Day #24 – Cowboy In The Jungle

Day #24 – Cowboy In The Jungle

Jimmy was a storyteller, and he was great at it. Some songs were based on stories he was told, some on things he experienced, some on things he imagined. I think Cowboy In The Jungle is a bit of all three of those things. As I have gotten a little older, I have connected with this song a little more each day. To me, the lesson here is roll with the punches, trust your intuition, and make the best of “it” that you can.

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Original post from 9/25/2023

Day #24 – Cowboy In The Jungle

Cowboy In The Jungle was released on the 1978 album Son Of A Son Of A Sailor, another one of Jimmy’s early classic albums.

This song has been on my mind for days and days, tapping on my brain, saying it wanted a turn. For several reasons, today is the day.

Jimmy has said that he had several influences while writing this song. In the early seventies he worked with a colorful sailor who used to be a cowboy in upstate New York, a man who had several adventures under his belt by the time he crossed Jimmy’s path. Around that same time, JB was reading about Sir Francis Drake’s time in the Caribbean, and his assault on many Spanish settlements along the coast, including Puerto Bello in what is now Panama. Jimmy was splitting his time between living in the Virgin Islands and his summers in Montana, and those influences also ended up in the song, including the cowboy hat and cowboy boots, which were his own. The shrimp skin boots were an homage to a pair of boots Jimmy wore as part of a costume when he was the King of Mardi Gras, and Jane was his queen. It a total mashup of influences and experiences, which has always made Jimmy’s music able to connect with so many people.

I don’t quite know how to describe this song except to say it’s always reminded me of a how life really is. Trying to reach for something, but it doesn’t quite work out the way you hoped or planned, but you still make the best of it, and hopefully enjoy yourself along the way. By the way, Jimmy said he always trusted his intuition and it never led him astray.

“We’ve gotta roll with the punches, Learn to play all of our hunches, Make the best of whatever comes your way.”

Please enjoy Cowboy In The Jungle, it’s a beautiful song about how life can be, and how we choose to live it, even when it goes a bit sideways. The link is in the comments below. 

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Jimmy’s most common outlet for his storytelling was his music and lyrics. But that wasn’t his only way. He was a writer not just of songs but of short stories and even novels. This song hints at a character that Jimmy wrote about a couple of times, Tully Mars.

Tully Mars first shows up in Tales From Margaritaville, and then later, because his story was not done, in A Salty Piece Of Land. And all of that narrative was inspired from a song that was inspired from a real life “cowboy”, an Elizabethan explorer and privateer, and a few choice global locations, including a garish Mardi Gras costume. I love what Jimmy could do with the things that inspired him, and grateful for every story he told us, no matter what medium he chose to express himself.

Stacy

Please enjoy Cowboy In The Jungle. I have included the link below. Enjoy!

The link is from Jimmy’s official YouTube channel, which I have no personal affiliation with.