#107 – Grapefruit – Juicy Fruit
#107 – Grapefruit – Juicy Fruit -by Stacy Garwood- This Labor Day weekend marks the anniversary of Jimmy’s death. It has gifted us with multiple celebrations in his honor, including Jimmy Buffett Day on...
Tagged: Key West
#105 – Down At The Lah De Dah
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.
#101 – Bring Back The Magic
When you think of Jimmy Buffett music and the word “magic”, probably the first thought would go to Little Miss Magic, a song that Jimmy wrote for his oldest daughter Savannah Jane when she was quite young, or songs such as He Went To Paris, which has “magic” so strongly tied to the message of the song, or if one wants to get philosophical, then one could imagine that “magic” runs through much of Jimmy’s music, but a song with both “magic” in the title as well as a thread in the song, is Bring Back The Magic.
#100 – Peanut Butter Conspiracy
Sometimes there are songs that can make a listener laugh right out loud and sing along at the same time, and Peanut Butter Conspiracy by Jimmy Buffett is exactly that kind of song. It’s humorous and irreverent and charming, which showcases some of Jimmy’s greatest songwriting abilities, all tied up in a neat package with a lyrical quality that makes the song both easy to listen to and easy to sing. And even if you have never stolen one thing from a convenience store, somehow the listener can connect to the song in a way that feels real and understanding and forgiving all at the same time.
#86 – Floridays
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.
#70 – I Have Found Me A Home
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.
#67 – I Heard I Was In Town
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.