Author: Stacy Loves Buffett
Home is defined in multiple ways. It can be a place where one lives permanently, it can be a place of origination or a base of operations. It can be where you were raised or where you come from, it can be a place that lasts an entire life or just a few weeks or days. It can be a place where you feel like you belong, possibly because there is something about that place that you connect with or fits your attitude or mindset. It seems like a simple word, but “home” can be quite deep and complicated.
Much of Jimmy’s music can be looked at on different levels, and this song is a great example. The “coast is clear” can refer to the end of summer and the quiet, clear beaches that are left in the wake of humans retreating at the end of summer. It can also simply mean the weather is clear, with no storm or clouds on the horizon. In that sense, it’s not just about weather, though, because it can metaphor for safety. Depending on my mood, this song strikes me a little differently each time I hear it, although I always recognize how beautiful it is.
Jimmy Buffett and Steve Goodman became friends early in Jimmy’s music career. I don’t know if I ever heard any details about a legendary first meeting, or if such a thing exists. When Jimmy talked about Steve, he talked about him like an old, dear friend, someone who has been part of your life forever. He would tell stories clubs they played in, of the Cubs and visits to Wrigley Field, of songs they wrote together, such as this one. Honestly, I wish I could have been around while they were writing this one together, to hear and watch that process, the humor, the lyrics, what inspired a line or word in this amped up song.
From the Parrothead Handbook in Jimmy’s own words when talking, not only about this song, but about himself and stories about himself in general, “I’m amused by the rumors that crop up out of nowhere about me and what I’ve done. I have been spotted at parties by drug agents when I was actually two thousand miles away. I have bought ocean liners. I have been seen on stage in countries where I have never set foot, and have played golf on courses that I have never seen. Word just seems to get around”- Jimmy Buffett.
I imagine there was a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his lips as he penned those words. Still, I imagine there is a certain change that comes with fame that makes things never feel quite the same again.
Jimmy took inspiration from a broad list of things. Images, sayings, quotes, stories in books, and poetry. He even took inspiration from random slips of the tongue at dinner tables, which we see with very recent songs as well as touching back as far as Margaritaville. For this songs’ inspiration, Jimmy’s muse was Mark Twain, the pen name for American author Samuel Clemens, who, with a couple scratches of his pen, wrote a line that inspired Jimmy enough to write this lovely, lyrical song that touches on some of Jimmy’s philosophy in life along with the sharp yet humorous lyrical quality he became known for.
Of course, Jimmy spent time in his early career in New Orleans, and the eclectic culture of that unique city leaves an imprint. In my original post, I touched briefly on the term gris gris, which is included in Love And Luck’s song lyrics. It is usually tied to voodoo, hoodoo or root magic and it seems to have originated with west African culture that migrated to the Caribbean and gulf coast areas, and then was adapted into the greater culture. In this sense, it means a talisman, an amulet, a charm, a spell, or an incantation believed capable of warding off evil and bringing good luck to oneself or of bringing misfortune to another. Mostly, it’s seen as a good luck charm!
The Pleiades are also called the Seven Sisters, as Jimmy mentions in his song lyrics, but are known officially in astronomy circles as Messier 45. It can be found just a bit to the north-west of the constellation Taurus, has a bluish glow, and is 444 light years from us. That seems like a long way away, but it’s actually one of the nearest star clusters to Earth. It is quite visible to the naked eye, and is stunning through a telescope, or even something as simple and easy to use as a pair of binoculars. It shows up in myths and legends across our globe and has many more names than the few that I have mentioned. Its prominence in world culture makes it unsurprising that it makes an appearance in Jimmy’s music and plays a starring role in the life of his Desdemona.
It seems like Jimmy usually included the pulse of current culture in his music, as well as being at the “right time, right place” often in his life. This song combines both of those into a humorous story set to music. And through in one of The Beatles for fun, and you are sure to have something magical in the making.
A sandbar is exactly what it sounds like, a bank or bar of sand, usually at the mouth of a river, but also can be along the coast. They can be pretty stationary, or they can move, depending on the strength of the water current. They can be likened to shoals, dunes or spits. In a metaphorical sense, a sandbar can be defined as a boundary that we get stuck on, or a barrier that keeps us from moving forwards, backwards or any direction at all.
A chalice is a large cup or goblet, usually ornate and for the drinking of wine. It tends to be associated with people or environments that are expensive and affluent. A tin cup gives the impression of the opposite of what people think of when it comes to fancy drinking glasses, more “salt of the earth” than luxurious or exclusive. Of course, Jimmy saw the juxtaposition and wrote it beautifully into this poignant and soulful song.
