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.
“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.
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.
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.
Stepped on a pop top, not slipped.
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.
Crap.
You’ve got to admit, though, that PopTart is infinitely better. The kind with the strawberry frosting and sprinkles.
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!
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
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
“Sweet Caroline” is a pretty upbeat love song, too.
Cracklin’ Rosie is actually about his love of hard core pornography according to SNL. 
(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.
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.
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.