Mother, Mother Ocean, I have heard you call.
Rest in peace, Jimmy Buffet. This loss hits hard. Few performers or creators affect who I am to the level Jimmy Buffet does. From day one of being introduced to his music as a kid in the 1970s to streaming Margaritaville Radio on the road. His book, A Pirate Looks at Fifty, is a fantastic read. If you’ve never heard his 1994 release, Fruitcakes, you need to run and find it now. It’s one of his best and his cover of the Grateful Dead’s Uncle John’s Band is magnificent (It was a standard inclusion on the burn CDs we’d play during summer conditioning back in the day.)
I don’t know what else to say except to attempt to express an appreciation for his work. He will be missed but leaves us with a full bucket of words, music, and reminders to relax and enjoy life.
Come Monday it will be alright…
I sure hope so.
Thank you, Jimmy, for a lifetime of entertainment.
A Pirate Looks at 40
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
Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam
And in your belly, you hold the treasures few have ever seen
Most of ’em dream, most of ’em dream
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
And I have been drunk now for over two weeks
I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks
But I got to stop wishin’, got to go fishin’
Down to rock bottom again
Just a few friends, just a few friends
I go for younger women, lived with several awhile
Though I ran ’em away, they’d come back one day
Still could manage to smile
Just takes a while, just takes a while
Mother, mother ocean, after all the years I’ve found
My occupational hazard being my occupation’s just not around
I feel like I’ve drowned, gonna head uptown
I feel like I’ve drowned, gonna head uptown
THE COACH HAYS 