# About Jimmy Buffet's "Margaritaville" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 3, 2011, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416 "2011-10-03T07:30:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/21 "2011-10-04T12:21:47Z")
_Mother mother ocean, after all the years I’ve found my occupational hazard being my occupation’s just not around Feel like I’ve drowned_ Not depressing at all. More insightful and wistful, sure. But depressing? Nah. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/22 "2011-10-04T13:35:55Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Not depressing at all. More insightful and wistful, sure. But depressing? Nah. “I have been drunk now for over two weeks I’ve passed out and I’ve rallied and I’ve sprung a few leaks But I’ve got to stop wishing, got to go fishing I’m down to rock bottom again.” Yeah, that’s not depressing. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/23 "2011-10-04T13:41:55Z")
Where did the “I’m” come from? The lyrics on the CD sleeve say “Down to rock bottom again,” not “I’m down…” And the next line is “Just a few friends, just a few friends.” He’s going fishing with a couple of buddies to get his mind off his troubles. Wistful. Depressing is a song by Neil Diamond. Any song. ---
**Author:** ![well\_he\_s\_back](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3ab097/32.png) [@well\_he\_s\_back](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/well_he_s_back)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/24 "2011-10-04T13:47:33Z")
enjoyable thread here. my favorite Buffet song lyrically is “He Went to Paris”. can always get me teary. Funniest is a tie between “Pencil thin Moustache” & “Get Drunk & Screw” as I mentioned previously, he’s under-rated as a songwriter. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/25 "2011-10-04T13:48:23Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Oh, and for years, I thought that he’d slipped on a PopTart, not a pop top. _Stepped_ on a pop top, not slipped. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/26 "2011-10-04T14:28:55Z")
Another little bit of technology that has gone away, rendering a lyric opaque to future generations. 😃 I’ve been a fan of Jimmy’s since _A White Sports Coat and a Pink Crustacean_. A friend of mine told me I had to check out this singer he knew. His next-door neighbor in Key West, in fact. I remember when the Coral Reefer Band was just Jimmy and Fingers. Good times. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/27 "2011-10-04T15:03:20Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > _Stepped_ on a pop top, not slipped. Crap. You’ve got to admit, though, that PopTart is infinitely better. The kind with the strawberry frosting and sprinkles. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Girlfriend](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.girlfriend/32/193_2.png) [@Dr.Girlfriend](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Girlfriend)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2011, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/28 "2011-10-04T15:39:11Z")
> [@campp](#): > > The phrase “Lost shaker of salt” has always bothered me, even though I know he was just shoehorning a rhyme in the lyrics. This is one of my misheard lyrics too. For a long time I thought it was “olives, shaker, and salt.” I can understand needing the shaker and salt, but who puts olives in a margarita? Yuk! ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/29 "2011-10-05T05:50:03Z")
> [@Dr.Girlfriend](#): > > This is one of my misheard lyrics too. For a long time I thought it was “olives, shaker, and salt.” I can understand needing the shaker and salt, but who puts olives in a margarita? Yuk! Why, Olive, the Other Reindeer, of course! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/30 "2011-10-05T14:14:25Z")
Great song. A classic. The sad-sack lyrics certainly undercut the bubbly melody. It’s referenced in Alan Jackson’s song “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere,” BTW, in which Buffett makes a cameo appearance: [http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/it’s-5-o’clock-somewhere-lyrics-alan-jackson/9c8071a31340ce1848256d590006e2e3](http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/it's-5-o'clock-somewhere-lyrics-alan-jackson/9c8071a31340ce1848256d590006e2e3) ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/31 "2011-10-05T14:38:05Z")
> [@Gary\_T](#): > > Not eating right (living on spongecake), pining for a woman, living aimlessly (don’t know the reason etc.), got so drunk he can’t remember getting tattooed, turns to booze to ease pains big (the woman) and small (cut heel). > [@Gary\_T](#): > > _Stepped_ on a pop top, not slipped. Well, he is also bringing some shrimp to the boil … so he’s not just eating spongecake. he’s not pining for just one women, he’s known several “Cuties”, and he blew out his flip-flop, stepped on a pop top and broke his leg twice, for which he is rendering a frozen cure to help him hold on. Sounds like a typical Florida beach bum’s life, I’m not of the opinion that he is pining for a woman, he’s got several… more of a carefree womanizer… not dark, or depressing, just a day in the life of a beach town. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/32 "2011-10-05T14:50:09Z")
Don’t know if he’s" living aimlessly" either, he’s just “been there all season”, and I think reason rhymes with season and well, “Magaritaville” probably has a tourist season. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/33 "2011-10-05T14:58:19Z")
If being a musician in “margaritaville” during tourist season is living aimlessly and without reason, well, then, yea… I guess so. It sounds autobiographical to me. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/34 "2011-10-05T17:39:28Z")
Alternate version from the Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays album: Nibblin’ on sponge cake Watchin’ the sun bake All of you parrotheads covered with oil (and feathers and signs and fins) Strummin’ my six-string On my front porch swing Smell those shrimp, hey they’re beginnin’ to boil (Bubble, bubble, bubble, bubble) Chorus: Wasted away again in Margaritaville Searching for my lost shaker of salt (Salt! Salt! Salt!) Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame And I know this is somebody’s fault I don’t know the reason I stayed here all season With nothin’ to show but that brand new tattoo (Hell yes it hurts!) But it’s a real beauty Oh, I think she might be a Nantucket cutie Or maybe she’s from the Vineyard, I haven’t got a clue Chorus: Wasted away again in Margaritaville Searchin’ for my lost shaker of salt (Salt! Salt! Salt!) Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame (I agree with that) And I know, it’s all you women’s fault Old men in tanktops Cruising the giftshops (It’s the lost verse!) Checkin’ out Chiquitas down by the shore (I found her! I found her!) They dream about weightloss Wish they could be their own boss Those three day vacations become such a bore I blew out my flip-flop Stepped on a pop-top I broke my leg twice I had to limp on back home But there’s booze in the blender And soon it will render That frozen concoction that helps me hang on (Hang on! Hang on! Hang on!) Wasted away again in Margaritaville (That’s where this ship is headed) Searching for my lost shaker of salt (Salt! Salt! Salt!) Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame But I know it’s my own damn fault (That’s what the therapist said) Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame There always is and I know It’s my own damn fault ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/35 "2011-10-05T17:40:28Z")
Jimmy himself says it best: _Now don’t get me wrong This is not a sad song Just events that I have happened to witness And time takes its toll as we head for the poll And no one dies from physical fitness So what the hell, we’ll take right to the end As the days get more complicated the nightlife still wins._ ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/36 "2011-10-05T20:09:59Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Wistful. Depressing is a song by Neil Diamond. Any song. Cracklin’ Rosie: A guy’s visiting a hooker and gonna have sex with her. He’s happy and excited.\* Brother Love’s Travelin’ Salvation Show–a joyful celebration of Gospel music. To name two. \*Or it’s a type of booze he loves to drink. (Cracklin’ Rosé–geddit?) This is the explanation he gives. I don’t buy it. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/37 "2011-10-05T20:13:21Z")
“Sweet Caroline” is a pretty upbeat love song, too. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/38 "2011-10-05T20:41:14Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Cracklin’ Rosie: A guy’s visiting a hooker and gonna have sex with her. He’s happy and excited.\* _Cracklin’ Rosie_ is actually about his love of hard core pornography [according to SNL](http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x692ix_neil-diamond-storytellers_fun). 😃 (Great impression by Will Ferrell BTW and I’m not even that much of a fan.) Also, apparently _America_ is about his deep hatred of immigrants: _On the boats and on the planes They’re coming to America! Never looking back again They’re coming to America!_ Twisting it into an anti immigration warning was genius. I hope real Neil has a sense of humor. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/39 "2011-10-05T21:17:44Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Cracklin’ Rosie: A guy’s visiting a hooker and gonna have sex with her. He’s happy and excited.\* > > \*Or it’s a type of booze he loves to drink. (Cracklin’ Rosé–geddit?) This is the explanation he gives. I don’t buy it. What’s so hard to believe? Irish Rose is about the cheapest wine there is. If a guy is broke and can’t find a woman, he can always get a “date” with Rosie (who’s literally “store-bought”), and spend a few pleasant hours getting plastered. Remember, Neil sings that he and Rosie have all night. A hooker won’t give you all night, she’ll give you 15 minutes! But you can make a bottle last a lot longer. Of course, Jackson Browne’s “Rosie” was about something else entirely… but it’s ANOTHER cheap way to have fun if you can’t get a date. ---
**Author:** ![Arkcon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Arkcon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arkcon)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2011, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416/40 "2011-10-05T21:42:31Z")
I always assumed “lost shaker of salt” was a metaphor for “lost person who would complete him” He must have plenty of “loose” salt for rimming his glasses. (Make whatever metaphor you want out of that.:eek:) Otherwise, they wouldn’t be margaritas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/about-jimmy-buffets-margaritaville/598416.md?page=3)