Summer Deep Dive: Jimmy Buffett's “Margaritaville” and "Come Monday"

It Is a Rare Artist Who Can Move People So Deeply

It’s been a year since Jimmy Buffett passed away on September 1, 2023. His music meant a lot to many people.

Margaritaville

Buffett’s biggest hit was, of course, Margaritaville (1977), a Caribbean idyll classic. You may know a “parrot head,” usually a middle-aged suburbanite who found joy and meaning in its fantasy of abandoning the corporate grind, slathering yourself in oil, and reclining on sun soaked beaches.

Indeed, the song has an additional verse, which Buffett occasionally added in performance (I wager the tune is now playing in your head):

Old men in tank tops,

Cruisin' the gift shops,

Checkin' out chiquitas, down by the shore.

They dream about weight loss,

Wish they could be their own boss,

Those three-day vacations can be (or "become") such a bore .

Jimmy Buffett at Woodland Studios, Nashville, June 25, 1974. Photo by Jimmy Ellis, © The Tennessean. Media Room recently published a review of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ recently released ‘Woodland’ album, the title of which refers to the historic studio in which Buffett appears in the image above and which Rawlings saved from destruction. Click here.

Come Monday

My preferred Buffett is the early Buffett, following his 1971 move to Key West. He spent his days on fishing boats and nights playing for drinks and honing his songwriting skills. His 1974 album Living and Dying in 3/4 Time generated his first hit, “Come Monday,” my favorite Buffett song.

Listen to his vocal clarity as he sings each verse. The lyrics are clear and comfortably in his vocal range; he never strains. Even as the music crescendos leading into the chorus, Buffet never over-sings.

It is a storyteller’s trick. Never raise your voice and your audience will strain to hear.

The melody is a gentle slope, rising and falling in A Major, 4/4 time, at 112 beats per minute (bpm).

triplet

In the chorus Buffett builds musical tension as he sings “holding you tight” (the only triplet in the song) and releases it after; picture a dancer gracefully ascending the stairs, performing a twirl and then gently descending.

Swifties and Parrot Heads

It is a rare artist who can move people so deeply that they publicly embrace the music as part of their personal identity. It is rarer still to have such fans create a tribe who find collective meaning and gather in celebration.

The closest contemporary analogue is Taylor Swift about whom I wrote in this space one year ago:

Given the palpable joy I saw in the audience during 2023’s monumental “Eras” tour, Taylor Swift fans recreated the arena rock experience without the clouds of marijuana-tinged body odor and undercurrent of sexual violence.

I don’t know for sure. I couldn’t get a ticket.

For me it was Buffett’s ability as a musical storyteller that made him great. His relaxed, low-energy sound is the result of complex musicianship and anything but easy to achieve.