Author: Stacy Loves Buffett
“Sunset is an angel weeping, Holding out a bloody sword…”
Besides the title words, this line has been an ear worm for me for quite a while, well back into last year when I was doing my initial song tribute after Jimmy’s death. The only reason this song did not make the initial posts was because I was trying to focus on songs that Jimmy wrote or had a part of writing, but I knew it would be an early song for me to focus on in this second year of sharing Jimmy’s music. This is a gorgeous song and Jimmy’s version is true to the original while feeling absolutely heartfelt.
This song has been an ear worm for me for quite a while, even last year it just kept playing over and over in my mind, but there wasn’t the chance to include it with my initial posts, but I knew I hoped to share and discuss it early in this year. It is a beautiful song, one of Jimmy’s softer, more poignant ballads, and it has always struck a chord with me.
Elvis Presley Blues was released on JB’s 2006 album Take The Weather With You. This album was a bit different for Jimmy because it had more covers than songs written by himself. The majority actually, with ten of the fourteen songs being covers, songs I believe that Jimmy loved from artists that he admired.
This song was written by husband-and-wife duo David Rawlings and Gillian Welch (I am listing him first only because alphabetically he is listed first on the songs writing credits). It was performed and released on Gillian’s 2001 album called Time (The Revelator). If you enjoy music, I recommend you try to find Gillian’s original version to listen to, as well as the entire album, which received critical acclaim. I remember hearing it while I was visiting a friend in Billings, Montana and went out and bought myself a copy of the CD. If you like the folk-americana sound that is absolutely timeless, Gillian Welch is an artist you might like.
I bet if you asked a group of people about this song, casual Jimmy Buffett fans, or even some more serious ones, the majority would tell you that Jimmy Buffett wrote this song. It would make sense, after all Jimmy put in on an album in the mid-seventies and has been singing it ever sense, it fits his lifestyle and his brand and some of his early life choices… but that majority of people would find out that this lovely gem of a song was written by Steve Goodman.
Here it is… the day my spontaneous tribute connects the 76 songs that came before, wrapping up something that began with an ear worm sometime in the night between the ending of September 1st and the start of September 2nd, when myself and many people in the world were reeling from the news of Jimmy Buffett’s passing at the age of 76, is now connecting with Christmas Day, December 25th to cap off what in total is my 77-day deep and sincere thank you card to James William Buffett.
Jimmy Buffett said this about wings, “Let’s face it, I like my wings. The ones you can see on my plane and the ones you can’t see in my brain. They have taken me on some very interesting flights”. Wings have multiple different meanings to people, but one thing that most can agree with is that wings are tied to a higher plane than the one gravity ties us to on earth. Here’s to a new set of wings, Jimmy, and to wherever they may take you next.
When I first shared A Sailor’s Christmas from Christmas Island back in November, I didn’t pick a specific date. As a matter of fact, the date seemed to pick itself. I was wrapping up the tribute that started very organically when I was shell-shocked and deeply mourning Jimmy’s passing, and the date didn’t matter at all to my choices. I knew I wanted to share something from one of his Christmas albums, and also a song that he had written. I knew I had a song I wanted to end with, and so the Christmas song just fell into place the day before that.
Most of Jimmy Buffett’s music is quite positive, even if it deep dives into harder life issues, like growing older. I think his humor, his creativity, his adventurous spirit and his unique outlook on life translated into his music, giving us real life struggles that made us realize that while he was a bare-footed, board short wearing king of all he created there up on that stage, he was just as human as the rest of us. With aches and pains and accidents that plague us all at times. This song in particular lets us understand Jimmy’s struggles, but how he overcame them with positivity, and shared that positivity with us in his music.
This is an absolutely beautiful song. The lyrics, the melody, the meaning, the atmosphere… all combine to give the listener something very extraordinary to partake in. I think Jimmy had an incredible gift for telling a story while at the same time painting a picture that was so easy for the listeners mind to see, all the while giving it just the right melody to create something stunningly beautiful.
I think Fruitcakes is one of those great songs that Jimmy wrote. It’s funny, it’s irreverent, it’s honest, and it has a fun sound that makes you just want to sing and dance along. This song is a treasure trove of crafty lyrics and real life. It lets us know it’s okay to be a bit different because there are other fruitcakes out there too. They are in the kitchen, they are on the street, and you can feel like you are all one big fruitcake family.
