Somewhere Over China

Somewhere Over China Tracks

  1. I Heard I Was in Town
    I HEARD I WAS IN TOWN
    Jimmy Buffett & Michael Utley

    Came to see friends
    Walk old streets again
    Grab a bite and beer by the sea
    It caught my attention
    The old town has grown
    That's why I came alone

    But I've been treated well
    I raised all kinds of hell
    When a full tank was only a fin
    Ain't it quite funny how things turn around
    I heard I was in town

    I was a madman in a pickup truck
    So many years ago
    Changes have come like the storms of the season
    But time here still moves slow
    Passed the old joints
    My favorite haunts
    Where we'd stay for twelve or ten
    Ain't it quite funny word gets around
    I heard I was in town

    I was a madman in a pickup truck
    So many years ago
    Changes have come like the storms of the season
    But time here still moves slow

    Came to see friends
    Walk old streets again
    Maybe strike up a tune with the moon
    Don't it seem funny
    Word gets around
    I heard I was in town

  2. Somewhere over China
    SOMEWHERE OVER CHINA
    Jimmy Buffett

    Just a semi normal person
    Thought he had the future planned
    Then he won some silly sweepstakes
    Now he had a hundred grand
    Never stopped to think of taxes
    He was gone before they knew
    With a flair for old romantics
    To the Orient he flew

    When they fueled in Papeete
    Place a call to Big Mamou
    With an honest explanation
    Just to tell the whole damn truth
    It's his one chance in a million
    Who'd deny the simple fact
    Twas no use to talk it over
    He'd be home when he got back

    Chorus
    Now he's somewhere over China
    Lookin' down on all the trails
    On the mountains lookin' back at him
    It's a real live fairy tale
    Put a little distance
    Between causes and effects
    Like a day old fortune cookie
    Askin' who or what comes next

    What the hell did Marco Polo think
    When he ran into the wall
    Or the crazy flying tigers
    Doin' spins and loops and stalls
    Just a taste for something different
    Perking up a boring day
    Now our man from Louisiana
    Feels exactly the same way

    They're all somewhere over China
    Shanghai or old Peking
    On a plane or a boat in an envelope
    Real adventure has it's ring
    Just to put a little distance
    Between fact and fantasy
    Still six thousand miles away from
    where I really want to be
    How I would love to drive the shuttle
    Just to feel the engines roar
    And to operate the levers
    That control the payload doors
    I could buzz the Himalayas
    Barrel roll above Hong Kong
    Set her down in San Francisco
    To the clanging of the gong

    We're all somewhere over China
    Headin' east of headin' west
    Takin' time to live a little
    Flying so far from the nest
    Just to put a little distance
    Between causes and effects
    Like an ancient fortune teller
    Knowin' who and what comes next

  3. When Salome Plays the Drum
    WHEN SALOME PLAYS THE DRUM
    Jimmy Buffett

    When Salome plays the drum
    The crowd goes deaf and dumb
    Swept up by dark sensations

    Partially the heat
    More so it's the beat
    She moves in syncopation

    Gazelle on the run
    Skirts slit past her thigh
    The boys let out a sigh
    The beat begins to quicken
    Crowd ascends the stairs
    Climbin' on the chairs
    The plot begins to thicken
    Phasers on stun

    CHORUS

    Take them to the carnival
    Let them hear the conga
    Tonight the tempo feels so right
    Tomorrow may be wronga

    INSTRUMENATAL

    Gendarme close her down
    Make her leave the town
    She caught the flight to Rio
    With nothin' to say

    Wavin' from the plane
    Pours pink champagne
    She toasts her loyal trio
    It was a lucrative stay

    Oh won't you take them to the carnival
    Let them hear the conga
    Tonight the tempo feels right
    Tomorrow may be wronga

    Oh won't your take them to the carnival
    Let them play for hours
    Tonight the weather feels so right
    Tomorrow may be showers

  4. Lip Service
    LIP SERVICE
    Jimmy Buffett & Mike Utley

    Talk, talk, talk til your jowls turn blue
    But you never really tell me what you're gonna do
    You seem to keep it all locked up inside
    I can't help but start to thinkin'
    You've got something to hide
    Why the pain
    What's your game
    You're drivin' this boy insane
    Oooh what a voodoo nobody can do like you do

    You bitchin' and your cryin' finally got to me
    So I thought I'd take you, baby, on a shopping spree
    You bought a space age watch and an antique hat
    Hell, now it's digital this and digital that
    What a pain
    Silly games
    Still drivin' your man insane
    Oooh what a voodoo nobody can do like you do

    CHORUS

    Oh darlin', oh darlin'
    All I ever get is lip service from you
    Oh darlin' oh darlin' (I'm through)
    'Cause all I ever get is lip service from you

    INSTRUMENTAL

    So listen to me baby
    'gotta change your ways
    Or I'm off to Pascagoula ina few more days
    I'll leave you and your poodle and all the mess he makes
    Find some other fool to man your shovel and your take
    No more pain
    End of game

  5. If I Could Just Get It on Paper
    IF I COULD JUST GET IT ON PAPER
    Jimmy Buffett

    If I could just get it on paper
    The things that have happened tonight
    But that seems to me to be the big key
    I'm havin' too good a time to ever turn
    Out the lights.

    Go to bed wake up with a clear head
    Recalling what made it a ball
    If I could just get it on paper
    I might make some sense of it all

    If I could tell half of the stories
    The funny way most things begin
    Figure ways to disguise all the half truths and lies
    Find the heart of my song with the point of a pen
    Simple words can be come clever phrases
    And chapters could turn into books
    Yes if I could just get it on paper
    But it's harder than it ever looks.

    INSTRUMENTAL

    All alone in the edge of the water
    Hidin' out by the Sea of Cortez
    With my sketch pads and Flairs
    Tapes and battery spares

    It's just no comprehendo to what everyone says

    Time alone seemed to work well for Faulkner
    Time away seems to work for the kid
    Life and ink they run out at the same time
    Or so said my old friend the squid

    Yes if I could just get it on paper tonight
    I could tell you what I think I did.

  6. Steamer
    STEAMER
    John Scott Sherrill

    I remember that steamer
    The time you set sail
    The crowd was steamin', streamin' and leanin' on the rail
    Then the big whistle blew
    And I lost my place
    Next thing I knew
    I could not find your face

    I can see myself dreamin'
    The time you came home
    Your face was beamin', seemin'
    To stand out alone

    The dinner bell chimed
    And I found my seat
    When your eyes met mine
    Your smile was so sweet

    INSTRUMENTAL

    I remember that river
    First time we made love
    Oh I still kinda shiver a little
    At what I'm thinkin' of
    How your dress it just floated
    All down around your knees
    And I held my breath my God, my girl

    INSTRUMENTAL

    But most of all it's that steamer
    The time you set sail
    And the crowds always steamin', streamin' and
    Leanin' on the rail
    Then the big whistle blows
    And I always lose my place
    Next thing I know
    I cannot find your face

  7. Where's the Party
    WHERE'S THE PARTY
    Jimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman, B.LaBounty

    Every night the stars come out to light another town
    Just because I'm lonely doesn't mean that gets me down
    I cruise the local drive-in watching lovers holding hands
    Like movie stills of Coupe de Villes and Japanese sedans

    Chorus
    Where's the party?
    Where's the party?
    Everybody I know say they expect me to go to the party

    Sometimes I wish the radio would learn another song
    I'd stay at home and watch TV if there was something on
    But why should I get all dressed up when there's no place
    to go
    Still everybody looks at me as if they think I know

    Chorus
    Everybody I see say they expect to see me at the party

    I could stay here all night long
    Wait for her to call
    Or I could put my walkman on
    And never care at all
    Still every night the stars come out to light
    another town
    Just because I'm lonely doesn't mean that gets me down

    Chorus
    Everybody I know say they expect her to show at the party

  8. It's Midnight and I'm Not Famous Yet
    IT'S MIDNIGHT AND I'M NOT FAMOUS YET
    Jimmy Buffett & Steve Goodman

    Catch the elevator from the penthouse suite
    And take it down to the casino
    The God almighty sound of money movin' round
    Can be heard all the way to Reno

    Chorus
    Well it's midnight and I'm not famous yet
    Tryin' to win it all with one more bet
    Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
    Or my ten dollar yo-yo-yo
    It's midnight and I'm just gettin' ready to go
    Lester Polyester signs another marker
    Like the high rollers do
    Seven come eleven
    His brand new baby needs Gucci shoes
    Well it's midnight and she's not famous yet

    Tryin' to break the bank with one more bet
    Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
    Or my ten dollar yo-yo-yo
    It's midnight and Lester's gettin' ready to roll

    Instrumental

    They're pagin' someone we know
    Lester hits a Keno
    he's not leavin' yet
    Vacuum cleaners hummin'lounge act still is strummin'
    It's their twenty fourth set
    Well it's midnight and they're not famous yet
    Tryin' to win with one last bet
    Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
    Or my ten dollar yo-yo-yo
    It's midnight got nowhere to go

  9. On a Slow Boat to China
    ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA
    Frank Loesser

    I'd love to get you
    On a slow boat to China
    All to myself alone

    Get you and keep you
    In my arms ever more
    Leave all your lovers
    Weepin' on a far away shore

    Out on the briny
    With the moon big and shiny
    Melting your heart of stone
    Honey I'd love to get you
    On a slow boat to China
    All by myself alone

    INSTRUMENTAL

    I'd love to get ya
    On a slow boat to China
    All to myself alone
    A twist in the rudder
    And a rip in the sails
    Drifting and dreamin'
    Honey throw the compass over the rail

    Out on the ocean
    Far from all the commotion
    Melting your heart of stone
    Honey I'd love to get you
    On a slow boat to China
    All to myself alone.