In Memory of Jimmy Buffett

It seems everyone in the islands knows Jimmy Buffett’s music. His hit song “Margaritaville” was the de facto National Anthem for many Caribbean Islands. He was known for his ‘Tropical Rock’ sound and his laid back persona. He often described his lifestyle as “island escapism.”    

Jimmy Buffett promoted the importance of enjoying life and the pursuit of happiness by indulging in one’s passions. He’s a hard character to forget. His rum-laced, laid-back philosophy on life, burned his brand into every coconut palm that sat along every lazy beach from the Virgin Islands to Trinidad and Tobago. 

So if you find yourself sitting alongside a quiet harbor, like the one in Christiansted, watching the sailboats bob and sway gently in the breeze, with nothing much on your mind, and your gaze transfixed out across the blue, blue, waters of the Caribbean sea, try letting one of his songs drift between your ears. See if you don’t catch a touch of Jimmy Buffett’s “island escapism” fever.

From his song “Margaritaville”:

     “Don’t know the reason 

      I stayed here all season

     Nothin’ to show but this brand new tattoo

     But it’s a real beauty, a Crucian cutie

     How it got there I haven’t a clue.

     Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville

     Searchin’ for that lost shaker of salt 

     Some people claim 

     there’s a woman to blame

     But I know, it’s nobody’s fault

    I blew out my flip-flop, 

    stepped on a pop top

    Cut my heel, had to cruise back 

    to my room 

    But there’s booze in the blender 

    and soon it will render

    That frozen concoction 

    that helps me hang on

    Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville

    Searchin’ for that lost shaker of salt

    Some people claim 

    there’s a woman to blame 

    But I know 

    it’s my own damn fault

    Thanks for charting 

    our course to the islands, Jimmy. 

    We’ll miss you. 

    But don’t worry

    We’ll keep the faith: 

    “Don’t Stop the Carnival”