#126 – Earl’s Dead – Cadillac For Sale
#126 – Earl’s Dead – Cadillac For Sale -by Stacy Garwood- Earl’s Dead – A love story. Although the car sale tag grabs your attention, this song is a whole lot more than a...
Tagged: Key West
#123 – Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Happy Birthday Jimmy Buffett! I did not want to let this holiday season pass without wishing you a big, beautiful, happy heavenly birthday. And it only seems fitting to share a song from one of Jimmy’s two Christmas albums, and honestly, the song came easily to me. It’s become a Christmas classic with a subtle message of love, peace, and nostalgia. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) is the perfect song to share for this occasion.
“So this is Christmas and what have you done, another year over, a new one just begun…”
#121 – Nobody Speaks To The Captain No More
November is here. The veil is thin. It’s time to share a song. What to do? What to feature? What to focus on? What song fits this time of year?
There is a song that has been softly humming to me for months, many months actually. It has softly insisted on grabbing my attention, but the time never seemed quite right. I am not sure if the time is right now, either, but I can ignore the whispered lyrics and the haunting melody no longer. And so, Nobody Speaks To The Captain No More gets its chance to shine.
#116 – Take Another Road
What does it mean to take another road? How many roads are there that can be taken? Limitless, probably. No end to the roads we can take, or the alterations we can make in our lives. It is up to us what road or how we choose, although at times life seems to divert or detour us in a way that we did not see or cannot possibly understand. I guess life makes a “course correction” for us in these cases, and we are left to have faith that it’s part of a great plan on our life’s map. But for the most part, it’s our choice to step forward, choosing the roads before us, such as staying on the same path or offering us a way to Take Another Road.
#115 – Everybody’s Talkin’
This song has been waving at me for a little while, wanting to have it’s turn to in the sunlight, but the timing never seemed quite right. And yet, today seems like the perfect day to share it. There is a northeast wind blowing and rain is falling from the sky, and I am thinking about places where the sun keeps shining and warm ocean breezes, and the gentle vibe of this soft rock/folk song seems like it was designed for a day like today. Everybody’s Talkin’ is a song that paints a picture of a certain mood, and I would guess that almost everyone has heard at least one version of this song, although it may not have been Jimmy’s version.
#114 – Kick It In Second Wind
This month, we are traveling back to the seventies, to “classic” Buffett, to the Key West days and the music that was part of Jimmy’s transition from folk/country to creating his own sound, which would later be termed Gulf and Western. The song we are highlighting is one of those songs that not only connect to the life that Jimmy was living at the time, as a new artist making a living touring honky tonks and beach bars and a few hotel lounges, along with the party-hard-until-you-drop mentality that came with it. Kick It In Second Wind is funny, truthful and a little bit rowdy, and captures Jimmy’s life at that time in lyrical detail.
#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...
#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.