Just a girl who loves Jimmy Buffett and wants to share his music, stories and lifestyle with the world!
Jimmy Buffett was an amazing song writer and performer, and I think that made him appreciate other songwriters and performers. One of those who was a great friend of his, and who Jimmy credits for teaching him so much, was the late Steve Goodman. One of Goodman’s biggest hits of his career was a little tune he penned called City Of New Orleans, and several times in Jimmy’s career, he honored Steve by playing this song and even put a live version of it on an album.
Wheel Inside The Wheel is one of those songs that catches your attention immediately on first listening, regardless of whom is performing the song. It’s colorful, mystical, and a little bizarre. My introduction to it was on Jimmy Buffett’s 2006 album Take The Weather With You, and it is a soulful stunner of a song.
Tides is one of those types of songs that feel like it fits Jimmy Buffett and his lifestyle perfectly. There is the ocean and waterways, there is travel and adventure, there is friendship and stories, there is a gentle lyrical quality that touches on Jimmy’s introspection and appreciation for the beautiful currents, both in life and on the water, and all the gifts and adventure that those tides can bring.
We are dipping back into the early Key West days this week, where Jimmy was still in his transition between folk and country into the more beach and ocean vibe that he would later call Gulf and Western, a genre of his very own. And Brahma Fear is a song that seems to combine all of those music types into a soft and gentle as well as nostalgic and introspective.
Ask any Jimmy Buffett fan what their favorite Jimmy Buffett song is, and you could get a hundred different answers. Ask Jimmy Buffett what his favorite Jimmy Buffett song is, and his answer would be Twelve Volt Man. It’s really that simple. It is documented multiple times over the years as one of his favorites, and he reported it as his favorite in at least one “it will last forever” video interview. I personally know a couple people that report it is their favorite Buffett song, and there are so many wonderful things about it, it’s easy to see why it is theirs, and Jimmy’s, favorite!
Wonder Why We Ever Go Home is a song that Jimmy Buffett wrote in the seventies, having had a couple twists and turns and reinventions along the way, before making its final form appearance on his noteworthy 1977 album, commonly referred to as “Changes” to his fans. It is soft and reflective, soulful and sad, and seems to capture the deeper parts of Jimmy’s songwriting talents.
There are many songs that Jimmy Buffett has recorded over the years that seem to touch some deep chord in the listener’s soul. And Stores We Could Tell is one of those songs. And it goes way back to the early years of Jimmy’s music, when he was still struggling in Key West, but everything was starting to fall into place. His music from that time shows his ever-evolving development as an artist, but also seems to touch on things that were important in his life. Storytelling was an integral part of Jimmy’s life, both as an artist and as a human who was spending a lot of time touring to make his dreams come true. Therefore, he was spending a lot of time in hotels between travel and shows, and this song manages to poignantly embrace both the performer and the soul of who Jimmy was.
Like My Dog was released on JB’s album Equal Strain On All Parts, the album that turned out to be Jimmy’s posthumous gift to us. The song is light, it’s playful, it’s humorous, it’s emotional and poignant in a way that is hard to describe, yet still leaves the listener feeling warm and fuzzy. I think this song connects deeply with people who understand the special bond between humans and dogs.
What If The Hokey Pokey Is All It Really Is About is a humorous, irreverent, and yet strangely introspective song of Jimmy Buffett’s. It has his characteristic humor mixed into popular culture, current (for 2002) news and deeply thoughtful questions and concerns about life on this crazy planet we call Earth, as well as our ever-expanding universe. And what is the Hokey Pokey really all about anyway? It is supposed to be simple, while life is not. The ironic thing is, while the Hokey Pokey song and dance are uncomplicated, its history is quite complicated.
Jimmy Buffett was great at creating a picture, a scene, or demonstrating a lifestyle with his music. The music can invigorate the listener, it can make us feel emotional or nostalgic, often times it can make us smile, or laugh right out loud. Hey, That’s My Wave hit’s both the humor and the nostalgia, bringing to mind days when the surf was less crowded and there was enough room that people did not need to brawl in the water to catch a wave. The water and many of its activities, including surfing, were an integral part of Jimmy’s life, and I am grateful that he was able to bring so much life to my mind through his music.
