Lyrics for singles by Jimmy Buffett

Son of a Son of a Sailor

As the son of a son of a sailor
I went out on the sea for adventure
Expanding the view of the captain and crew
Like a man just released from indenture

As a dreamer of dreams and a travelin' man
I have chalked up many a mile
Read dozens of books about heroes and crooks
And I've learned much from both of their styles

chorus:
Son of a son, son of a son
Son of a son of a sailor
Son of a gun, load the last ton
One step ahead of the jailer

Now away in the nor'near future
Southeast of disorder
You can shake the hand of the mango man
As he greets you at the border

And the lady she hails from Trinidad
Island of the spices
Salt for your meat and cinnamon sweet
And the rum is for all your good vices

Haul the sheet in as we ride on the wind
That our forefathers harnessed before us
Hear the bells ring as the tide rigging sings
It's a son of a gun of a chorus

[chorus]

Where it all ends I can't fathom, my friends
If I knew, I might toss out my anchor
So I'll cruise along always searchin' for songs
Not a lawyer, a thief or a banker

[chorus]

I'm just a son of a son, son of a son
Son of a son of a sailor
The sea's in my veins, my tradition remains
I'm just glad I don't live in a trailer

Havana Daydreamin'

Stashed his trash in Ecuador, bought a good suit of clothes
Flew on up to Mexico, standin' by the shore
Waiting for some mystery man, to pay him for his time
Thinkin' about all the money he made
couldn't help to ease his mind
Havana daydreamin' oh he's just dreamin' his life away
Daddy shucked that sugar cane
One day he fell dead
Jesus had a wanderin' feelin'
Swimmin around in his head
Sailin' on a midnight boat
There were no questions asked
Water's so green and the air was so clean
That he stuck right to his task, Havana daydreamin'
Oh he's just schemin', his life away
Ceilin' fan stirs the air
Cigar smoke did swirl
A fragrance on the pillow case
And he thinks about the girl
Spillin' wine wine and sharin' good times
She sure could make him smile
He pays her well but what the hell
He'll be movin' in a little while, Havana daydreamin'
Havana daydreamin'
Oh he'll be dreamin' his life away

Manana

She said I can't go back to America soon
It's so goddamn cold it's gonna snow until June
Yeah, they're freezin' up in Buffalo stuck in their cars
And I'm lyin' here 'neath the sun and the stars
Customs man tell her that she's gotta leave
She's got a plan hidden up her shrewd sleeve
Wants to find her a captain, a man of strong mind
And any direction he blows will be fine

Please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong

Tried and I tried but I don't understand
Never seems to work out the way I had it planned
Hanging out at a marina when Steve Martin called
Singin' anybody there really want to get small

But women and water are in short supply
There's not enough dope for us all to get high
I hear it gets better, that's what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay

Please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have heard your lines foe so very long
Don't try to describe the scenery if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up in my song

Called all my friends on those cheap nightly rates
Sure was good to talk to the old United States
While the lights of St. Thomas lie twenty miles west
I see General Electric's still doing their best

I've got to head this boat south pretty soon
New album's old and I'm fresh out of tunes
But I know that I'll get 'em, I know that they'll come
Through the people and places and Caldwood's Rum

So please don't say manana if you don't mean it
I have done your lines for so very long
Don't try to describe a Kiss concert if you've never seen it
Don't ever forget that you just may wind up being gone
And I hope Anita Bryant never does one of my songs

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year
All of the faces and all of the places
wonderin' where they all disappeared

I didn't ponder the question too long
I got hungry and went out for a bite
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum
and we wound up drinkin' all night

It's those changes in latitudes
Changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
With all of our running and all of our cunning
If we couldn't laugh, we would all go insane

These changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes
Nothing remains quite the same
Through all of the islands and all of the highlands
If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

Reading departure signs in some big airport
Reminds me of the places I've been
Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure
Makes me want to go back again

If it suddenly ended tomorrow
I could somehow adjust to the fall
Good times and riches and son of a bitches
I've seen more than I can recall

[chorus]

I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine
I wish I could jump on a plane
And so many nights I just dream of the ocean
God, I wish I was sailin' again
Oh, yesterday's over my shoulder
So I can't look back for too long
There's just too much to see waiting in front of me
and I know that I just can't go wrong

[chorus]

Trying To Reason With The Hurricane Season

Squalls out on the Gulf Stream
Big storm's coming soon
I passed out in my hammock
God, I slept way past noon
Stood up and tried to focus
I hoped I wouldn't have to look far
I knew I could use a Bloody Mary
So I stumbled next door to the bar

And now I must confess
I could use some rest
I can't run at this pace very long
Yes, it's quite insane
I think it hurts my brain
But it cleans me out and then I can go on

There's something about this Sunday
It's a most peculiar gray
Strollin' down the avenue
That's known as A-One-A
Feeling tired, then I got inspired
I knew that it wouldn't last long
So all alone I walked back home
Sat on my beach and then I made up this song

[chorus]

Well, the wind is blowin' harder now
Fifty knots or thereabouts
There's white caps on the ocean
And I'm watching for water spouts
It's time to close the shutters
It's time to go inside
In a week I'll be in gay Paris
That's a mighty long airplane ride

[chorus]

A Pirate Looks At Forty

Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters
since I was three feet tall
You've seen it all, you've seen it all

Watch the men who rode you
Switch from sails to steam
And in your belly you hold the treasure
that few have ever seen, most of them dreams
Most of them dreams

Yes, I am a pirate two hundred years too late
The cannons don't thunder there's nothin' to plunder
I'm an over forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late

I've done a bit of smugglin'
I've run my share of grass
I made enough money to buy Miami
But I pissed it away so fast
Never meant to last, never meant to last

I have been drunk now for over two weeks
I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks
But I've got to stop wishin'
Got to go fishin', I'm down to rock bottom again
Just a few friends, just a few friends

Instrumental

I go for younger women, lived with several awhile
And though I ran away, they'll come back one day
And still could manage a smile
It just takes awhile, just takes awhile

Mother, mother ocean, after all these years I've found
My occupational hazard being my occupations
just not around
I feel like I've drowned
Gonna head uptown

Margaritaville

Nibblin' on sponge cake
watchin' the sun bake
All of those tourists covered with oil
Strummin' my six string
On my front porch swing
Smell those shrimp, they're beginnin' to boil

Wasted away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
But I know it's nobody's fault

Don't know the reason
Stayed here all season
With nothing to show but this brand new tattoo
But it's a real beauty
A Mexican cutie
How it got here I haven't a clue

Wasted away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
Now I think --- hell, it could be my fault

I blew out my flip flop
Stepped on a pop top
Cut my heel, had to cruise on back home
But there's booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on

Wasted away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
But I know, it's my own damn fault
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
And I know it's my own damn fault

Coconut Telegraph

Tuesday on the island
Not much goin' on
The parties are all over
They ended just past dawn
But the jungle drums are beating
With the tales from late last night
Cause the stories bear repeating
For everyones delight

You can hear it on the coconut telegraph
Can't keep nothin' under their hat
You can hear 'em on the coconut telegraph
Sayin' who did dis and dat
Dis and dat dis and dat
Now I'm not one to deal in gossip
But was he that big of fool?
To do a belly buster high dive
And miss the entire pool?
Now what's the word on sweet Melissa?
And the kid nobody knew
Did Ricardo ever find her?
I swear it's just between me and you

You can hear it on the coconut telegraph
By now everybody knows
You can hear it on the coconut telegraph
Just who comes and goes
Comes and goes comes and goes
It's humpday on the island
And the lines have all gone dead
All the juicy news is history
I guess everything's been said
But when the eagle flies on Friday
And the boys break out the rum
Then the joint begins to jumpin'
And you'll hear those hot lines hum

Put it on the coconut telegraph
All the celebration and the stress
Put it on the coconut telegraph
In tewnty-five words or less

Volcano

Now, I don't know
I don't know where I'm a gonna go
when the volcano blow
Let me say it now
I don't know
I don't know
I don't know where I'm a-gonna go
When the volcano blow

Ground, she movin' under me
Tidal waves out on the sea
Sulphur smoke up in the sky
Pretty soon we learn to fly

Let me hear you, now
[chorus]

My girl quickly say to me
Mon you better watch your feet
Lava come down soft and hot
You better lava me now or lava me not

No time to count what I'm worth
cause I just left the planet Earth
Where I go I hope there's rhum
Not to worry mon soon come

[chorus]

But I don't want to land in New York City
I don't want to land in Mexico
I don't want to land on no Three Mile Island
I don't want to see my skin a-glow
Don't want to land in Comanche Sky Park
or in Nashville, Tennessee
I don't want to land in no San Juan airport
or the Yukon Territory
Don't want to land in no San Diego
Don't want to land in no Buzzards Bay
I don't want to land on no Ayatolla
I got nothin' more to say

[chorus]

Cheeseburger in Paradise

Tried to amend my carnivorous habits
Made it nearly seventy days
Losin' weight without speed, eatin' sunflower seeds
Drinkin' lots of carrot juice and soakin' up rays

But at night I'd have these wonderful dreams
Some kind of sensuous treat
Not zucchini, fettucini, or bulgar wheat
But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat

Cheeseburger in paradise
Heaven on earth with an onion slice
Not too particular, not too precise
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise

Heard about the oldtime sailor men
They'd eat the same thing again and again
Warm beer and bread they said could raise the dead
Well, it reminds me of the menu at a Holiday Inn

Times have changed for sailors these days
When I'm in port I get what I need
Not just Havanas or banana or daiquiris
But that American creation on which I feed

Cheeseburger in paradise
Medium rare with Muenster'd be nice
Not too particular, not too precise
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draught beer
Well, good god Almighty which way do I steer
For a cheeseburger in paradise
Makin' the best of every virtue and vice
Worth every damn bit of sacrifice
To get a cheeseburger in paradise
To be a cheeseburger in paradise
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise

Fins

She came down from Cincinnati
It took her three days on the train
Lookin' for some peace and quiet
Hoped to see the sun again
But now she lives down by the ocean
She's takin' care to look for sharks
They hang out in the local bars
And they feed right after dark

Can't you feel 'em circlin' (closin'in) honey?
Can't you feel 'em swimmin' around?
You got fins to the left, fins to the right
And you're the only bait in town
You got fins to the left, fins to the right
And you're the only girl in town

She's savin' up all of her money
Wants to head south in May
Maybe roll in the sand with a rock'n'roll man
Somewhere down Montserrat way

But the money's good in the season
Helps to lighten her load
Boys keep her high as the months go by
She's gettin' postcards from the road

[chorus]

Sailed off to Antigua
It took her three days on a boat
Lookin' for some peace and quiet
Maybe keep her dreams afloat

But now she feels like a remora
'cause the school's still close at hand
Just behind the reef are the big white teeth
Of the sharks that can swim on the land

[chorus]

The Weather Is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful

special note:  credit for the explanations of the lead-in comments goes to reddit user "DingoMcPhee"

[spoken]

"Play ball!" (backed with "1,2,3,4")                       the traditional call by umpires to begin a baseball game
"Where's my per diem?"                                     a daily allotment of cash given to people while on tour for general daily expenses. A tour manager would probably get tired of hearing this every single day from everybody on the tour.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Carl Reiner Band!"              Local MC mispronounced the name of the Coral Reefer Band during at least one introduction, never forgotten
"Fingers, go to bed!"                                      Greg "Fingers" Taylor was a madman party animal on the road
"Hey Bobby, where's the keys to the rental car?"           Robert Liberman was the tour manager
"Jimmy can I open the show in Atlanta please?"             a Reeferette asking for a huuuuuge favor
"Lordy . . . don't ever start a band!"                     Advice from Jimmy (heard by some as a warning)

[sung]

He worked hard all year just wanted a few weeks alone
But his old lady's into modeling, she can't get away from the phone
Besides, she bitches about the mosquitoes
She says "Down there there is nothing to do"
Her goddamn phone never stops ringing
He'll try the service in a day, maybe two

Well, he's on his third drink before the wheels of the plane leave the ground
Making points with the stewardess high over Long Island Sound
She's also spending some time on the island
Too much city madness gives her the blues
They make a date to go dancing and dining
It seems neither has that much to lose

The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
My thoughts aren't too clear but don't run away
My girlfiend's a bore, my job is too dutiful
Hell, nobody's perfect would you like to play
I feel together today

Well now that was just the start of a well-deserved overdue binge
Meanwhile back in the city certain people are starting to cringe
His lawyers are calling his parents
His girlfriend doesn't know what to think
His partners are studying their options
He's just singing and ordering drinks

The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
The skies are too clear, life's easy today
The beer is too cold, the daquiris too fruitiful
There's no place like home when you're this far away
I don't care what they say

He's going back to New York, pack it up and let everyone know
It was something that he should have done such a long time ago
Still time to start a new life in the palm trees
Billy Clyde wasn't insane                                            ["Billy Clyde Tuggle" was a long-time character on the daytime soap _All My Children_ who always wanted to run away to Tahiti]
And if it doesn't work out
There'll never be any doubt
That the pleasure was worth all the pain

The weather is here, I wish you were beautiful
The skies are too clear, life is easy today
The beer is too cold, the daquiris too fruitiful
There's no place like home when you're this far away
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play

Livingston Saturday Night

You got your Tony Lamas on, your jeans pressed tight
You take a few tokes, make you feel all right
Rockin' and rollin' on a Livingston Saturday Night

Pickup's washed and you just got paid
With any luck at all you might even get laid
'Cause they're pickin' and a-kickin'
on a Livingston Saturday Night

So won't you listen to the sound of a hot country band
Boot heels shufflin' on the dance floor Sam
Sing a song, play some pong, shoot a little pool
Hittin' on the honeys right out of high school

Yeah, fifteen may get you twenty
but that's all right
Cause they're rockin and a rollin' on a Livingston Saturday Night

So won't you listen to the sound of the hot country band
Boot heels shufflin' on the dance floor Sam
Hum a song, play some pong, eat a deviled egg
Temperature is rising, better pop another keg

Fifteen may get you twenty, but that's all right
'Cause they'll be rockin' and a rollin' on a Livingston Saturday Night

Pencil-Thin Mustache

Now they make new movies in old black and white
With happy endings, where nobody fights
So if you find yourself in that nostalgic rage
Honey, jump right up and show your age

I wish I had a pencil-thin mustache
the "Boston Blackie" kind
a two-toned Ricky Ricardo jacket
and an autographed picture of Andy Devine

Oh, I remember bein' buck-toothed and skinny
Writin' fan letters to Sky's niece Penny
Oh, I wish I had a pencil-thin mustache
then I could solve some mysteries too

Oh it's Bandstand, Disneyland, growin up fast
Drinkin' on a fake I.D.
And Ramar of the Jungle was everyone's bwana
But only jazz musicians were smokin' marijuana

Yeah, I wish I had a pencil-thin mustache
then I could solve some mysteries too

But then it's flat-top, dirty bop, coppin' a feel
grubbin on the living room floor (so sore)
They send you off to college
to try to gain a little knowledge
But all you want to do is learn how to score

Yeah, but now I'm gettin' old, don't wear underwear
I don't go to church, and I don't cut my hair
But I can go to movies and see it all there
Just the way that it used to be

That's why I wish I had a pencil-thin mustache
the "Boston Blackie" kind
a two-toned Ricky Ricardo jacket
And an autographed picture of Andy Devine

Oh, I could be anyone I wanted to be
Maybe suave Errol Flynn or the Sheik of Araby
If I only had a pencil-thin mustache
then I could do some cruisin' too

Yeah, Brylcreem, a little dab'll do yah
Oh, I could do some cruisin' too

Come Monday

Headin' up to San Francisco
for the Labor Day weekend show
I've got my hush-puppies on
I guess I never was meant for
glitter rock and roll
And honey I didn't know
that I'd be missin' you so

Come Monday, it'll be all right
Come Monday, I'll be holding you tight
I spent four lonely days in a brown L.A. haze
and I just want you back by my side

Yes it's been quite a summer
rental cars and west bound trains
And now you're off on vacation
somethin' you tried to explain
And darlin' I love you so
That's the reason I just let you go

[chorus]

I can't help it honey
You're that much a part of me now
Remember the night in Montana when
we said there'd be no room for doubt

I hope you're enjoyin' the scenery
I know that it's pretty up there
We can go hikin on Tuesday
with you I'd walk anywhere

California has worn me quite thin
I just can't wait to see you again

[chorus]