#86 – Floridays
#86 – Floridays
-by Stacy Garwood-
Floridays has always felt gently captivating to me, somewhat like a lullaby. It is a song that is both reflective and mellow, and feels evocative of the earlier Key West songs that Jimmy wrote. Yet there is a quality to the lyrics that shows there has been a passage of time and life, but still helps the listener understand that the simple and beautiful life along the Florida coast was tied deeply to Jimmy’s heart and soul. This song always feels like a homecoming song, as if he realized when he was writing it, all of the things that he was perhaps missing, but certainly loved, about the state that he connected to so strongly.
“I’m back to livin’ Floridays, Blue skies and ultra-violet rays, Lookin’ for better days…”
Floridays was released on JB’s album of the same name, and was released in 1986. It was Jimmy’s fifteenth studio album. It is also the album that marks the last appearance of “the mustache”, which had been on every album cover except his very first record from 1970, Down To Earth. I love Jimmy with the mustache just as much as I love Jimmy without the mustache, but in many ways, I seem to separate his music in my head as before or after the mustache.
Interesting things about the album Floridays is that it was the first of Jimmy’s albums that was produced by long time Coral Reefer Band member Michael Utley, who was still producing Jimmy’s albums right up to last year’s Equal Strain On All Parts. What a beautiful friendship those two must have had.
The song was never released as a single, and honestly that surprises me a bit, because it is such a beautiful homage to Florida and the lifestyle connected with it. However, the song did make it on to a single, being the B-side of Take It Back, a song that Jimmy co-wrote as a theme song to help bring attention to the America’s Cup Yacht race in 1987, when the United States was determined to win their trophy back from the boys “Down Under” in Australia. By the way they did bring that cup back to the “Up Above”, but that’s another song and story.
As an album, Floridays feels a bit more like Jimmy’s albums from the 1970’s, except perhaps Volcano, which has always felt like a transition from Jimmy’s Key West music vibe to the country-tinged island-pop music that came afterwards. I like all of Jimmy’s albums and I find favorite songs on each record that he made, but Floridays felt a bit like a throwback to the past, a return to how Jimmy’s music and career changed and developed with the introduction of Florida into his music. One of the many things that I do appreciate about Jimmy’s music is that it did transition and grow and develop, and did not remain stagnant, and I imagine that was important to him as an artist as well.
Last year, when I started my song tribute to Jimmy after his death, it grew very organically, and once I realized there was no way I could “reel it in” within a month, as I had first planned, then I allowed myself a little more time and space, and the idea that I would share at least one song from each studio album seemed to feel right. When it came down to choosing a song from the Floridays album, it was between this song and When The Coast Is Clear, although I have several more songs that I really enjoy from this album. Honestly, it was difficult for me to choose, so I used other methods to help me decide. People who know me are used to the fact that if faced with a tough decision, I will resort to a coin toss to help me decide, and I have a few other decision helping methods as well. One of those methods clearly helped me make a choice last year, but honestly, it has just given me more time to realize how very much I love the song Floridays, which I am now sharing.
“I come from where the rivers meet the sea, That’s part of why I’m so wild and fancy free, I was early into crazy ways, My folks said, ‘it’s just a phase’, They were hoping for better days…”
Most people know that Jimmy was not born or raised in the state of Florida, he was actually a biproduct of being born in Mississippi and being raised in Alabama. And before he dipped his musical toes into the surf of the warm Florida coast, he had already played music in New Orleans, Nashville and Chicago. Yet it was the vibe of Florida, especially the small, unique town of Key West that made him feel like he had found his home. He even wrote a song about that, called I Have Found Me A Home, about how he felt when he first arrived in Key West. As a matter of fact, the actual quirky oasis of Key West is just as much a part of Jimmy’s legend and lore as the imaginary place called Margaritaville.
And of course, Key West embraced Jimmy as much as he embraced it. It fed his song writing soul, it captivated the history and geography buff that he was, and it gave him a host of characters to call friends, as well as musical and songwriting inspiration on a daily basis.
And his career grew, his fan base broadened just as fast as his tour schedule did. But Jimmy never forgot his roots, not the gulf coast of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisianna, nor the more northern climes of Tennessee or Illinois, but it seems that something about Florida always felt like it must have fit for Jimmy.
“Now in my line of work, I seem to see a lot more than most, Write ‘em down, pass ‘em around, It’s the gospel from the coast, Reflections, not just replays, Takin’ time to escape the maze, Lookin’ for better days…”
It wasn’t just Key West that captivated Jimmy in those blossoming days of his career, nor was it just the unique environment of the Florida Keys, it was all of Florida. Both the Atlantic coastline as well as the Gulf Coast vibe on the Caribbean side of the peninsula, from stem to stern, has a place in Jimmy’s life. Not just as a song writer or a musician or a performer, but as a person, a regular human just the rest of us.
Jimmy made Florida a part of his music, which was a major part of his life. He named an early album A1A, after the alternate route of US Highway 1, which runs down the eastern coast of the United States. In Florida, when Highway 1 jogged out toward the coast, to run along side beaches and blue ocean vistas, the road is considered still Route 1, but with an alternate path, hence A1A.
When I first started listening to Jimmy’s music, I loved the idea that he was singing about a place on US Highway 1, while I, who lived a couple thousand miles away in Montana, had grown up on good old US Highway 2, a stretch of two-lane that we call the Hi-Line. It felt like an important connection, with one highway joining the country from north to south, while the other joined it from east to west. And I knew that one day, one road would take me to the other road, and then I would be at the end, gazing out at the beautiful blue ocean waters.
And while I ended up on that dream road trip, I did not actually only use US Highway’s 1 and 2 to get me there, but they were certainly part of the path. When I first arrived in Key West to visit his stomping grounds in 2000, I thought that A1A only referred to the alternative round on the island of Key West. I did not realize that A1A jigged and jogged multiple times toward the ocean along coast, as if it was a child trying to escape from a parent at a carnival.
“The dreamers line the state road, Just to watch the runway show, Slouched behind their steering wheels, They just watch the big jets go, Streakin’ through the morning haze, Focal point of a distant gaze, Lookin’ for better days…”
So, in late November of 2000, in my little Ford Escort ZX2, I headed south, and that little car safely brought me from a bitter cold winter in Montana, to dipping my feet first in the surf on Pensacola Beach before carrying me even more southward. I freely admit that when first driving onto the island of Key West from Stock Island, I stopped at the intersection of Highway 1 and North and South Roosevelt Boulevard, and nearly caused a traffic jam while taking a picture of the first road sign I seen that said A1A on it. To anyone who was inconvenienced by the bright blue coupe with Montana license plates at that time, trying to take a couple pictures between the steering wheel and visor, I apologize, and will also let you know that my karma was that those pictures turned out terribly blurry, and because of the time it took to get pictures developed when I got home, I didn’t even realize I had some crappy pictures at the time. But I still have those pictures tucked away in a photo album from that trip, along with many more clear photos and unforgettable memories.
I also realized later that I had been driving on A1A for a while and had not even realized it. Honestly, I grew up in very rural Montana never paying attention to road signs, because there are only so many highways, and you just know you go left or right, north or south, east or west. That road trip was an eye-opening experience for my navigational skills and general understanding. But I survived driving through Dallas evening rush hour traffic, and that was a huge accomplishment for this small-town Montana girl. I spent weeks enjoying Florida, and also marked my first trip to New Orleans and road trips through Georgia and into the Carolina’s. But some of my favorite memories are of driving along A1A in Key West and seeing house boats floating among the mangroves, walking along the “avenue that’s known as A1A” and singing Trying To Reason With Hurricane Season right out loud into the salty air, and that moment where I stopped my car and got out to take a decent picture of Mile Marker 0, with a sign that said End right above the US Highway 1 sign. Perfect moment!
I know this isn’t about me and my road trip, but I mention these things because of Jimmy’s music, I felt this visceral connection with not just Key West, or the Florida Keys, but the entire state of Florida in a way that I can’t quite explain. And in 2023, when I was again in Florida, I was just as enamored of that gorgeous coastal highway, where I stopped multiple times to take pictures, because every vista is stunning and worthy of a photograph and memory when you are there. As I said, I know this song is not about me, neither is this post; it’s about Jimmy and his music, but it was Jimmy and his music that made these moments possible for me, and I am so grateful for it all.
“I spent a year of my life one night, On the beaches in old Beirut, Seems that all they’re aimin’ for there, Is to hang around and shoot, Each others’ lives away, Bloody winds on a distant bay, They’re lookin’ for better days…”
Jimmy had a wonderful relationship with the state of Florida. It put him on the map in many ways, and in other ways, he put parts of Florida on the radar of people all around the world. It’s not just me that has made journeys that feel like pilgrimages to Florida, it’s millions of fans, tied to their love of his music, the lifestyle he promoted, and the man himself.
And Jimmy’s connection with Florida still runs deep, even after all the years. Back in 1981, he and US Senator Bob Graham, both with heartfelt concern over the plight of the manatee’s that lived in the waters along Florida’s coasts, and the dangers to their lives through changes in ecosystems and man-made accidents, founded the Save The Manatee Club. The goal was to help raise both awareness and money to help increase the likelihood of survival through conservation methods of these beautiful aquatic mammals. Jimmy was strongly involved with this organization for many years and held a co-chair seat on the Board of Directors at the time of his death. That was forty-three years ago, and the organization now is involved with public awareness, education, research, rescue and rehabilitation along with advocacy for manatees and their habitat. (If you are interested in learning more, please follow the link: Save the Manatee Club )
JB was also involved in benefits to help raise money for hurricane relief that benefited the state of Florida. In 2004, hurricane season was devastating for many areas of the gulf coast and Atlantic seaboard. This was the year that Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne joined forces to wreak havoc, in Florida as well as multiple other places, one storm system after another, and Jimmy performed at multiple hurricane relief concerts called Surviving the Storm hurricane relief. Again, in 2017, Hurricane Irma caused destruction in Florida as well as multiple places along the coast and Caribbean, and Jimmy Buffett, along with friends Kenny Chesney and Toby Keith, joined for a relief concert named after one of Jimmy’s more well-known songs, Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season, called Trying to Reason, a hurricane relief benefit concert which was held in Tallahassee, the states capital.
I think it is safe to say that Jimmy cared deeply about the state of Florida. And I think that love and care is reciprocated, not just from the die-hard fans, both in Florida and around the country and around the world, but from the average person from Florida, and from the higher ups, as well.
Florida has just named August 30, 2024 to be Jimmy Buffett Day in the Sunshine State. I doubt I will be able to travel to Florida for the celebrations, but you can bet that this Montana raised Jimmy Buffett loving fan will be taking the day off of work, and rolling right into Labor Day weekend sitting back, enjoying the sun and the water, listening to Jimmy Buffett music all weekend long. I’ll probably shed a few tears, too!
Not only is Jimmy Buffett Day happening, but there is also a Florida House Bill (HB91) that has unanimously passed the House, which is hoping to have a stretch of iconic A1A in Florida commemorated in honor of JB by calling it the “Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway”. I have seen concerns that this will strip the highway of its A1A designation, but that is not the case. It will continue to be A1A AND the Jimmy Buffett Memorial Highway, which I think is a perfect honor to the man and his music and his memory. I believe that several Florida counties, including Monroe, Miami-Dade, Brevard, Volusia, Flagler, St. Johns, Duval and Nassau, will get additional signage if the Florida Senate passes the bill. There is no reason to think the Senate would not pass it, so by next summer, the state of Florida will be erecting additional signage in honor of the Major of Margaritaville himself.
I am not saying I would if I could, but I do wonder how many of those signs might be “liberated” from the highway? I am not suggesting it, I am just curious. Actually, the state of Florida should probably make some duplicates of those road signs available for purchase, with profits split between the state and charities that Jimmy supported. I am sure it would be a hit with fans, as well as raising revenue. This seems like a good time to mention that Jimmy is getting his own Margaritaville Florida state license plate, and they are quite stylish, with a beach chair and a sea plane along the coast.
And one last little bit of honor in the making that is in progress is in relation to the Key West International Airport, which kindly has a boat drink bar waiting for you when you walk in from the tarmac. Just after Jimmy’s death, when most Parrotheads that I know, myself included, were still reeling from the shock and crying buckets of tears and listening to RadioMargaritaville 24-7, some intrepid fans painted Jimmy’s name on the airport sign. I saw pictures and thought it looked good. The official airport sign was quickly cleaned up, but not before photos made national news. It might have been a nod of honor, or even a humorous hoax, but it spawned an idea. And now there is currently a petition in place to rename the Key West Airport in Honor of Jimmy Buffett. It’s a real thing, and the petition is gaining signatures each day. (If you are interested in checking the petition out, the link is here: Petition · Officially rename Key West airport as Jimmy Buffett International Airport. · Change.org )
It’s nice to see how strongly people feel about Jimmy, both in the state of Florida, as well as outside, and this song’s story seems like a good time to mention all these marvelous honors and tributes. After all, with the song Floridays, Jimmy shared his love the Florida, and now Florida and her people are showing their love back.
“Pale invaders and tanned crusaders, Are worshipping the sun, On the corner of ‘walk’ and ‘don’t walk’, Somewhere on US 1, I’m back to livin’ Floridays, Blue skies and ultra-violet rays, Lookin’ for better days …”
There is something about this song, written so many years ago- really it was in the middle of Jimmy’s career- that feels like a reach back for nostalgia, as well as a reaching forward for the rest and recovery that the ocean and seashores can bring to us. Jimmy wrote this song by himself, just like in the old days. I don’t know if he was sitting out on a chair watching the surf role in, or if he was perhaps driving down US 1, parts of it labeled A1A, while he wrote it, or if he was half a world away, as is mentioned in the song lyrics, but no matter where he wrote it, all that matters is that he wrote it. It is a beautiful tribute, both to a place and a lifestyle.
By the way, today I was gifted with a divination coin from a longtime friend who knows me well, the coin has one side saying “Hell Yes” and the other side saying “F**k No”, and while I put it to use just to test it out, I did not need it for todays song. Floridays was the clear choice for this Come Music Monday- no coin toss needed.
“Blue skies and ultra-violet rays… “
Stacy
Please enjoy Floridays. I have included the link below. Enjoy!
The link is from Jimmy’s official YouTube channel, which I have no personal affiliation with.
Save the Manatee Club:
Airport Name Change Petition:
Petition · Officially rename Key West airport as Jimmy Buffett International Airport. · Change.org
To find my post on When The Coast Is Clear, please click here.
To find my post on Take It Back, please click here.
To find my post on I Have Found Me A Home, please click here.
