If We Couldn't Laugh, We Would All Go Insane
A Tribute to Jimmy Buffett
On Friday, September 1, 2023, James William Buffett lost his battle with skin cancer. He died at the old age of 76, surrounded by friends and family. He leaves behind a wife and three children, along with a billion-dollar brand and millions upon millions of adoring fans. Jimmy, together with his aptly named Coral Reefer Band, performed in over 50 recorded albums, earning him two Grammy Award nominations, two Academy of Country Music Awards, and a Country Music Association Award. The man was on tour for over 50 years and was still performing live as recently as May of this year. The carefree energy expressed by his legions of “Parrot Head” fans was unmatched. They regularly turned up for his concerts wearing toy parrots, cheeseburgers, shark fins, and flamingos on their heads, leis around their necks, and Hawaiian shirts — with beach balls being tossed in every direction. Buffett concerts were truly one of a kind.
Jimmy was born on Christmas Day, 1946, in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and was raised in the port city of Mobile, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and spent his early years playing six nights a week at clubs along Bourbon Street in New Orleans. On Valentine’s Day, 1977, he released his most legendary song, “Margaritaville,” which quickly took on a life of its own. It became the anthem for island life and Gulf Coast culture, reminding everyone to take in the small things and to leave the everyday hustle and bustle behind.
He’d later add a plethora of island life songs such as: “Volcano,” “Cheeseburger in Paradise,” “Come Monday,” “Boat Drinks,” “One Particular Harbor,” “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” and “A Pirate Looks at Forty.” A personal favorite of mine is “Fins”: the crowd would go wild, putting their hands above their heads in the shape of a shark fin and together moving from side to side, singing, “You got fins to the left, fins to the right \ And you’re the only bait in town.” Over the years, he’d partner up with the likes of Alan Jackson for the famous “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere,” Zac Brown Band for “Knee Deep,” and Kenny Chesney for “Gulf Coast Girl.” His mix of country, pop, folk, and rock incorporated instruments and tonalities found in Caribbean music, like steel drums (steelpans), in addition to trombones and pedal steel guitar.
There are many — including most music critics — who never really warmed to Buffett or his catalogue. But I suspect that this largely comes from a lack of understanding of what Gulf Coast culture is like. It’s difficult for a guy in the middle of a Nebraska corn field, a thousand miles away from the sea, to have the same level of appreciation for Jimmy’s music as someone in, say, Key West. Maybe it’s the “in no hurry” attitude, or the most pristine coastline on Earth, or the perfect weather. Maybe it’s the rich American boat and fishing culture (something you’ll find in the Great Lakes as well). I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that Hemingway spent so much of his time in the Florida Keys. There is something magical about that place that you can really only understand once you have been there. In a strange way, you’ll find a unique combination of Manifest Destiny and the American Dream wrapped up in the idea of a man taking it easy and enjoying the fruits of his labor. Sitting on your own little patch of coastline, watching the sun set over the blue sea, listening to the waves crash into the shore, drinking a cold beer, and enjoying the company of friends and family, with not a worry in the world. Can you really get more American than that?
Jimmy himself once commented on his music, stating: “It’s pure escapism, is all it is. I’m not the first one to do it, nor shall I probably be the last. But I think it’s really a part of the human condition that you’ve got to have some fun.” Perhaps this is best summed up in the lyrics of his song “Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes”: “If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.” Jimmy was fun. Jimmy was escapism. Yeah, it’s corny seeing a bunch of people decked out in goofy headwear singing along to simple songs at a lawn concert. Or hearing a totally off-key cover band singing his music in one of his chain “Margaritaville” restaurants. And it can be a little tiring hearing his music on repeat in every single tiki bar on the coast. But it’s all worth it to see people come together, strawberry margarita in hand, to dance on a beach until the sun sets. The world needs more wholesome fun right now.
Jimmy wasn’t a lyrical genius, his vocals weren’t great, and his instrumentation wasn’t revolutionary. But Jimmy Buffett was an archetype of a certain type of carefree island lifestyle as expressed in the American Gulf Coast, and mirrored in Great Lakes culture. A reminder for all of us to turn off our phones and take in the beauty of sunshine and good friends. Getting through the world with a level of amor fati and enjoying the simple things in life. And it is for this reason that he will be missed and remembered. So here’s to Jimmy, a man who had a love for life and brought joy to millions. Hopefully he’s “wastin’ away” in that Margaritaville in the Sky.
Life on the gulf really is just better. RIP Jimmy.