I guess you could call me a Jimmy Buffet fan. I wasn't always. As a sneering, snarky youth I scoffed at his silly songs which I passed off as some kind of limp country pop. I probably came to like him in my late 20s as I lost my hard edge and I fell for the simple catchiness of the tunes that would earworm their way into my brain.
The more I listened, the more I appreciated it. The big thing about Jimmy was always his beach bum persona; the carefree, sun-drenched, margarita-sipper in the aloha shirt, representing everything you long for as you pound your head against your office cube wall and shovel the snow from your driveway.
Here's the thing, I have had more than one opportunity to live that sort of life. The dirty secret is that, like many fantasies, it gets boring real fast once the novelty wears off. You can spend only so many aimless days in a lounge chair sipping fruity drinks and devouring beach books. And you would be stunned how fast you gain weight from margaritas. The plain fact is that we all need something to do. If I truly found myself on a beautiful tropical island with little to do except chill, I would probably be drinking bourbon nonstop and obsessively gambling on Draft Kings. That said, it's fun for a week or two at a time, so in that sense, Jimmy nailed it.
I think what most people miss about Jimmy is that there was more to it than that persona. The celebration of inebriated slacking would wear thin in short order, but ultimately, that wasn't the underlying theme he brought to the table. Considering his entire oeuvre, I would sum up his mission in one word: Gratitude. Sorrow and joy, pleasure and pain; ultimately we appreciate it all.
Some of it's magic, some of it's tragic, but I had a good life all the way
Wrapped myself around a Ma Bell telephone pole…Life is just a tire swing
Everyone here is just more than contented to be livin' and dyin' in ¾ time
Roll with the punches…made the best of whatever came his way
Survivors of tidal waves, Children of former slaves…They'll be changing channels, always will
There's a little bit of fruitcake left in every one of us
We all know, just how lucky we are
All these lyrics and so many others convey gratitude for life and humanity, with all defects and difficulties that come with it. That is the truly enduring message.
Beyond that, I also think Jimmy is very underrated as a songwriter, again by those who pass him off as nothing but a fantasy persona. Bob Dylan called out his admiration for his songs, as has Paul McCartney, yet for some reason he doesn't seem to get looped into the greatest songwriter conversations. His ability to construct clever rhymes is really second to none, he has a great variety in meter and, of course, he can compose a hook as well as anyone. Let me just link some of my favorites (Links to YouTube):
That's What Living is to Me -- a call out to Mark Twain, this is wonderfully crafted and perfectly sung. If I had to choose one song to describe Jimmy Buffet music it would be this one. Marvelous character images, a great hook, the contrast of happiness and sorrow -- "In the far off regions, the foreign legions keep the thieves and the predators at bay" vs. "stories from my favorite books still take on many different looks".
Changing Channels -- Another one with a strong sense of gratitude for the life we are given. The quiet poetry of the mundane. The beauty of the everyday. A truly lovely ballad.
The Ballad of Skip Wiley -- Characters from a Carl Hiassen beach read. Swanky horns like an old school caper. A good example of his use of meter. It also contains what might be my favorite rhyme in all the universe. "With a pirate's persona / he snatched the gridiron madonna". Too much fun.
And if I had to pick a favorite album I'd start with Fruitcakes wonderful infectious songs covering the gamut, call outs for the title song and Delaney Talks to Statues, a beautiful song for his daughter, or more correctly about his love for his daughter.
Another connection I feel for Jimmy is his love of, and call outs for, Florida, a state you can only appreciate if you can take the yin and the yang, the blue skies and ultra-violet rays, the riches and son-of-a-bitches. Rarely does an album go by without a Florida reference I recognize and have experienced.
As I have aged my sense of gratitude has grown and Jimmy's music has certainly helped that along, and in turn fed my gratitude for having been able to enjoy it. No question my Jimmy Buffet playlist will be in heavy rotation to the last.
Thank you, Jimmy.
