The descriptions below tell you about my reasons for writing these songs. All songs were written by me between 1968 and 1985 but not actually recorded until one night in 1990 when I decided I should put them on tape. All I had that night was my guitar, a Sansui Home Stereo system, two effects boxes, one lapel mic and a Community Radio microphone. I hung the lapel mic inside the sound hole of the guitar and through a Phaser effect. I ran the Radio mic through a Tandy Echo/Reverb unit and Tandy Mixer with 2 inputs. I connected all this to the inputs on my Technics Twin Cassette and started playing. It was 1am in my lounge room with the rest of my family asleep 10 feet away. It took me 5 hours non stop and kept my son's Budgie 'Cookie' awake (you will hear him doing backing vocals now and then). In 2006 I connected that same Cassette deck to computer and transferred all 47 songs into MP3 format, no fancy mixing desks or software at my disposal and the result is that the quality isn't too great but at least the songs are recorded and playable. Not all those songs are here but some of what I consider the 'better ones' are. Enjoy. Michael Taylor ================================================================================================ Lisa This song was written about a girl I once found almost dead from a drug overdose in a back lane of Kings Cross in Sydney. She was slumped against a cold brick wall and I almost walked right past but something, just something made me go into the darkness. When I found her she looked dead or the very least on deaths door and I turned her head so that i could look at her eyes. What I saw there told me this girl was worth everything I had to give. I got her to a hospital, I worked for the Government at the time and had access to people, they saved her. Today she is happily married with children and runs a drug rehab clinic, her name is Lisa. Have you ever This song was written after I spent an afternoon with a grieving mother. She was a politician and had given birth to a son some months prior. Her husband had left her when he found out she was pregnant. I had not seen the child before this day. I was in the area and paid her a visit. After a few hours of talk she asked if I wanted to meet her son, I said yes and we moved to the door of his room. As we entered I knew something was wrong, it was cold and still. The child was dead, he had died from SIDS. I called emergency and comforted her until they arrived, it was difficult to make her let the dead child go. I left after I was satisfied she would be all right, I drove out of town, stopped my car and burst into tears. If I were a man This song was written after I had spent hours talking with the Elders of several churches. Most of them were not willing to listen because of my age, I was 35 and as far as they were concerned too young to know. They argued with me over the most simple and stupid things, as I left that day feeling as though I had wasted my time my last words were "if I were a man". The call of love This song was written after I spent a weekend listening to groups of people discussing the Bible, preaching 'techniques', door knocking, outreach and Christianity in general. It occurred to me that there was a general theme running through all their teachings, all their readings and it also showed itself in their desire to help each other. Even though they were all talking about the same thing, even though all the hearts were in the right place, they were all twisting the meanings in ways that may have made sense to them, but it also made sure they missed the point. The words in this song were a simple effort to get that point across. Too Late Sitting one afternoon at Circular Quay here in Sydney, sunny day about lunch time with the usual crowd. Suddenly I noticed a man, his suit was grey and faded, just behind him and off to his left was a young woman in a black dress, waiting. They did not know each other, did not speak or even acknowledge each other but there was something about each of them that told me they had lost. It occurred to me that this scene was strange because despite being a sunny day at the quay - there were no children. This song just started coming into my head, tune, words, the lot. Feelin so blue My first wife and I were having some problems, she had gone away to visit her parents for a week and I was alone. I spent the first night trying to work out what had gone wrong, what I had done, why we were having these problems. This song came from that time in my life. One day at a time This song was written after I had been teaching a local youth group and realised just how many problems these kids had, not on the surface of course, they hid themselves well from most. I listened to the stories of family frictions, friendships gone wrong but mostly what they were being taught by those trusted to lead them. These kids were reaching out to anybody who would listen, nobody was. As parents, as teachers, as friends we were doing what humans do best, passing the buck, giving pat answers and walking away. Actions do speak louder than words, today's kids are not stupid, they are lost. My Sweet Maryanne This was the second song I ever wrote and was for a sweet 6 year old girl who was stuck in a family that had no way out of the gutter. Her mother was a drunk, her father was bedridden, ying of cancer and asked me to be there for her when he was gone. I tried but my work made it impossible for me to be there enough to keep my promise. This song was written because I felt great sorrow for this young life that was being steadily destroyed and great guilt that I didn't do nough to stop it. That young girl grew to become the mother of the 8 children I have now taken under my wing, Maryann passed away from Leukemia in 2004. Movin This song was written for a small group of young people, missionaries with that infamous crowd called The Children of God led by one Moses David. These young people were misguided but of true heart and soul, they believed 100% in what they were doing and who could damn them for that. This small group of young souls headed off to countries that were not safe, I couldn't let them go without something to hold on to. Movin was that something, a song they could listen to, to sing and remember when they needed it. All but one of those young people died in the countries they went to. This then is their song. Silver Beams This song was written after I sat and spoke with an older homeless man in Sydney. He shared with me his travels through the years, and his wine. This man was not homeless because he was lazy, he was homeless because he had been driven to the depths of hell by those he loved. He was a priest who had been betrayed by his own, he had nothing left in his life, all had been aken from him by the very people he tried to help. His story is not unique. How can I tell you Sitting on a park bench opposite a city railway station, people milling around in every direction, all trying to get some place quickly. There were buskers as usual and now and then the sounds of coins being dropped for them, but nobody was actually listening. I noticed how much of a hurry everybody was in that day and realised that this same need to be moving, chasing, building affects every aspect of our lives, we even teach our kids the same procedures, get dressed, eat breakfast, lots to do today and we have to hurry. We don't seem to take the time any more to just sit, talk, listen. Carpenter This song was written at a time in my life when I was hearing people speak of a man named Jesus, of what this man named Jesus did, who he was, what he meant, what he said and why he said it. After a while it dawned on me that most of these people, for all their learning and education didn't know who Jesus actually is. They spoke about him, they taught about him but they didn't know who he was or how to reach him. Ezekiel's Vision This song was written, well it was just written and that's it. The song speaks for itself. Be Still This song was written because one evening I was sitting feeling sorry for myself after being accused of stuff I hadn't done, by people who should have known better. I was down about as far as one can go and spiraling into the black hole known as depression. I was angry, sad, lonely, afraid and vengeful, then in my heart I felt something happen and I just sat, I let myself stop and listen. Wish I could share This song was written in a period of deep loneliness for me, a time when I wished I had done things differently. This song was written for Teresa Mary Finley. Teresa Mary passed away Oct 25 2008. This is forever her song. Windows This song was written because I was looking in the bathroom mirror shaving and thinking about all the shit that had been happening to me and mine. I was feeling a little depressed and alone, even though I was surrounded by loving family. Just let it be This was written while sitting on a cliff overlooking the ocean on the South Coast. I had been through a harrowing day and was considering quitting the church, quitting my job, quitting life in general. It suddenly occured to me that everything I had been through had reason and that I had missed the one point I had spent years teaching others, faith.