The Best Jimmy Buffett Lyrics? Find that Caribbean Island Vibe!

It is no secret that Jimmy Buffett lyrics inspired my desire to visit the Caribbean islands for the first time.



His lyrics continue to both inspire me and allow me to escape the daily grind. How do they do this? Well, that is an easy question to answer. Let's take a moment to look at a few of my favorite Jimmy Buffett lyrics and talk about what they mean to me when I hear them.

Some of the lyrics are light and funny and just allow me to relax, while others have a deeper meaning to me and my own unique philosophy… let's call it my "trop-osphy."

One other note, some of the lyrics below may actually be written by someone else, but came into my sphere of experience through a Jimmy Buffett cover.

Mmm... Margarita Courtesy of anaulin Some Rights Reserved

1. "And I have been drunk now for over two weeks, I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks."
   A Pirate Looks at Forty

   This is one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett lyrics because it reminds me of my visits to the Caribbean islands and being relaxed and keeping a near perpetual buzz while there. While I cannot say that I have ever been drunk for 2 weeks, five or six days of feeling good is not a stretch. The double entendre of "sprung a few leaks" makes me smile every time I hear it.

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2. "I blew out my flip flop, stepped on a pop-top, cut my heel, had to cruise on back home."
   Margaritaville

   It is the word "cruise" that makes this lyric for me. It gives me a image of everything being good (or "ire" as they say in Jamaica), even though the flip has flopped and his heel is injured.

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3. "Show me yours and I'll show you mine,
   Take me back to days full of monkeyshines,
   Bouncin' on a bubble full of trouble in the summer sun,
   Keep your raft from the riverboat,
   Fiction over fact always has my vote,
   And wrinkles only go where the smiles have been.
   

   Barefoot children in the rain,
   Got no need to explain."
   Barefoot Children in the Rain, second verse (end) and chorus (beginning).

   This song, and particularly these Jimmy Buffett lyrics, simultaneously remind me of my beautiful son and myself as I grow older. He definitely has plenty of "monkeyshine" antics, and he adds to his repertoire daily. He loves to be out in the sun, just like his daddy.

   At the same time, as I get older, I start to see where the wrinkles will be, and it is true, they seem to want to be around the places that wrinkle up when I smile. As for those smiles, other than watching my barefoot child in the rain, I still prefer a good story that has plenty of embellishments over the straight truth!

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4. "Fun tickets in my pocket,
   visions in my brain,
   Grandfather always told me if I went down,
   I might never come back again.
   …
   It was my first look.
   Baby that's all it took.
   Was my first look,
   Around."
   First Look, first verse (beginning) and chorus.

   There is probably not a better description of my first trip to the Caribbean. It was on a cruise ship, so we had a "breadth" of Caribbean islands experience, but not depth. Even so, I was hooked, and now it is a few times a year to various islands for a deeper look around.

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5. "Played a song I'd never heard, poignant and absurd, to this day it leaves me wondering"
   Blue Guitar

   This line summarizes my discovery of Jimmy Buffett. For those that really know his music, he can be both poignant and absurd all at the same time. His lyrics often have a dual meaning, one to make you laugh and relax, and one to make you think and reflect.

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6. The days drift by,
   They don't have names...
   I Have Found Me a Home

   This is so very true. Spending time lying in the sand, listening to the clear blue water kissing the shore, sipping on a good good rum and Coke or margarita, it makes the minutes, hours and days loose all context. As you drift into "island time," it is easy to lose track of the days. I have asked more than once while visiting the Caribbean islands, "What day is this?"

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7. I want to go back to the island...
   Tin Cup Chalice

   This Jimmy Buffett lyric pretty much sums up the theme of nearly every single day that I am not in the Caribbean, but back at my desk job. "I want to go back to the island."

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I guess an easy way to explain it is to say that the more I listen to the best Jimmy Buffett lyrics, the more I hear!

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