#54 – I Will Play For Gumbo

by Stacy Loves Buffett · November 24, 2023

Day #54 – I Will Play For Gumbo

If you look on the internet, you can probably find a thousand different recipes for gumbo. Each has similarities and each has differences. There are both slight and significant variations. Influence can range from tradition to location to inspiration. In that sense, gumbo feels a lot like Jimmy Buffett’s music, and maybe that is why gumbo was one of Jimmy’s favorite southern dishes.

***

Original post from 10/25/2023

Day #54 – I Will Play For Gumbo

This song was released on 1999’s album Beach House On The Moon, an album we have visited before. A song about a man’s love of a savory yet spicy creole stew served over a bed of rice.

“I don’t smoke, I don’t shoot smack, But I got a spicy monkey ridin’ on my back…”

The first time that I heard this song, I really wasn’t sure what to think. A song about a creole stew seemed unusual, even for Jimmy. But the song grew on me quickly, and a year later when I was in New Orleans for the first time, I was singing the lyrics while ordering up a big bowl of gumbo.

It’s a really fun song, certainly quirky and easy to sing along with. Jimmy actually cameoed as himself and sang this in an episode of NCIS New Orleans.

Jimmy really did like gumbo. It was his favorite dish to order at his sister’s restaurant LuLu’s in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and in 2014 while at Jazz Fest, not as an act but as a fan, Jimmy showed up for the music but didn’t miss the food. He walked up to the Prejean’s Restaurant booth and ordered up a serving of gumbo made with pheasant, quail and Andouille sausage.

In Montana we refer to the mud as gumbo, thick, sticky and slick, but gumbo is also a southern specialty. It’s made with a dark roux base, with vegetables and meat (usually a combination of chicken, shrimp and sausage) cooked down and served over a bed of sticky rice!

“Maybe it’s that voodoo from Marie Laveaux, But I will play for gumbo… Yes, I will play for gumbo”.

Please enjoy I Will Play For Gumbo. I have included the link to a live version of this song (from JB’s Live From Wrigley Field cd) in the comments below.

***

Speaking of recipes for gumbo, I came across two on the internet from Jimmy’s sister, Lucy Buffett herself. One is a summer gumbo, and one is a winter gumbo. Both sound divine, and I am sure that both taste absolutely wonderful. Similar, but special in its own way. I have made gumbo before but never with either of these recipes, but I will be adding them to my collection and hoping to make them soon. I am curious which might be Jimmy’s favorite version of his sister’s gumbo, or maybe there is even a secret family gumbo recipe that no one is sharing anytime soon.

Much like different versions of gumbo, Jimmy had slightly different versions of every song he performed. He added variety like seasonings, depending on location or audience, and each version, like each bowl of gumbo is slightly different but wonderful in its own way.

When I first posted this song on my personal FB page, the only version of I Will Play For Gumbo on Jimmy’s YouTube channel was a live version, but since that time, the studio version has been added, so I decided to include it as well. Listen to one, listen to the other, listen to them both – that’s what I would do because it’s such a fun song! Any way you decide to listen, I hope you enjoy the variety offered!

Stacy

Please enjoy I Will Play For Gumbo. I have included the link below. Enjoy!

Official Studio Version