#105 – Down At The Lah De Dah

by Stacy Loves Buffett · July 8, 2024

#105 – Down At The Lah De Dah

-by Stacy Garwood-

Everybody has at least one place, and if we are lucky, we have more than one place, which is our oasis at the end of the road. That place where we want to spend time at the start, in the middle, or at the end of a beautiful day. And perhaps even into the starry nighttime. And Down At The Lah De Dah sums up that place perfectly. It’s like “everyone’s” beach bar/perfect place song, and it connects with us on so many levels. Perhaps in fond memories from the past, a place we have known our entire lives, a connection with a recent holiday weekend, or even in a special place that we are striving to find in the future. Down At The Lah De Dah means something special to each person who listens and sings along.

“Down at the lah de dah, There’s a perfect margarita in a mason jar, At the end of the world in a sea of dreams, Where the ocean smiles and the seagulls scream, We all know just how lucky we are…”

Down At The Lah De Dah was released on JB’s 2020 album called Life On The Flip Side. Down At The Lah De Dah was written by Jimmy Buffett, Ralph Murphy, and Paul Brady. I have previously mentioned and shared songs from this album and have referred to it as a “pandemic gift”, but that is honestly how it felt to me. I know I wasn’t alone, as I have seen multiple reviews and comments since its release on how special it’s timing and content was. It was something to look forward to, not just because of the sudden change in the world and the pandemic lock downs, but also because it was the first studio album that Jimmy had released in seven years. A definite gift!

Seven years is a long time, although Jimmy, always a prolific worker (he was a double Capricorn) was certainly busy during that time. He was touring every year, just like always, but working on writing projects and on making his dream of a Broadway musical happen and he dedicated A LOT of time to Meet Me In Margaritaville. He worked so hard, he even toyed with the idea of taking a summer off for a change, instead of hitting the road. But when the pandemic shut down his 2020 tour plans, the one to celebrate and promote Life On The Flip Side, Jimmy did not really let it slow down his connection to his fans.

He admittedly spent time with his family, which is a blessing, but the always savvy and not shy of technology Mayor of Margaritaville and the King of Somewhere Hot stayed connected to his fan base by using technology. Not just with what RadioMargaritaville offered, or MargaritavilleTV but on Facebook and other forms of social media. Videos to help us all make some sense of this suddenly odd world we were living in, some with music, some of him sharing his lifestyle or his dogs, some just with him talking and connecting.

And he used that same technology to make a music video for Down At The Lah De Dah when the world was shut down and it was not recommended that people had any contact with people outside of their immediate home living arrangements. Jimmy found a way to connect with his band, with his fans, and the world, and for that I am forever grateful.

So, Down At The Lah De Dah was Jimmy’s first single from Life On The Flip Side, and that lead to the aforementioned music video, which was Jimmy and his beautiful Coral Reefer Band members each recording themselves singing or playing to the music, then it was edited into a lovely music video that will always remind me that even when people were separated, Jimmy found a way to connect with his band and friends, and in doing so, he found a way to connect with his fans.

“On a patch of sand where the warm wind blows, Not a tv set, not a radio, Just an old guitar when the sun sinks low, Down at the lah de dah…”

As mentioned earlier, Down At The Lah De Dah was co-written by Jimmy Buffett, Ralph Murphy, and Paul Brady. I often wonder how these songwriting groups get together. The songs that Jimmy wrote with his band members over the years are easy to understand, but how about other connections? Well, Jimmy was not only a musician and gifted song writer, but he was also a fan of music and of songwriters. He listened to music, and he knew what he liked.

Jimmy also liked to cover songs, either in studio or in his live shows, of songs he liked or songwriters he admired. In 2019, during the Son Of A Son Of A Sailor Tour, Jimmy started covering Paul Brady’s The World Is What You Make It. I find it in set lists as early as April, and in the fall, Jimmy and the Coral Reefer’s were touring in Europe. They had shows in Dublin, London and Paris, and Jimmy contacted Paul Brady and asked the Irish singer/songwriter to play a couple shows with him. Paul Brady said yes, and played with Jimmy and the band for both the Dublin and London shows. It surely seems like it’s an honor to be invited up on Jimmy Buffett’s carnival atmosphere stage to play with his handpicked group of musicians.

When Jimmy went back into the studio in the spring of 2020, he recorded the previously mentioned The World Is What You Make It and another song by Paul Brady called Oceans Of Time (cowritten by Brady and his long time writing partner Sharon Vaughn) along with a little gem of a song about “the beach bar” in our hearts, Down At The Lah De Dah, which is credited to Jimmy Buffett, Paul Brady and Ralph Murphy. It’s quite an honor to have three songs you have written on another artist’s studio album, let alone all on one album, but Jimmy was a fan of music and writers and certainly felt like Paul Brady was an artist that he hoped to bring some focus to. Jimmy was like that, sharing his music and sharing the music of others, to help promote them or shine a light on their talents. Without Jimmy’s influence, I doubt that Paul Brady would be on my radar at all.

“When the stars come out, It’s the place to be, If you’re all alone needing company, It’s a lovers’ bar where the fun is free, Down at the lah de dah…”

So, who is Paul Brady? Well, he is an incredibly talented Irish singer and songwriter who has a been making music since the mid-sixties. His music fits several genres, including Irish traditional, folk, pop, rock and adult contemporary, and he plays piano, guitar, mandolin, and bouzouki, a long-necked lute, popular in Greek traditional music. In his career, he belonged to several groups, including The Johnsons and Planxty, and was part of a duo with Andy Irvine before pursuing a solo career in the late seventies.

He has released more than a dozen solo studio albums, several live albums and has been a part of various compilation albums over the years. The list of songs that he has written is a mile long and I have no idea where to even start counting. He is a prolific singer songwriter, and I am certainly glad that he was on Jimmy’s radar.

“When you’re back at work at your 9 to 5, And it’s pourin’ rain on your mornin’ drive, You’ll remember when you were last alive, Down at the lah de dah…”

One of Paul Brady’s song writing partners over the years was Ralph Murphy, who was a bit of a Nashville legend, as a songwriter and record producer. Ralph Murphy was born in England during WWII and he and his mother emigrated to Canada when he was six years old. He was interested in music from a young age and pursued it with passion. He was playing gigs in Ontario by the age of fourteen and at the age of seventeen, he had moved and was traveling between Los Angeles and New York pursuing his music dreams. At nineteen he had moved to London and signed a record deal, releasing several singles as part of The Guardsmen/Slade Brothers. He eventually moved back to New York and focused on producing and songwriting.

He had several country music hits under his belt in the seventies and eighties, including Jeanie C Riley’s Good Enough To Be Your Wife, Half The Way by Crystal Gayle, and He Got You by Ronnie Milsap. His publishing/production company also scored a huge hit with Crystal Gayle’s Talking In Your Sleep. He and his son cowrote a noted book called Murphy’s Laws Of Songwriting, which was intended to help aspiring song writers gain success in their own careers. He was a member of the Country Music Association and the Canadian Country Music Association. In a weird happenstance, in 1987, Murphy was ill and unable to perform at a music showcase at the Bluebird Café in Nashville, so the showcase plugged a young up and coming artist by the name of Garth Brooks into Murphys spot, who was then offered a record deal by Capital Records after that showcase.

Happenstance and timing are weird things, and times and dates always strike me, as they did while researching this post. After a short battle with cancer, Ralph Murphy acquired pneumonia and passed away at the age of seventy-five. His death was one day before Jimmy’s long-awaited album was released to the public in May of 2020. I hope he would have been happy that the song was not only recorded but released as a single and that something that he himself touched has gone on to touch so many fans of special places, whether they are beach bars or backyards, because everyone as their own “lah de dah”.

“Down at the lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, Lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, lah, Down at the lah de dah…”

I know there has been much discussion about “where” the Lah De Dah was at and if it referred to a specific location. I don’t really think it did, otherwise the place would have been capitalized in the song lyrics. I think it was a fun phrase that allows the listener to connect with multiple places across this beautiful planet we call home. But the song does inspire me to think of a few local places where I have enjoyed a summer beverage and music after a long day in the sun and the water. But it’s not just here, it’s every place, really.

But there are two places that I think are worth mentioning, and one of them most likely was a place that Jimmy Buffett had visited in his life, even if it’s not the inspiration for this song. The other it’s doubtful that Jimmy was even aware of, although he did have a connection to locations in the state of Montana, but it feels like it’s worth a fun mention.

The La Te Da in Key West, on Duval Street in the quirky town that Jimmy loved, is the first spot to mention. The La Te Da started its life as a house built by Teodoro Perez, a cigar manufacturer. There were homes for the workers and a warehouse nearby. Perez was a political supporter of the Cuba Libre, translated to A Free Cuba, and supported many Cuban émigré. In 1892, Perez hosted Jose Marti, also known as “the Patriot”, from the Cuba Libre movement. Marti used the second store balcony on the Duval Street location to deliver speeches to help support his political movement, hence the phrase “La Terrazo de Marti” or the balcony of Marti, shortened to La Te Da.

The location now supports guest accommodations, a bar, café and a risqué cabaret show, and is noted as one of those “not-to-miss” places in Key West, although I admit I have never visited the place. While it is probably not what Jimmy was intending for the song, he was certainly crafty, and his lyrics often held double meanings. And a little walk into Key West and Cuban history, helped me realize that Cuba Libre isn’t just rum and coke cocktail with a lime or lime juice served in it.

“When the band strikes up and the sun is down, The pirate king buys another round, And the rumors fly mermaids are in town, Down at the lah de dah…”

The other honorable mention is a place is an almost three-thousand-mile road trip from Key West. The Sip ‘n Dip Lounge in the O’Haire Inn in Great Falls, Montana is the other spot to mention. The lyrics of songs are quite powerful, and while it’s usually a melody that catches my attention first, sometimes it’s the lyrics that grab my attention, and the mention of mermaids being in town brought to mind a piece of Montana history.

The O’Haire Inn was built in Great Falls in the 1960’s and still has that retro vibe, and it included an indoor swimming pool with a see-through glass wall that allowed views into the Tiki themed lounge and for those patrons to view the activity in the pool. But mermaids only became part of the Sip ‘n Dip’s fame in the mid-nineties, when Tiki bars began to have a sort of revival in the United States, perhaps in part because of the music of people such as Jimmy Buffett. It started almost as a joke, but New Years Eve of 1995 seen the first mermaid to enter the pool at the Sip ‘n Dip, much to the awe of the crowd. It was a hit, and the mermaids remained.

Currently there are six mermaids who entertain the Tiki lounge patrons, and occasionally a merman as well. In 2002, during the filming of the movie Northfork, actress Daryl Hannah donned a mermaid outfit and took a swim in the pool, reprising her own mermaid role from the movie Splash. However, having a glass wall to your Tiki bar can be harrowing, such as in 2004, when the glass wall cracked, and the bar and patrons had to be evacuated while the pool was pumped empty. But nothing held the mermaids back for long and the glass was replaced, stronger than ever, and the show went on.

However, the establishment recommends calling ahead if you want to see the mermaids, because they are not in the pool all the time. This warning to check ahead reminds me of the line “the rumors fly mermaids are in town”, which brings to mind the mermaids of the Sip ‘n Dip in Great Falls, Montana, as land-locked a state as ever there was. I am certain many places have mermaids in pools, and I would love to hear about any and all of them. If anyone wants to leave a comment about mermaids, it would be much appreciated, for fans of mermaids everywhere, as well as myself. And if anyone ever asks you, you can say you know that mermaids do indeed exist on the prairies.

But my favorite line in the song comes right before the nod to the mermaids, with “when the band strikes up and the sun is down, the pirate king buys another round”, that screams Jimmy and his band. Because Jimmy is The Pirate King as far as many of his fans are concerned, adding another lovely title to his collection.

Down At The Lah De Dah is another fabulous song that touches many people and their special locations, no matter the zip code of your personal “lah de dah”, cheers to you and the pirate king playing on the jukebox!

“Cha, cha, cha…”

Stacy

Please enjoy Down At The Lah De Dah. I have included links for the official studio version and the music video below. Enjoy!

2020 Studio Version:

Music Video Version:

The links are from Jimmy’s official YouTube channel and Mailboat Records, which I have no personal affiliation with.

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#105 – Down At The Lah De Dah

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