy creature who’s only observable function is to fascinate people with nothing better to think about. And childen. The kind that teams up with another dragon fly and does that cartoon buddy ride. I know it’s mating but that’s not all it is. They could crawl on the ground and do that. The kind that fits into an animated movie about dinasours but it’s hard to fit in with back yards and pets and tvs and scooters. The guy that invented helecopters must have been watching dragon flies. If dragon flies made a noise I’m sure it would sound like a helecopter. War movies with all those choppers coming over the trees always makes me think of dragon flies. I guess with all the talk on tv lately about bravery and sacrifice and the struggle to come and the sadness in the air there were some words and phrases just waiting for application a little closer to home because as I watched that brave creature struggle to go on with his life defying traffic and injury I was touched. And as these thoughts jangled in my mind a red Ford double-cab pickup pulling a red trailer laden with plastic pipe and landscaping tools and the dragon fly disappeared as if by magic. (2000 - part of my response to 9/11)
SWEET YOUNG THING
He lays out a freshly pressed Arrow, clean sox and his new underwear. He brushes his teeth with toothpaste. It seems there's a charge in the air. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and how she trembled the night before. He breaks out a deodorant soap bar. He bathes and he washes his hair. As he dries off, he shivers a little, as he thinks where he's going from there. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and how he trembled the night before. His shirt ripples with every muscle. He pulls on his highest heeled boot. And his heart skips a beat as he buckles his belt. He picks the lint off his suit. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and what she promised the night before. His pants seem too tight as he puts out the cat and turns off the light. And the start of the engine sends shivers up his spine as he faces the night and he thinks he loves that Sweet Young Thing. And of how they trembled the night before. He walks to the door and he pauses. He swallows. He fingers his hair. Feels a flush as he touches the knocker. He waits. There's a sting in the air. And he can almost taste that Sweet Young Thing and he trembles like the night before. His eyes reflect only a doorway. And his hopes and his fears, they collide. And if you painted a freshly tossed salad, that's what he would look like inside. And confusion and anger seem to entwine like they did the night before. He swallows. He knocks, this time, harder. In a sweat, he unbuttons his coat. He turns and he starts for the sidewalk. He stops. He must leave her a note. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and how she trembled the night before. Like oatmeal, the words stick together. In his mind, the clear pictures come hard. His fountain pen shakes out its message on the back of a fresh business card. He wants to tell that Sweet Young Thing it's all right and maybe more. Quickly, his eyes search the mailbox for a place that's almost out of view. And she found it the following Wednesday and she cried when she read, "I love you." And sometimes he remembers that Sweet Young Thing and he trembles like before.
(Peggy on guitar & drums. Harry Nass on keyboards. Peggy produces.)
That Same Conversation
Linda lies listening, quiet as a mouse. She can hear their voices echoing all thru the house. She listens sadly as Mommy and Daddy are having that same conversation. I'll take the Rambler. You take the Chevrolet. I'll find a room that isn't very far away. In case you may need me. Sometime you may need me, you and the children. Roger remembers a time in the past he could keep up with his thots. They didn't run so fast. Tossing and turning, his bridges are burning, inflamed by that same conversation. I'll take the Rambler and leave you. I’ll find a room far away. You don't need me. You don't need me. Need me. Need me. Need me. Tiny Dorie is dreaming. Understands not a word, but she's deeply affected by what she has heard. Not understanding what this life is demanding. Absorbing that same conversation. It's you as an infant. It's me as a man and if it's true we're doing the best that we can. Tell me, what does that mean to a child who is hearing the words in that same conversation.
(April 1 1974. Gary Ogan and Bill Lamb played the instruments and sang harmony. Rex Studio, Portland, Oregon. Trumpet and steel guitar added at Sundance Studio in Dallas.)
WOULD YOU FORSAKE A MEMORY
December 1977 From SONGS FOR GAY LADD
G Am Em C D
If what we do is what we are-And every pain will leave a scar
G Am C D G
Then love must leave a beauty mark-A light 2 guide us (when it's)in the dark
Em G Em G
& tenderness, a hope for more-And trust, a key to every door
Am C D G
What comfort them if we should flee-Would you forsake a memory?
I don't know the future of all that we did
But the past, it is known though the future is hid
And I can't trust the future of a misconstrued past
It's like setting an arm in a crooked hard cast
Tho the price may be turmoil, I choose to be free
And never forsake a memory
Would it make my life simple just to say it was wrong
For the sake of a rhyme or a line in a song
Is there nothing more pressing than calming the storm
Will pretending make ice when the water is warm
And how can I hide when I'm hiding from me
I won't forsake a memory
Repeat chorus...
(C) 1990 Royal T Music
Forever Eyes
Let's just say it's twenty years from now. Your hair's turned grey and I'm still alive somehow. And all is lost we've found that money buys. Will I still see forever in your eyes? (2002)
THE SOLITARY WALK
And tho I follow in the footsteps of my friends
And the road I walk down has been tramped into stone
All the tears that I've cried
Will have turned into dust
And my life will pass like a shadow into the shade
(La sombra a la sombra)
And when the weight of the sun on my eyes
Is replaced by the cool silence of the tunnel
Like a lamb with a broken leg
I will be left behind
And the cries of your newborn will steal your thoughts from me
And when I lie beneath my little cross
And your ridged wheels rattle my bones
I will trust you to leave me
With peace in your hearts
For that will be the end of my world
(Por eso sera el fin de me mundo)
(Chorus lyric is some combining of...
It's a Solitary Walk/Caminante Solitario)
(Isaba, Spain 2000 - on location for THE STONERAFT)
when not otherwise noted, all songs (C)2003 Royal T Music
contact: jamesmichaeltaylor@email.com
Barbara and I moved our little brood from Portland, Oregon to Texas in the spring of 1974. One Sunday afternoon Barbara and I were doing this song circle at Rick Babb's in Arlington and as we sang CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT a guitar player in the corner joined in with "the other harmony" and then took the guitar part to a new level. His name was Michael Jeffrey. He liked my songs and we liked what happened when he played and sang along.
We talked about making a record together. (This was back in the days of vinyl.) So he set up some drums and a four-trac recorder in his dining room, renamed it MOOSE MEADOW, played all the instruments, arranged all the songs, all the time complaining that he didn't really know enough to make an album. I told him, "Do what he can do and don't worry about what you can't do."
Michael went on to play guitar and sing backup with Steve Fromholtz, Jimmy Buffet, Gary Stewart, etc. Barbara and I sang colleges and then I started singing clubs, mostly in Texas. I changed my name to Wilbur Pig so I wouldn't be confused with that other guy. These are some of the songs that I was singing back then and some of the songs I still sing every chance I get.
I asked friends and students at colleges where we played to pay in advance for their copy of FEATHERS IN THE WIND. Peggy Ann Mitchell, a student at TEXAS A&M, later 1/3 of TEXAS WATER, was one of the first students to pre-buy a copy. We took delivery of our first box of FEATHERS IN THE WIND at A & R in Dallas on the fourth of March, 1976. A date I will always remember. The day we marched forth. jmt
The songs were all written between the time I came to Texas in the spring of 1974 and 1976.
CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT
The Bug Song - June 1 1974
They're flying in from miles around
They circle and they settle down
They sit and feel the world go round with you
They've come to share the night with you
They sit. They stare. That's what they do
They've come to share the light with you
*. . .When the sun begins to shine
They'll be leaving you behind
Where do they go? Where do they go?
Fuzzy, chocolate, stripped, white
Peaches, pickles, humpbacks might
Be leaving you but how they love the light
Angle wings and butterflies
Because the caterpillar dies
That Old Designer, how he tries for you
*. . .*
Red and yellow, black and white
All are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT
Red and yellow, black and white
All are precious in his sight
Jesus loves the CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT
*. . .*
Tiny bodies left behind
You know their mama doesn't mind
Because it's spider feeding time again
Eight legs, six legs, five or four
One, toe, three and sometimes more
Left there in the painted door for you
*. . .*
When the sun shoos out the night
Your fuzzy little friends take flight
Where do they go. They're out of sight
Be back when the sun goes down
Just leave a little light around
They will return without a sound for you
(C) 1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
HUNGRY EYES
1975
I go (He goes. . etc.) down to the honkey tonk to see the peoplethere
I'll pick me out an angel and I'll stare
And it doesn't really matter if she is alone
It's not my thot to take the lady home
*. . .HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
I've just come to feed my HUNGRY EYES
HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
I've just come to feed my HUNGRY EYES
Men make a lot of jokes about their women and the dark
But we don't think they're (they don't think we're) all the same
In the light she can't compete because our life has left it'smark
(In the light I can't compete. . .)
But she's (I've) found a way to win a losing game
*. . .HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
She let's me go and feed my HUNGRY EYES
(I let him go and feed his. . .)
HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
She can't begin to feed my HUNGRY EYES
(I can't begin to feed. . .)
Though I'm (he's) not a shy man, sometimes it seems that way
I (He) just know (knows) how easily men stray
Mistakes are often make by men who fail to realize
They just need to feed their HUNGRY EYES
HUNGRY EYES, HUNGRY EYES
I (He) just need to feed my HUNGRY EYES
Mistakes are often made by men who fail to realize
They just need to feed their HUNGRY EYES
(C) 1975 Royal T Music
I FELL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS
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 got three hungry kids and one Texas wife
I FELL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS. . . .What else could I do?
I FELL IN LOVE WITH TEXAS when I fell in love with you
I really hate to sing so late, the night bird sings so sweet
The crickets and the bull frogs, they all got that Texas beat
There's a lot of moisture in the air, but I can stand the heat
Of this big flat land, my guitar in my hand, I'm counting my feet
*. . .*
You've seen your bug collections. I bet I've seen more
Fling 'round my porch light, at night. Circling on the floor
I've learned to live with the chigger mites, down around my shoes
And the feeling of a fresh mosquito bite is a feel I never loose
*. . .*
Every night the moon's so bright, it couldn't be too far
There was a time, it took a week to drive across Texas in a car
When you have seen what I have seen, there's no place else to go
From the Oklahoma border to the Gulf of Mexico
*. . .*
I was not born in Texas but I love her just the same
It seems there's so much music written in her name
Just check a map, read a history book and you will see
Why the old lone star is dug down so far inside of you and me
*. . .*
I was not born in Texas, but my grand daddy was
People say, "That don't transmit!" Well, I believe it does
And down around Comanche, there are others just like me
Take a weekend off sometime and drive down there and see
(C) 1975 ROYAL T MUSIC
BENEATH THE AUGUST MOON
1976
BENEATH THE AUGUST MOON
My Summer Love is shed
Once again I'm left to ponder
What we said
Was it with words or smile
My heart was taken
I should know but can't get beyond
I'm forsaken
Father of mountains
You've washed me thru the years
Consider your child now
And wash away her tears
White River rapids
Pound out
All but the present
Help me stop asking
Where his welcoming smile went
AMEN
Rose Kempton wrote a poem and I arranged it and wrote the music.
(C) 1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
CEDRIC ALLRUNNER/BLACKHAWK
74/76
(The opening words on the record are different. I rewrote the 1st verse after Rush Beasley said to me, "I can tell it's about Indians or something." I set the scene but too late to help the LP. Lyle Lovette learned the recorded version and I have heard him sing it that way. He can do it any way he wants to do it. I just wish he would put it on one of his records.)
Albuquerque, '74. I pulled off the road. I opened the door
I said, "Hop in fellow if you're needing a ride.
You got nothing to fear. I got nothing to hide."
I could tell he'd been drinking. He could hardly walk
He dropped thru the door and he started to talk
He looked at his hands and he started to cry
He said, "Nobody cares if I live or die. . .
*. . . Just an Indian, drunken Indian
Just an Indian, drunken Indian."
He said, "I'm Cedric Allrunner
I'm a Black Hawk."
He said, "I got a son. He is a doctor.
Pick my brain. Pick my lock. Turn
Muddy water into liquor. Make me sick. Make me sick. Her
Daddy was a Choctaw warrior. let me tell you how your
History book into pieces. One man lives and another man ceases.
*. . .*
He said, "I got a son. He's a football player.
He kicks it here and he throws it there.
He hasn't even got a pony
But check his cheek and you'll find it bony.
Take this ring. Take it well. What the heaven. What the hell.
I got two. You got none. Take it from me boy. Please don't run.
*. . .*
He said, "Picture that. Picture this. Thy to walk. Try to piss.
Try to stand. Try to move. I got nothing left to prove.
Served my country, served her fine, spilled my blood out n t line
I watched it run. I watched it curdle. I'm the son of the moon
I'm the brother of the turtle.
*. . .*
Pour the water in the pot. Set it up. Burn it hot.
Pour the coffee in the water. Guadalcanal was quite a slaughter.
German army try to hear. Stick my tongue down in their ear.
Kill the Jap. Kill the deer. I'm so drunk I got no fear.
*. .*
(C) 1977 Royal T Music
I'M AN EAGLE
Feb 17,1975
(A song for my brother Joe. He rode a Beech Craft Bonanza into a forest in Wyoming a few years ago. After I wrote this song he bought the vanity plate that said IMN EGL)
I'M AN EAGLE
I'm an arrow
I'm a swallow
I'm a sparrow
And I feel the wind crossing my feathers in the morning
Flying high above the fields, I swoop down without a warning
Do do dooot do doot doo. . .
- *
And I find a thermal and I ride it high
Incredible is normal when you're in the sky
I build my nest high up on a ridge crest
I stand the test, doing what I do best
I build my nest high up on a ridge crest
I fly East and I fly West(2)
* - *
And I tuck my legs up underneath my body. I don't need 'em
Creatures looking for direction, I can lead 'em
* - *
(C)1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
BALI HI
BALI HI, at Sixth and Broadway
Just a little place where people go
To have a quiet drink
Listen to the band and think
Maybe meet a friend, you never know
I said, "Hi. I'm kind of lonely.
My wife and I just had a fight.
Been married seven years.
We got three kids, now it appears
I need someone to talk to tonight
She said, "Hi. I'm kind of thirsty.
I could sure enjoy something cold.
My interest is stirred
If you'll let me add a word
That's the same story I could have told.
I said, "Say. You understand then
She said, "Of course I do. We're a lot the same.
I've been married seven years
I got three kids, now it appears
I need someone to talk to tonight
"Drink up, you all. It's time to go now
The band's all packed up
I'm gonna turn out the lights
I've been married seven years
Got three kids, now it appears
It's time to go on home tonight."
- repeat verse one -
(C)1975 Royal T Music
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
December 7/8 1975
(A song for Carolyn Opitz. My writing life began as notes to her in high school)
. . .She lives above the ocean. She lives above the crowd
Her eye is on the sparrow and her mind is in a cloud
She wrestles with the question, Yes, she asks herself at times
Does it really matter if it always rhymes. . .
She's a poet, she's a poet
You can see it in her eyes
Yeah, all the pretty lies of a poet. . .
Who would think a boy of seventeen could meet a girl
And learn enough from her to change his vision of the world
Learn from her at childhood's end the meaning of a friend
And live to look back on it all as
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
Today I blame myself for what I didn't say
And ignorance is no excuse. I look at it that way.
Harboring a rumor was my part of the sin
And to try and change it now's like chasing
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
Well, her years went by and so did I as did a husband or two
And with my pride all laid aside, I'll tell it now to you
I believed the whole damned story. I believed it to the end
Her words they linger in my ears like
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
She said, What night? What fireplace? She said, What friend?
I said, Keren told me, Carolyn. It's foolish to pretend.
Then she said,It never happened.I've done nothing to defend.
That's when I knew I'd scattered
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
We all know, when we accuse someone, we ought to do it to
their face. It's wrong to go assuming guilt when there is
no evidence to trace. And it's best that you be careful,
what you believe about a friend
Unless you think it's easy catching
FEATHERS IN THE WIND
(C)1977 Royal T Music
I'D BE GLAD TO LET YOU LOVE ME
1974, after a scene I saw in the Leather Ball Saloon one night while Texas Weather was playing.
I'd be glad to let you love me
If you'll just hold me for a while
You can take your time and linger
I will not demand a smile
I'd be glad to let you touch me
If you'll just hold me for a while
I'm hungry like a woman,
But I'm lonely like a child
Children die when they're lonely
Women cry, you know they're only human
My, oh my, oh my
You don't have to talk or listen
You can forget me when I'm gone
But tonight I need somebody
Who is looking/lonely for someone
I won't ask you for tomorrow
I won't ask you for your name
You don't have to try to please me
I know that would be a game
*. . .*
You don't have to try to please me
If you'll just hold me, that will do
Just to know I've been your pleasure
Is all I ask of you (changing to key of A)
So come on while I am able
To control my bitter tears
I can hear, my heart is pounding
As it's drowning out the fears
*. . .*
MALE response. . .
I'll be glad to hold you darling. But I can't just love you for a while
You see, I've never met a woman who could touch me like a child
All the dams I've tended are overflowing with your tears
By the time they are all mended they will have washed away the years
DUET
I'd be glad to let you love me if you'll just hold me for a while
We could take our time and linger, we could both enjoy a smile
I'd be glad the let you touch me if you'll just hold me for a while
I'm hungry for/like a woman who is lonely like a child.
(C) 1976 Royal T Music
SHE DOESN'T THINK WE CAN MAKE IT
October 17 1975
She doesn't think we can make it
She doesn't think you can take it
She'll do what she can to break it
If she can't have me, she'd rather see me alone
She asked me into her mind and
She knew the things I would find and
Said we were two of a kind and
She said that she was a diamond and I was her mount
She said that she was water and I was her fount
She said that she was Woman and I was her man and
She asked me into her heart and
Said that we never should part and
She'd had someone do our chart and
She said that she was a star and I was her sky
She said that she'd always wondered and I'd shown her why
She said that she was a dreamer and I was her dream
She said so many things. . .so many things. . .
She doesn't think we can make it
She doesn't think you can take it
She'll do what she can to break it
I'll do what I can to make it
You do what you can to take it
We'll do what we can to break it
Woo, Woo, Woo. . .
This song has something to do with Rose Kempton.
(C) 1977 Royal T Music
I LIVE WITH REBECCA
(Thoughts of Becky Jarrell plus a book called Logo Therapy added up to this...)
I live with Rebecca
I keep her by my side
I live with Rebecca
With her I do abide
Some people never see
Light at their door
While others, finding their fill
Want no more
One day he blew it
But he never knew it
No one has told him
To this day
He doesn't show it
Because he doesn't know it
His Rebecca's gone away
*. . .*
musical interlude
repeat first verse
(C)1977 ROYAL T MUSIC
.........................................................................................
Que Pasooriginated as a cd in 2000
Que Paso
I wrote this song after reading the Novel THE STONE RAFT which was later made into a movie. I traveled to Spain to play a small part in that movie in the summer of 2001.
The man on the radio said we were falling apart, Que pasa?
The words on the front of the paper said we were drifting away, Que Pasa?
Nunca me ah gustado la gasolina(I never was that fond of Gasoline)
Me rio quando el buay alla la macina (please excuse my spelling)
(I laugh to see the ox pull the machine)
La risa de los ninos se esta muriando, esta muriendose, Que paso?
(The laughter of the children is dying. What's happening?
I'm sorry if I fail to find the news within the news
One stormy night I dreamed I snatched the hand of peace
from the jaws of the peacekeepers.
And as I push the pillow from my bed I can't recall.
Is it my memory o es me memoria?
The voices that speak for my heart tell me I'm breaking away,
drifting away. Que paso?
OUT THERE SOMEWHERE
Here eyes were blurry
Her face was painted
Her hair was died black
Her bag was heavy
And she said something
I asked her to repeat it
She said, "Stop the car.
I thought I could trust you."
I pulled it over and I waited.
If you will tell me where you are going
Then I will take you there.
I'm in no hurry.
She turned to me and spoke so softly
"What did I do wrong?"
I said, "I don't know."
The night was dark and getting darker.
Out there somewhere numb and fading
Void of love, too hurt for hating
It's all over but the waiting
Out there somewhere without a notion
Adrift on some indifferent ocean
Without direction, only motion.
I drove on home and folded my pillow
Tossed my body as dreams unfolded
Sun come shining on clean clothes waiting
I hit the highway. Pulled down my sun visor
There she is standing out by the highway
Where she is going she does not know
But she is befuddled by the notion
that so many people know where they are going
Out there somewhere numb and fading
Void of love, too hurt for hating
It's all over but the waiting
Out there somewhere without a notion
Adrift on some indifferent ocean
Without direction, only motion.
That Night Long Ago
I sit on a bench on the banks of the Brazos
Remembering a night long ago
The swans paddle slowly, the traffic hums lowly
Things I didn't notice that night
And sweat drips from the joggers with musical earmuffs
Girls swing tethered breasts to and fro
Chemical toilets, gum wrappers, spent cigarettes
Things I didn't notice that night long ago
A little girl yells, "Hey! Come look, there's a turtle."
To parents with faces aglow
Cutworms eat the pecan tree, stripping it tenderly
But I didn't notice that night
And couples with children
And childrenless couples with k9s almost in tow
Crawl out of cars comfortable
Almost affordable
Things I didn't notice that night long ago.
So I grab my guitar and I search it for memories
A song that we both used to know
My fingers are awkward, guitar facing backward
But who would have noticed that night
So I find me a pay phone and I dial up your number
You answer and I say, "Hello."
At first you don't know me and then you remember
When we slept in your Fairlane that night long ago.
And you were so comfortable. Almost affordable
When we slept in your Fairlane that night long ago.
And the difference I'd say is between night and day.
THE LAST TIME
The last time we said Good-bye I didn't even look her in the eye.
The last time I kissed her mouth I didn't even think about some day
I'd have to do without.
If I never see her again I don't know why
If I never see her again I don't know when
The last time I held her hand
I didn't know that time was sand, slipping away
The last time I watched her smile I didn't know
I watched a child, slipping away
If I never see her again I don't know why
If I never see her again I don't know when
The last time it got real loud
She was hurt and I was proud
I wonder what she's thinking now
The last time she held me tight was just like any other night
Who's holding her now?
If I never see her again I don't know why
If I never see her again I don't know when
The last time we said good-bye I didn't even look her in the eye
THE BRIGHTER CANDEL
John and I were going door to door in Portland, Oregon asking if we could put a campaign sign in people's front yards. As I paced the streets above the river I remembered something "our candidate for judge" had said at dinner the night before about his late wife.
The brighter candle knows the truth
in golden glow of darkest sun
It knows there's no eternal youth
The brighter candle
So many, rushing, go nowhere
On bikes and skates with silver hair
It's like a dream she once was here
The brighter candle
Though you pay your debt of admiration
You know your tears won't wash the hurt away
All your heady talk of inspiration
Just adds up to one more lonely day
We've all known one, he or she
And often shared the memory
We bow our head and bend or knee
The brighter candle
Though you paid your debt of admiration
You know your tears won't wash the hurt away
And all your heady talk of inspiration
Just adds up to one more lonely day
All the friends that fan the flame
Enjoyed the light
Now share the blame
I've heard them say, "It's such a shame."
The brighter candle always knows
The wind consumes it as it blows
We must accept that's how it goes.
Gramma's Shampoo
(Capo at 3rd fret)
1. (Bm7) Gramma's sham (Am7) poo (Bm7) is washing my (Am7) hair
And I (G) hope it will (D) notice that (C) Gramma's not (Bm7) there
(CM7) It's the kind that knows just what to do
Says it right there on the bottle, sham...(G) poo
(CM7) Automatically adjusts to your hair's cleansing needs
How does it do that? Sham.. (G) poo
2. (Bm7) Gramma's sham... (Am7) poo (Bm7) is washing my (Am7) hair
And I (G) hope it re... (D) members that (C) Gramma's not (Bm7) there
(CM7) Kathy got the washer, Silky got the dryer, Joel got the ca... (G) noe
(CM7) River got the shot gun, Toy got the rifle
and he got the arrowheads (G) too
(Em) All the boxes stacked out in the garage nobody wants to go (C) thru
ENDING (Bm7) Gramma's sham... (Am7) poo (Bm7) is washing my (Am7) hair
And I (G) hope it will (D) notice that (C) Gramma's not (Bm7) there.
Alternate chords for Last line
And I (G) hope it will (D) notice that (Am) Gramma's not (Em) there
(C) 2000 Royal T Music
Hello
You're some kind of prophet I'll give you that
But what I'm needing now is a nurse
An emergence entrance, can you show me that
Before my condition gets worse
Hello I just said good-bye
And I feel like a bird with no sky
You said I should call if I ever hit the wall
Hello
You said, "Love is a healer."
I'll give it a chance.
Can love heal what time can't forget
It's the hole in my dreams and the rip in the pants
Of a world that I don't seem to fit
Hello, I just said "Good-bye"
And I feel like a bird with no sky
You said I should call if I ever hit the wall
Hello
You're some kind of prophet I'll give you that
But what I'm needing now is a nurse
An emergence entrance, can you show me that
Before my condition gets worse
HOLDINGS OF THE HEART
This was written for a movie by that name but it wasn't used in the movie.
The heart can hold a lot of things
The sunshine and the flowers
The chill that springs the falling leaves
Winter's darkest hours
The rains that quench the thirsty earth
The buds that sprout and bloom
Sometimes it tries to hold too much
And there isn't enough room
The heart can hold a multitude
Family and friends
There are things that life will give
And things it only lends
A wife becomes a mother
A son becomes a man
There are things a heart can't hold
And still it thinks it can
The holdings of the bank are cold
Holding hands are warm
The holdings of the mind are thoughts
that in the moment form
The hands that hold the tools
that build the brushes for our art
None are as enduring as the holdings of the heart
(The holdings of the heart are self-renewing
On holdings of the heart, high interest paid.
But holdings sometimes must be liquidated
Yet we stay)
The heart can hold the music
The voices of the time
The heart collects the little things
The pennies and the dimes
The heart can try to measure the stature of a dream
Pounding like the waters on the stones that block the stream
The holdings of the bank are cold
Holding hands are warm
The holdings of the mind are thoughts
that in the moment form
The hands that hold the tools
that build the brushes for our art
None are as enduring as the holdings of the heart
None are self-renewing like the holdings of the heart
YOU
There's a place in my mind
Where your face had a home
Back before you walked into my life
Before you were a known
There's a note in my song
That I knew fit somewhere
Though the journey was long
I hoped I wouldn't be wrong
You would be meeting me there
Every longing I knew proved there was you
Just as I know there's water because I get thirsty
I knew there was you
One day SIlky was mentioning songs to sing at her wedding.
I pulled this song out and realized it needed more so I wrote
another verse and chorus.
There's a thought that I hold
About a love that can be
It's a thought about you
It's a thought about me
There's a place in my mind
SOme will say, "An ideal."
'Neith a cloud, silver-lined
Down a road that will wind
To a plcee that is real
Every longing I knew
Said there was you
And though the questions inspired
They just left me tired
Until the answer was you.
Instrumental break
ALl the questions inside
Even tears couldn't sooth
Not to run, not to hide
A need undenied
And the answer was you
Every longing I knew
Proved there was you
Just as I know there's water becasue I get thirsty
I knew there was you
PIE IN THE SKY
I trip and fall by the road
beneath the sun on the snow
Lost in darkness so thick I can feel it
And the things I was taught and the things that I know
are confusing what's right and what's real
I'm returning a ring to the store where I bought it
Rejected by woman and god
And I lie cold and wet, thinking, "Is this my lot?"
Face-down in the slush and the sod.
I don't want no pie in the sky
I need some help right now
And I don't fear I'll burn when I die
I fear the here and now
We all know heaven waits
Golden streets, pearly gates
Why does that sound so cold?
And the pit for lost souls
Sulphur smoke, glowing coals
A fear we've all been sold
I don't want no pie in the sky
I need some help right now
And I don't fear I'll burn when I die
I fear the here and now
A fear we've all been sold
Then a voice echoes thru all the dogma and rules
It rings so clear and bright
And it says, "Come to me. Thru my eyes you can see
what things are true and right.
Oh, the voice is so clear.
It brings joy to my ear
I'll be your sacrifice
Put your burden on me.
We will be family today in paradise.
I don't want no pie in the sky
And I don't fear I'll burn when I die
So I pick myself up and I brush off the snow
That's reflecting the sun so bright
And where ever I am and where ever I go
now I reflect the light
Now it's been forty years
I've seen sorrow and tears
But I've always been renewed
And the joys of each day
Keep the darkness away
When threatening clouds intrude
FOREVER YOUNG/FOREVER FOOLISH
Had he only known that his fate was his own
And he held it right there in his hand
There was no guarantee what his children would be
Some things were beyond his command
Like many who plan, a disappointed man
Who's pretty petite had grown fat
He was smart and sincere and had just enough fear
To have known it would turn out like that
And Jimmy's smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
What was in store was a whole lot more
He had not even a trace
Had he but known perhaps he'd have flown
Like a dog on a track in a race
He had a scheme or wo it would seem
He thought he would blow it all off
He'd be on his own when the kids had all grown
He did not hear the wind scoff
And Jimmy's smile grew larger year after year
He couldn't talk but he could hear
And sometimes it seemed he'd understand
As he sat with his bucket and shovel in hand
AFTER WE'RE BROKEN
After we're broken we'll turn from a fight
Ask what it pays and not if it's right
Reaching for balance while falling from grace
Try to fall from the light without losing our face
After we're broken we know it's too late
We don't trim our lamps. We don't knock at the gate
Pressing our ear to the crack in the wall
We know we're straining for whispers but we're missing the ball
After we're broken we'll sit thru the show
When we're tired and we're sure that it's moving too slow
We know it's the truth. No more and no less
We nod when they curse. We sneeze when they bless.
After we're broken the songs are all true
They all tell what we feel they all say what we do
We all keep on running though it's not for the prize
Because we run from the past and from the smoke in our eyes
After we're broken we can sleep anywhere
It becomes so important what we eat what we wear
Our minds must have something to follow away
From the dreams of the past of what we lost yesterday
After we're broken we cannot be hurt
We turned from the sky after we tasted the dirt
Only the broken are broken in rhyme
And what is broken in spirit can't be mended in time
After we're broken we're unlikely to blame
Our folks for failing for now we've done the same
We learn why so many decide to submit
They turn loose of their dream. There's no future in it.
After we're broken we can be nonchalant
We will take what we're given because we've lost what we want
Chasing a rainbow is fine for a lark
But where is the bow when it rains in the dark?
PRETTY THING
This guy at work said...Well, listen to the song!
She hears the termites in the wall while he's sleepin'
He can't even hear the phone from outside
She smells the cigarettes from neighbors out smokin'
He's got a nose but best she figures it died.
She likes the bed made up he leaves it messy
She's always cold he's always hot
She locks the doors he leaves them standing wide open
She cranks the windows shut but he'd rather not
She's such a pretty thing
What does she see in him
He eats a plate-full while she's taking a nibble
She likes to taste her food. He gobbles it down
She runs the air he hangs his arm out the window
She's next to modest while he's more of a clown
She's such a pretty thing
What does she see in him
She drives a Volvo he likes his old Chevy
She cleans the supercharger he mows the lawn
She gets unanimous while he's always iffy
You got the point by now so we will move on
This guy at work said, "What a jerk.
She's such a pretty thing, what does she see in him?"
Yeah there they go, holding hands and just smiling and acting silly.
EASY ANSWERS
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
You tell me what I feel
What is right and what is real
What do you know?
You say like all the rest
What is worst is what is best
What do you know?
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
You say that I'm in sin
What is out and what is in
What do you know?
The vision that I knew
Was real to me but false to you
What do you know?
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
I fear the truth unkind
That hope's in vain and love is blind
What do you know?
I don't know but I've been told
The streets of heaven are lined with condos
What do you know?
Easy answers fogging up my mind
Easy answers taking up my time
Easy answers coming down on me
Easy answers don't mean that much to me
THE HAND OF GOD
This song, I wrote for and performed in a movie called SURVEILLANCE. Available on video.
The hand of God reached down and made Adam
He said, Don't eat the apple but you can eat the plum.
Then he made him Eve. The snake did deceive her
They disobeyed when they should have prayed.
The hand of God reached down and stopped Abraham
He saved the life of Isaac but he doomed the lamb
It was sure a relief. Saved him from some grief.
Wouldn't it be grand if God would show his hand?
Well, I'd like to feel the hand of God on my shoulder
Oh, maybe it would help me be a little bit bolder
What a comfort it would be to feel him here with me
Wouldn't it be grand just to feel his hand on my shoulder?
...................................................................
SOLITARY WALK
YOU CAN'T GO BACK
(I added music and a chorus to a poem by Carolyn Opitz in 1959. Our first song.)
I'll never want to let you go although we're far apart
Our love will linger on I know and live within my heart
Someday you must return to me and start anew with dreams
For only then how right we'll see were all our tender schemes
You can't go back!
You can't go back.
And darling while so far away, don't forget to send
All the love you once did say, for my heart to mend.
You can't go back.
You can't go back.
Hey!
Hey! Yeah! Unnh, unnh,! Hey! Where you going? Hey! Think I'll go with you! What you thinking? That's what I think too!
As I walked out in the streets of Laredo, as I walked out in Laredo one day, I spied a young man all wrapped in white linen, wrapped in white linen as cold as they clay.
Hey! Testing? Hey! Testing? One, Two! One, Two! Hey! Where you going? I think I'll go with you. What you thinking. That's what I'm thinking too.
Lisa's Fingernail
Lost in a tangle of words, her life is a shambles, her dreams are in tatters. Her thots are a garland of thorns, her wounds are internal, her smile for survival. And her breasts are so large she has to hold them when she runs.
DREAM BOOK
Don't wake me up. Can't you see that I'm sleeping. Turn out the light. I'm bound in a dream. Don't raise your voice. I'm crossing the border. Take a note from me. Write it down. I will tell you the words. There in my dreambook at the top of the bed it's got stories that you never heard. Don't wake me up. Can't you see that I'm sleeping. Turn out the light. I'm bound in a dream. Well, I was in the desert climbing some huge bridges, explaining to someone that they are the perfect super structure for buildings. All they needed to do was build the walls. I told them that someday it would be taken for granted. They would use these structures for a duel purpose. Don't wake him up. Can't you see that he's dreaming. Don't pull the plug. We got plenty of time. Write it in your dreambook. Write it in your dreambook. I awakened from being awake in a dream and remembered that I had been thinking in my dream that it was foolish not to have brought my video camera. The colors of the sky and many other things were spectacular but I couldn't remember what they are. That's what you get for not writing it down, Buddy. Yeah, you tell 'em man.. Well a pretty girl drives up to a country stop sign. I run to the car and grab her and open her door and drag her down off the road by the hair and when I get her down to the creek under the bridge I take out a toothbrush and I force her to brush her teeth in front of me. So, I told him I had everything under control. Then he pointed to the pavement. There was a wet spot and a flattened lizard. Then I could see that he flattened lizard was still alive. It ran up over a little raised median and I followed and it turned out to be a horney toad.
(Rabyn on Bass and Bill Pohl plays guitar. I took a piece they had done and added the vocal and words)
JONAH
Jonah lives under the bridge
He's there up off the ground
His world is looking down
Bycycles pass him by
Children ask parents why
Jonah lives under the bridge
No insurence policy on Jonah's oddesy
Send in the scholar see Jonah in squalor
Jonah lives under the bridge
His roof is the pathway the tires all travel
The people with places to go
His floor is the grit and the sand and the gravel
The rain and the wind and the cold
Jonah lives under the bridge
For those with th will to earn up the dollar
The people with something to buy
Jonahj finds cardboard to burn up the hours
To warm up the smoke in his eyes
Jonah lives under the bridge
(And then a reporter from the Star Telegram wrote a story about him and the guy from the city ran him off.)
PRUNING OLIVES
I am a child of Judah
And the mark of Cain is on me
I'm a fugitive in every place I go
And my name is Joseph Freidman
And I tend an olive orchard
On a hillside just a short walk from my home
There the silver trunks are ancient
And the olive branch is fruitful
But the breeze that shakes the leaves still whispers low,
"Where is God? Where is God?"
I am a child of Esau
I am Ali Abed Jabar
I once would harvest olives near my home
I would prune the trees in winter
When the sap seeped deep in Gaza
And the children woke each day to throw their stones
But the soldiers came at midnight
With their power saws remarking
And now the sap has nowhere left to go
"Where is God? Where is God?"
My name is Jimmy Taylor
And I am a Future Farmer
And my project is nine trees out by the road
And the trees have been neglected
All these many years untended
A home now to a solitary crow
So I climb with saw and clippers
Up into the brittle thicket
I'm busy choosing what will stay and what will go
And I note my meager progress
And I wonder if I'll ever
Rid the olive trees of dead wood, I'm so slow
And I read the Sunday paper
And I daily read my Bible
And I see the scars of pruning down below
PIECES
He stands outside her window
Hour after hour he watches
Piece by piece he sees her disappearing
Once she was his flower and he was her fellow
Who can say what comes between lovers?
He takes his blame for reasons they're apart
And thinks it's hard she's selling pieces of her heart.
Pieces of his heart
He stands outside her window
Thinks of the time he's wasting
Piece by piece he feels her disappearing
Once she was his flower and he was her fellow
Who can say what comes between lovers?
(Amsterdam 1988)
The Last Woman on Earth
You will admit, of course, that the life of the world is your life. What you know of history is your history and what you know of the future is your future. Well, this goes for women, we must presume. The women you have access to, to state it bluntly, are the only women on earth. And if there is only one woman you have access to, she is the only woman on earth. And what happens when this woman slams the only door in the world on the only face you have in this world. Well, you sink into the ocean. The only ocean in the world and you begin to exhaust the only breath you have left in the world and you begin to see other worlds and you begin to realize that that last breath in the worldis more important to you than the last woman on earth.
(Rabyn James & Bill Pohl did this piece and I added the reading.)
THE DRAGONFLY
The Dragon Fly - I was sitting at a red light at the corner of Northwest highway and some ragged street just east of Grapevine yesterday when my eyes were caught by a dragonfly. I guess he’d been hit by a car. He was broken. He would lift off the ground, twisting and turning and then a rush of turbulant air, created by a passing car would wash out and he would whack back into the black top. He was one of those big dragonflies. The kind with the huge irredescent multifacited eyes and the pencil-slinder body with the four cellophane leaf wings. What I think of as a prehistoric creature. A left over from a time when there were still turtles in the creek and cat tails on the bank. When there were polly wogs seething in the puddles. A fantasy creature who’s only observable function is to fascinate people with nothing better to think about. And childen. The kind that teams up with another dragon fly and does that cartoon buddy ride. I know it’s mating but that’s not all it is. They could crawl on the ground and do that. The kind that fits into an animated movie about dinasours but it’s hard to fit in with back yards and pets and tvs and scooters. The guy that invented helecopters must have been watching dragon flies. If dragon flies made a noise I’m sure it would sound like a helecopter. War movies with all those choppers coming over the trees always makes me think of dragon flies. I guess with all the talk on tv lately about bravery and sacrifice and the struggle to come and the sadness in the air there were some words and phrases just waiting for application a little closer to home because as I watched that brave creature struggle to go on with his life defying traffic and injury I was touched. And as these thoughts jangled in my mind a red Ford double-cab pickup pulling a red trailer laden with plastic pipe and landscaping tools and the dragon fly disappeared as if by magic. (2000 - part of my response to 9/11)
SWEET YOUNG THING
He lays out a freshly pressed Arrow, clean sox and his new underwear. He brushes his teeth with toothpaste. It seems there's a charge in the air. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and how she trembled the night before. He breaks out a deodorant soap bar. He bathes and he washes his hair. As he dries off, he shivers a little, as he thinks where he's going from there. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and how he trembled the night before. His shirt ripples with every muscle. He pulls on his highest heeled boot. And his heart skips a beat as he buckles his belt. He picks the lint off his suit. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and what she promised the night before. His pants seem too tight as he puts out the cat and turns off the light. And the start of the engine sends shivers up his spine as he faces the night and he thinks he loves that Sweet Young Thing. And of how they trembled the night before. He walks to the door and he pauses. He swallows. He fingers his hair. Feels a flush as he touches the knocker. He waits. There's a sting in the air. And he can almost taste that Sweet Young Thing and he trembles like the night before. His eyes reflect only a doorway. And his hopes and his fears, they collide. And if you painted a freshly tossed salad, that's what he would look like inside. And confusion and anger seem to entwine like they did the night before. He swallows. He knocks, this time, harder. In a sweat, he unbuttons his coat. He turns and he starts for the sidewalk. He stops. He must leave her a note. And he thinks about that Sweet Young Thing and how she trembled the night before. Like oatmeal, the words stick together. In his mind, the clear pictures come hard. His fountain pen shakes out its message on the back of a fresh business card. He wants to tell that Sweet Young Thing it's all right and maybe more. Quickly, his eyes search the mailbox for a place that's almost out of view. And she found it the following Wednesday and she cried when she read, "I love you." And sometimes he remembers that Sweet Young Thing and he trembles like before.
(Peggy on guitar & drums. Harry Nass on keyboards. Peggy produces.)
That Same Conversation
Linda lies listening, quiet as a mouse. She can hear their voices echoing all thru the house. She listens sadly as Mommy and Daddy are having that same conversation. I'll take the Rambler. You take the Chevrolet. I'll find a room that isn't very far away. In case you may need me. Sometime you may need me, you and the children. Roger remembers a time in the past he could keep up with his thots. They didn't run so fast. Tossing and turning, his bridges are burning, inflamed by that same conversation. I'll take the Rambler and leave you. I’ll find a room far away. You don't need me. You don't need me. Need me. Need me. Need me. Tiny Dorie is dreaming. Understands not a word, but she's deeply affected by what she has heard. Not understanding what this life is demanding. Absorbing that same conversation. It's you as an infant. It's me as a man and if it's true we're doing the best that we can. Tell me, what does that mean to a child who is hearing the words in that same conversation.
(April 1 1974. Gary Ogan and Bill Lamb played the instruments and sang harmony. Rex Studio, Portland, Oregon. Trumpet and steel guitar added at Sundance Studio in Dallas.)
WOULD YOU FORSAKE A MEMORY
December 1977 From SONGS FOR GAY LADD
G Am Em C D
If what we do is what we are-And every pain will leave a scar
G Am C D G
Then love must leave a beauty mark-A light 2 guide us (when it's)in the dark
Em G Em G
& tenderness, a hope for more-And trust, a key to every door
Am C D G
What comfort them if we should flee-Would you forsake a memory?
I don't know the future of all that we did
But the past, it is known though the future is hid
And I can't trust the future of a misconstrued past
It's like setting an arm in a crooked hard cast
Tho the price may be turmoil, I choose to be free
And never forsake a memory
Would it make my life simple just to say it was wrong
For the sake of a rhyme or a line in a song
Is there nothing more pressing than calming the storm
Will pretending make ice when the water is warm
And how can I hide when I'm hiding from me
I won't forsake a memory
Repeat chorus...
(C) 1990 Royal T Music
Forever Eyes
Let's just say it's twenty years from now. Your hair's turned grey and I'm still alive somehow. And all is lost we've found that money buys. Will I still see forever in your eyes? (2002)
THE SOLITARY WALK
And tho I follow in the footsteps of my friends
And the road I walk down has been tramped into stone
All the tears that I've cried
Will have turned into dust
And my life will pass like a shadow into the shade
(La sombra a la sombra)
And when the weight of the sun on my eyes
Is replaced by the cool silence of the tunnel
Like a lamb with a broken leg
I will be left behind
And the cries of your newborn will steal your thoughts from me
And when I lie beneath my little cross
And your ridged wheels rattle my bones
I will trust you to leave me
With peace in your hearts
For that will be the end of my world
(Por eso sera el fin de me mundo)
(Chorus lyric is some combining of...
It's a Solitary Walk/Caminante Solitario)
(Isaba, Spain 2000 - on location for THE STONERAFT)
when not otherwise noted, all songs (C)2003 Royal T Music
contact: jamesmichaeltaylor@email.com
