Just a girl who loves Jimmy Buffett and wants to share his music, stories and lifestyle with the world!
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.
Floridays has always felt gently captivating to me, somewhat like a lullaby. It is a song that is both reflective and mellow, and feels evocative of the earlier Key West songs that Jimmy wrote. Yet there is a quality to the lyrics that shows there has been a passage of time and life, but still helps the listener understand that the simple and beautiful life along the Florida coast was tied deeply to Jimmy’s heart and soul. This song always feels like a homecoming song, as if he realized when he was writing it, all of the things that he was perhaps missing, but certainly loved, about the state that he connected to so strongly.
Miss You So Badly is one of those Jimmy Buffett songs that has always held a special place in my heart because it mentions a well-known mountain town in the lyrics as if it was a character in a story- Missoula. Therefore, appealing to this Montana girl, even though I am very much a flat lander from the northeastern plains of the Treasure State. It is probably one of the lesser-known songs on JB’s hit album Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, but the very first time I heard it, the mention of Missoula certainly pricked my ears and made me curious about Jimmy’s time in Montana. And it has now led me down a little trip of Montana history.
Not even six months after the loss of Jimmy Buffett, the world is now mourning another musician that did things his own way and did it well – the great country and western star Toby Keith. Both were singers and songwriters who had vision, talent and an ability to create lyrics that seems to paint pictures in our minds, whether that was boat drinks on sailing vessels drifting along tropical shores, or in gritty dive bars filled with blue collar America out for a good time, both men were true to themselves and their music. And managed to come together on a couple of occasions, with some memorable music in the mix.
“Too drunk to karaoke, too drunk to karaoke…”
This Hotel Room is one of those quirky, fun songs that I have come to associate with Jimmy’s music, and it was on one of the early albums, the iconic Havana Daydreamin’. It’s a song with a subject that most people can associate with, having spent a night or two in some roadside motel room or stacked up on the third floor of some intriguing downtown hotel. The song is another of the songs that Jimmy covered that was written by his very good friend, the immensely talented Steve Goodman.
“I had a dream I was down at Jojo’s, Havin’ a burger ‘neath the setting sun, Johnny was sitting in the corner, Sippin’ on a glass of Depaz Rhum…”
Of all the songs on Jimmy’s posthumous album, this one took me completely unaware, and captivated a bit of my soul when I first heard it. And each and every time I hear it, I still feel the same way. Cataloging favorites is hard, so all I am going to say is that this song is special.
Johnny’s Rhum was released on JB’s 2023 album Equal Strain On All Parts. It turned out to be a posthumous album release, although I do not necessarily believe it was intended to be. Whatever its intent, this is an album full of wonderful songs and each is special in its own way.