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Jimmy Buffett

A1A

A1A Tracks

  1. Door Number Three
    Door Number Three A1A

    Oh I took a wrong turn, it was the right turn
    My turn to have me a ball
    Boys at the shop told me just where to stop
    If I wanted to play for it all
    I didn't know I'd find her on daytime TV
    My whole world lies waiting behind door number three

    I chose my apparel, wore a beer barrel
    And they rolled me to the very first row
    I held a big sign that said "Kiss me I'm a baker,
    and Monty I sure need the dough!"
    Then I grabbed that sucker by the throat
    Until he called on me
    Cause my whole world lies waiting behind door number three

    And I don't want what Jay's got on his table
    Or the box Carol Merrill points to on the floor
    No, I'll hold out just as long as I am able
    Until I can unlock that lucky door
    Well, she's no big deal to most folks
    But she's everything to me
    Cause my whole world lies waiting behind door number three

    Oh Monty, Monty, Monty, I am walking down your hall
    God be, I lost my seat but I'm not a man to crawl
    No I didn't get rich you son of a bitch
    I'll be back just wait and see
    Cause my whole world lies waiting behind door number three
    Yes my whole world lies waiting behind door number three

  2. Dallas
    Dallas A1A

    If you ever get the chance to go to Dallas
    Take it from me, pass it by
    Cause you'll only sing the blues down in Dallas
    Take it from me, don't go and cry

    Chorus
    And I'm leaving this town as soon as I can
    Gonna stop off for a while and see my woman

    People do you wrong down in Dallas
    I know well, they've done it to me
    Stealin' all your bread, they're so callous
    I know well, just look and see

    Chorus

    And people like me just can't be free
    The promo man won't let us us be
    If the people who knew could get away
    I'm real sure they'd leave today

    Now come on down and lose your mental balance
    Look at me, half crazy now
    Talkin' to chairs, strange and I know it
    Look at me I'm doin' in now

  3. Presents to Send You
    Presents to Send You A1A

    Well now I'm in love with a fast moving angel
    Dresses like the city girls do
    When we're apart there's no ache in my heart
    When we're together we're a hell of a crew

    Chorus
    And I got presents to send you
    Even got money to lend you
    But honey I could never ever pretend
    your not there on my mind

    There sits a fifth of tequila
    God I swore I'd never drink it again
    But my last little bout
    I had my hair pulled out by a man
    who wasn't really my friend
    And I know I'll never see him again

    Chorus

    Thought I might sail down to Bridgetown
    Spend some time in the Barbados sun
    But my plans took a skid when I smoked the whole lid
    And wound up where I'd begun

    Yes and... Chorus

  4. Stories We Could Tell
    Stories We Could Tell A1A

    Talkin' to myself again
    wonderin' if this traveling is good
    Is they're something else a doin'
    We'd be doin' if we could

    All the stories we could tell
    If it all blows up and goes to hell
    I wish that we could sit upon the bed in some hotel
    And listen to the stories we could tell

    Stared at that guitar in that museum in Tennessee
    Name plate on the glass brought back twenty melodies
    Scars upon the face told about all the times he fell
    Singin' all the stories he could tell

    All the stories he could tell
    And I bet you it still rings like a bell
    I wish that we could sit upon the bed in some hotel
    And listen to all the stories it could tell

    If your on the road trackin' down your every night
    Playin' for a livin' beneath the brightly colored lights
    If you ever wonder why you ride the carousel
    You do it for the stories you can tell

    All the stories we could tell
    And if it all blows up and goes to hell
    I wish that we could sit upon the bed in some hotel
    Just listen to the stories we could
    Yes I wish that we could sit upon a bed in some hotel
    And listen to the stories it could tell

  5. Life Is Just a Tire Swing
    Life is Just a Tire Swing
    A1A

    I remember the smell of the creosote plant,
    When we'd have to eat on Easter with my
    Crazy old uncle and aunt.
    They lived in a big house Antebellum style,
    And the wind would blow across the old bayou,
    And I was a tranquil little child.

    Life was just a tire swing.
    'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing.
    Blackberry pickin', eatin' fried chicken,
    And I never knew a thing about pain.
    Life was just a tire swing.

    In a few summers my folks packed me off to camp;
    Yeah, me and my cousin' Baxter
    In our pup tent with a lamp.
    And in a few days Baxter went home,
    And he left me by myself.
    And I knew that I'd stay, it was better that way,
    And I could get along without any help.
    Life was just a tire swing.

    And I've never been west of New Orleans
    Nor east of Pensacola.
    My only contact with the outside
    world was an RCA Victrola.
    Elvis would sing and then I'd dream about
    expensive cars, and who would've figured twenty
    years later I'd be rubbing shoulders with the stars.
    Life was just a tire swing.

    'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing.
    Chasin' after sparrows with rubber tip arrows,
    Knowin' I could never hurt a thing,
    And life was just a tire swing.

    Then the other morning on some Illinois road
    I fell asleep at the wheel,
    But was quickly wakened up by a 'Ma Bell'
    telephone pole, and a bunch of Grant Wood
    Faces screaming, 'Is he still alive?'
    But through the window could see
    it hangin' from a tree, and I knew
    I had survived.

    Life was just a tire swing.
    Jambalaya's still the best song that I can sing.
    Blackberry pickin', eatin' fried chicken,
    And I finally learned a lot about pain,
    'cause life is just a tire swing.

  6. A Pirate Looks at Forty
    A Pirate Looks at Forty A1A

    Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call,
    Wanted to sail upon your waters
    since I was three feet tall.
    You've seen it all, you've seen it all.

    Watch the men who rode you,
    Switch from sails to steam.
    And in your belly you hold the treasure
    that few have ever seen, most of them dreams,
    Most of them dreams.

    Yes, I am a pirate two hundred years too late.
    The cannons don't thunder there's nothin' to plunder
    I'm an over forty victim of fate
    Arriving too late, arriving too late.

    I've done a bit of smugglin'
    I've run my share of grass.
    I made enough money to buy Miami,
    But I pissed it away so fast,
    Never meant to last, never meant to last.

    I have been drunk now for over two weeks,
    I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks,
    But I've got to stop wishin',
    Got to go fishin', I'm down to rock bottom again.
    Just a few friends, just a few friends.

    Instrumental

    I go for younger women, lived with several awhile
    And though I ran away, they'll come back one day.
    And still could manage a smile
    It just takes awhile, just takes awhile.

    Mother, mother ocean, after all these years I've found
    My occupational hazard being my occupations
    just not around.
    I feel like I've drowned,
    Gonna head uptown.

  7. Migration
    MIGRATION
    Jimmy Buffett

    Lookin back at my background tryin' to
    figure out how I ever got here.
    Some things are still a mystery to me
    While others are much too clear.
    I'm just livin' in the sunshine,
    Stay contented most of the time.
    Yeah, listening to Murphy, Walker and Willie,
    Sing me their Texas rhymes.

    Now most of the people who retire in Florida
    are wrinkled and they lean on a crutch.
    And mobile homes are smotherin' my keys;
    Well I hate those bastards so much.
    I wish a summer squall would blow them
    all the way up to fantasy land.
    They're ugly and square, they don't belong here.
    They look a lot better as beer cans.

    Chorus
    Yeah, That's why it's still a mystery to me,
    Why some people live like they do.
    So many nice things happening out there,
    Never even seen the clues.
    Whoa, but we're doin' fine, we can travel and rhyme.
    I know we've been doing our part.
    Got a Caribbean soul I can barely control
    and some Texas hidden here in my heart.

    Well now, I might have joined the merchant marine,
    If I hadn't learned how to sing.
    And on top of that I got married too early,
    And it cost me much more than a ring.
    But those crazy days are over,
    You've just got to learn from
    the wrong things you've done.
    I came off the rebound, started looking around,
    Figured out it's time to have a little fun.

    Chorus
    Well now, if I ever live to be an old man,
    I'm gonna sail down to Martinique.
    I'm gonna buy me a sweat stained Bogart suit
    and an African parakeet.
    And then I'll sit him on my shoulder
    and open up my trusty old mind.
    I'm gonna teach him how to fuss,
    Teach him how to cuss,
    And pull the cork out of a bottle of wine.

    Chorus
    Yeah, I got a Caribbean soul I can barely control
    and some Texas hidden here in my heart.

  8. Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season
    Trying to Reason with the Hurricane Season
    A1A

    Squalls out on the Gulfstream,
    Big storms coming soon.
    I passed out in my hammock,
    God, I slept way past noon.
    Stood up and tried to focus,
    I hoped I wouldn't have to look far.
    I knew I could use a Bloody Mary,
    So I stumbled next door to the bar.

    Chorus
    And now I must confess,
    I could use some rest.
    I can't run at this pace very long.
    Yes, it's quite insane,
    I think it hurts my brain.
    But it cleans me out and then I can go on.

    There's something about this Sunday
    It's a most peculiar gray
    Strolling down the avenue
    That's known as A1A
    I was feeling tired, then I got inspired.
    And I knew that it wouldn't last long
    So all alone I walked back home, sat on my beach
    And then I made up this song.

    Chorus

    Well, the wind is blowin' harder now
    Fifty knots or there abouts,
    There's white caps on the ocean.
    And I'm watching for water spouts
    It's time to close the shutters
    It's time to go inside.
    In a week I'll be in gay Paris;
    That's a mighty long airplane ride.

    Chorus
    Yes, It cleans me out and then I can go on.

  9. Nautical Wheelers
    Nautical Wheelers
    A1A

    Nautical Wheelers who call themselves sailors
    Play fiddle tunes under the stars.
    Petticoats rustle, working shoes scuffle,
    Hustle on down to the bars.

    Where the jukebox is blastin'
    and the liquor is flowing
    an occasional bottle of wine.
    That's cause everyone here is just more than
    contented to be living and dying in three quarter time.

    Chorus
    And It's dance with me, dance with me
    Nautical Wheelers.
    Take me to stars that you know.
    Come on and dance with me,
    Nautical Wheelers
    I want so badly to go.

    Well the left foot it'll follow where the
    Right foot has traveled down to the
    Sidewalks unglued.
    And into the street of my city so neat,
    Where nobody cares what you do.
    And Sonja's just grinnin'
    And Phil is ecstatic and
    Mason has jumped in the sea.
    While I'm hangin' on to a line
    from my sailboat oh,
    Nautical Wheelers save me.

    Chorus

    Well the sunrise will bring on the
    sleep that's escaped us and
    everyone's off to their bed.
    There will be huggin' and sqeezin',
    a little pleasin' and teasin'
    and rubbin' of each others' head.
    So won't you dream on comrades;
    seems nothing affects you,
    nothing, no reason no rhyme.
    That's cause everyone here is just more than
    contented to be living and dying in three quarter time.

  10. Tin Cup Chalice
    Tin Cup Chalice A1A

    I want to go back to the island,
    Where the shrimp boats tie up to the pilin'.
    Give me oysters and beer for dinner every day of the year,
    And I'll feel fine, I'll feel fine.

    Chorus:
    'Cause I want to be there,
    I want to go back down and lie beside the sea there.
    With a tin cup for a chalice
    Fill it up with good red wine,
    And I'm-a chewin' on a honeysuckle vine.

    Yeah, now the sun goes slidin' 'cross the water;
    Sailboats, they go searchin' for the breeze.
    Salt air it ain't thin,
    It can stick right to your skin,
    And make you feel fine.
    It makes you feel fine.

    Repeat Chorus.

    Yes, and now you heard my strange proposal;
    Get that Packard up and let's move.
    I want to be there before the day
    Tries to steal away and leave us behind;
    I've made up my mind;

    Repeat Chorus

  11. Makin' Music for Money
    Makin' Music for MoneyA1A

    When I woke up this morning
    I was tired as I could be
    I think I was counting my money
    When I should have been counting sheep

    My agent he just called me
    and told me what I should be
    If I would make my music for money
    Instead of making music for me

    Chorus
    I said I know that this may sound funny
    But money don't mean nothin' to me
    I won't make my music for money, no
    I'm gonna make my music for me

    He said that people only buy the love songs.
    Rock and roll is not too long
    He said son you got to be commercial
    If you want to turn the people on.

    And I said turning on the people
    Now that's a beautiful place to be
    But if I spend my time makin' memorable rhyme
    Well who's gonna turn on me?

    Chorus

    Well now, I went up the country
    And I'll tell you all about the scene
    I found a place with much charm and much grace
    That was untouched by the music machine
    Well the people where havin' a good time
    Makin' music all day long
    And nobody cared if they ever got paid
    One penny for playin' a song