+Banana Wind+

Lyrics

Only Time Will Tell
Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett, Music by Buffett, Kunkel, Guth, P. Mayer & J. Mayer
Scales and clocks just can't be trusted
Keys and locks are destined to be busted
Metaphors were never made for keeping score
And I'm feeling for the sound of time

Is it the answer or just a suggestion
Is love what we truly want or merely a protection
Is this music made to last or crumble like a shell
Is there heaven here on earth or is this really hell?

(Chorus):
Only time will tell if I am right or I am wrong
Only time will tell, is there a message in this song?
Will it eve make sense, will it ever ring a bell?
Only time willl tell.

Are we destined to be ruled by a bunch of old wite men
Who compare the world to football and are programmedd to defend
I'd like to try a princesss or a non-terrestrial
Who is neither boat nor bashful
Is there really such a girl

Chorus
Only time will tell,....

I woke up this morning feeling absolutely grand
For nearly half a century I'vve been singing in a band
I'd like to think Ill make it to two thousand and one
Will the party be at my house?
God, I wonder who will come...

Chorus2.

Jamaica Mistaica
Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
Music by Buffett, Kunkel, Guth, P. Mayer, J. Mayer
Some folks say that I've got the perfect life
Three swell kids, lots of toys and a lovely wife
I fly, I sail, I throw caution to the wind
Drift like a stratus cloud above the Caribbean

But every now and then, the dragons come to call
Just when you least expect it you'll be dodgin' cannonballs
I've seen too much not to stay in touch
With a world full of love and luck
I've got a big suspicion 'bout ammunition
I never forget to duck

(Chorus):
Come back, come back back to Jamaica
Don't chu know we made a big mistaica
We'd be so sad if you told us good-bye
And we promise not to shoot you out of the sky

It was a beautiful day, the kind you want to toast
We were tree top flyin' movin' west along the coast
Then we landed in the water, just about my favorite thrill
When some asshole started firing as we taxied to Negril

Just about to lose my temper as I endeavored to explain
We had only come for chicken we were not a ganja plane
Well, you should havve seen their faces when they finally realized
We were not some coked up cowboy soprting guns and alibis
(Chorus)
They shot from the lightghouse, they shot from highway
They shot from the top of the cliff, they had all gone haywire
We're catchin' fire, and there wasn't even a spliff

Well, the word got out all over the island
Friends, strangers, they were all apologizin'
Some thought me crazy foe being way too nice
But it's just another shitty day in paradise
(Chorus)

School Boy Heart Jimmy Buffett & Matt Betton
I got a school boy heart, a novelist eye
Stout sailor's legs and a license to fly
I came with nomad feet and some wandering toes
That walk up my longboard and hang off the nose

I suppose the need to focus never arose
So something like a Swiss Army knife, that's my life
Frankenstein had nothing on this body of mine
The villagers still flockin' to see, to see me
Breakin' free, breakin' free

"Cause I got a school boy heart, novelist eye
Stout sailor's legs and a license to fly
I got a bartender ear and a beachcomber style
Piratical nerve and a vaudevillian style

I-yi-yi-yi-yi, i-yi-yi-yi-yi

I suspect I died in some cosmic shipwreck
With all hands spread all over the deck,--what the heck.
Then some kind of unseen and unscrupulous mind
Began to pick up what he could find, added ice
Shook me twice, rolled the dice

Now I got a school boy heart, a novelist eye
Stout sailor's legs and a license to fly
I got a native tongue from way down south
It sits in the cheek of my Gulf coastal mouth

I got a school boy heart, a novelist eye
Stout sailor's legs and a license to fly
I came with nomad feet and some wandereing toes
That glide up my longboard and hang off the nose

I-yi-yi-yi-yi, i-yi-yi-yi-yi,........

Holiday
Lyrics & music by Jimmy Buffett, Ralph MacDonald & Rob Eaton, and William Salter
The weather channel girl with her perfect weather curl
Is talking "Cold, cold, cold"
You can't get out of bed
You can't remember what you've said
You're feelong old, old, old

Is it a fever or depression, anger or aggression
What's the remedy?
We're not talking rocket science
The answer to your question's
Very plain to see

(Chorus)
You need a holiday, take a holiday
Find a far-off wonderland
Where you might regain command of your life today
Take a hliday, you need a holiday
Grab a pack and hit the trail
Take a sail and wind up in some moonlit bay

You're caught in the Internet
You think it's such a great asset
You're wrong , wrong, wrong
All that fiber optic gear
Still cannot take away the fear
Like and island song

Disregard confession, stop trying to make impressions
On your corporate climb
It might come as quite a shock
But you can't really own that rock
It's just a waste of time.

So, take a holiday, take a hiliday
Find a place to find yourself
Take your life sown off that shelf
Quit acting so blase
Take a holiday, you need a holiday
grag a pack and hit the trail
Take a sail and wind on some moonlit bay

Well, it's only up to you, no one else can teach you to
Go out and have some fun
Though, if you want to stay alive
Evade the big nose dive
Be a comedian

And take a holiday, you need a holiday
Find a far-off wonderland
Where you might regain command of your life today
Take a holiday, you need a holiday
Grab a pack and hit the trail
Take a sail and wind up in some moonlit bay

You need a holiday, take a holiday
Find a place to find yourself
Take your life down off that shelf
Wuit acting so blase
Take a holiday, you need a holiday
Grab a pack and hit the trail
Take a sail and wind up in some moonlit bay

Bob Robert's Society Band
Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
Music by Amy Lee
Well, you heard about the alligators sleepin' in the shade
Ya heard about the sugar barons srewin' up the Glades
It's a melting pot existence that is hard to contemplate
And a never-ending battle in the Sunshine State

But far far away from the front page news
Far far away from the headline blues
Down a secondary road that severely shows its age
The forties comes to life on a make-shift stage

(Chorus)
It's the Bob Robert's Society Band
Playing every Sunday at the Orange Grove Stand
They don't play grunge and they don't play loud
It's the magic of the music that still draws a crowd

Well, the word goes out from Melbourne to the Keys
The faithful get the message like it's written on the breeze
Young folks, old folks about to cut a rug
Fox trot, bunny hop, do the jitterbug

(Chorus)

I saw mini vans from Boca and busses from Perrine
There were people speaking Hindu in the bar-b-que line
A couple on their honeymoon looked a bit confused
But the boys in the band put them fight in the mood.

A lady dressed in purple started dancing all alone
Then she sauntered oh so gently to the vacant microphone
She sounded like she's someone and never missed a beat
By the time the number ended they were dancin' in the street

They'd died and gone to heaven, that lively little crowd
Trombones and saxophone sent them through the clouds
It could gave gone all night but the party had to stop
When they blew the circuit breaker in the souvenir shop

(Chorus)

Overkill
Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
Music by Buffett, Kunkel, Guth, P. Mayer & J. Mayer
Legal problems gettin' thick and hazy
Look at the people gettin' rich and crazy
Locked up in mansions on the top of a hill
Someone needs to tell them 'bout overkill

(Chorus)
Overkill, overkill
Such a megalo modern problematic ill
Climb too fast and shove too hard
You'll be pushin' up the daisies in the old bone yard
Ah,...ah, ah,...ah

I went fond the truth in th Himilayas
Bundled up half-frozen munchin' Milky Way-as
Found a shaman in a diaper with a poppy pot
When I asked if he was cold he said, "I just think hot."

(Chorus)

Minor rap breakdown bridge
Out in Hollywood, the paper money rolls
They feed their egos, instead of their souls
A million here, a million there, a mindless coprporate dance
Get paid for fuckin' off, in the soulth of France
They don't do the shoes, but they act like the stars
They fly atround in G4's and suck on big cigars
It ain't about the talent, it ain't about the skill
It's all about the silly stupid horseshit deal

(Chorus)

I got no corporate gig, I got no guru
I don't own the ocean fron in Honolulu
You write the big checks, but I pay your bills
Now someone's got to tell you 'bout overkill

(Chorus)

Desdemona's Building a Rocket Ship
Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
Music by Buffett, Kunkel, Guth, P. Mayer & J. Mayer
(Chorus)
Desdemona's building a rocket ship, Desdemona's going away
Desdemona's building a rocket ship, blasting off today
She's got a passion for cookies, a crew full of rookies
It's gonna be a helluva blow
Desdemona's building a rocket ship , and I've got to go

A woman on a mission, quite familiar with quasars
Her heart is in the kitchen but her soul is in the stars
Crystal clear on logic but short on expertise
This is a very ancient puzzle, she feels herself a piece

(Chorus)
Desdemona's building a rocket ship, Desdemona's going away
Desdemona's building a rocket ship, blasting off today
She's got a passion for cookies, a crew full of rookies
It's gonna be a helluva blow
Desdemona's building a rocket ship
Guess I've got to go

She was down in Puerto Rico, doin'a a scientist
True, he was no geek though she was taken with his kiss
It was under a giant telescope where she heard the calling voice
It came screaming through the light years, she never had a choice

Pleiades callin' her home
Seven Sisters, she hears her distant Sisters
Pleiades callin' me home
Seven Sisters, she hears her Seven Sisters

Pleiades callin' her home
Seven Sisters, she hears her distant Sisters
Pleiades callin' me home
Seven Sisters, she hears her Seven Sisters

A woman on a mission, quite familiar with quasars
Her heart is in the kitchen but her soul is in the stars
Her engines fuel with logic and navigation expertise
It's very distant puzzle, she's gonna get her piece

Desdemona's building a rocket ship, Desdemona's going away
Desdemona's building a rocket ship, blasting off today
She's got a passion for cookies, a crew full of rookies
It's gonna be a helluva blow
Desdemona's building a rocket ship , I've just got to go

Seven Sisters
Seven Sisters, she hears her distant Sisters
Seven Sisters, she hears her Seven Sisters

Pleiades callin' her home
Seven Sisters, she hears her distant Sisters
Pleiades callin' me home
Seven Sisters, she hears her Seven Sisters
Pleiades callin' her home
Seven Sisters, she hears her distant Sisters
Pleiades callin' me home

Mental Floss
Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
Music by Buffett, Kunkel, Guth, P.Mayer & J. Mayer
I'd like to be a jellyfish
'Cause jellyfish don't pay rent
They don't walk and they don't talk
With some Euro-trash accent
They're just simple protoplasm
Clear as cellophane
They ride the winds of fortune
Life without a brain

(Chorus)
In one ear and out the other
Don't you get criss-crossed
I recommend you try a little
Mental floss

It's the small, small problems
That keep me so upset
And send me seeking shelter
Beneath my mosquito net

I stay there for hours
Protected from the night
All those insects and vipers
And other things that bite

(Chorus)

I'd like to be a jellyfish
'Cause jellyfish don't pay rent
They don't walk and they don't talk
With some Euro-trash accent
They're just simple protoplasm
Clear as cellophane
They ride the winds of fortune
Life without a brain

(Chorus)
In one ear and out the other
Don't you get criss-crossed
I recommend you try a little
Mental floss

Cultural Infidel
Lyrics by Jimmy Buffett
Music by Buffett, Kunkel, Guth, P. Mayer, J. Mayer
I'm a cultural infidel, painting in the dark
I'm a cultural infidel, singing in the park
Socrates, hypothesis, the music of Mozart
I'm a cultural infidel, coming from the heart

Free thinkin', hoodwinkin', unblinkin' man
Start trouble, burst bubbles, join my caravan
Someone's got to talk about accountability
Someone's got to raise some hell, I guess it could be me

I'm a cultural infidel trying to draw a crowd
I'm a cultural infidel, singing right out loud
Philosophy is not for me, laughing is my game
I'm a cultural infidel, slap me with the blame

Loose cannon, Armageddon, preachers at the door
Spittin' poison at the boys 'n girls on da dnce floor
I hear them in the congress, I see them on TV
I hope the Inquisition remains a memory

Al'Diablo Picasso, Al'Diablo Manet
Al'Diablo Fontainebleau, Al'Diable Hemingway
O'Diab Dr. Thompson, O'Diab St. Joan
O'Diab Village Paeople, O'Diab Rolling Stones
Someone's got to talk about accountability
Someone's got to raise some hell, it might as well be me

I'm a cultural infidel, believe in common sense
I'm a cultural infidel, love the present tense
But we have to keep a look out for those mean old backed-up farts
I'm a cultural infidel, comin' from the heart

My heart, my heart, mon coeur
Will I see you in Heaven, will I see you in Hell
Will I see you in Rio, only time will tell

Will I see you in Heaven, will I see you in Hell
Will I see you tomorrow, only time will tell

Happily Ever After (Now & Then) by Jimmy Buffett & Dave Loggins
I've been a stand in a stunt man, I've taken some falls
Troubles,--I've had my share
But no one has to learn how to run before walkin' 'round
Breathin' that million-air

Take it from me 'cause I found
If you leave it then somebody else is bound
To find that treasure, that moment of pleasure
When yours it could have been

(Chorus)
Some people never find it, some only pretend
But me, I just want to live happily ever after
Every now and then

I've been in vans and in bands on and through stages
One thing I can conclude, one has to learn
Havin' fun is just smilin' through
Those changes in latitudes, changes in in attitudes

Take it from me 'cause I found
If you leave it then somebody else is bound
To find that treasure, that moment of pleasure
When yours it could have been

(Chorus)

Some people never find it, some only pretend
But me, hell, I just want to live happily ever after
Every now and then
Every now and then

False Echoes Jimmy Buffett
The skies over Cuba runed pink with the light
And the waterfront ritual began to ignite
All the ships in the harbour were warmed by the sun
Twenty-fifth of November, Nineteen twenty-one

On the old Chicamauga the signal jacks flew
And the message they spelled out caused a great ballyhoo
Every ship in Havana then hoisted away
All the pennants were flyin' on my dad's first birthday

(Chorus)
Enduring echoes call out from his past
Time ain't for savin', no, Time's not for that
Chasin' false echoes like a lost legionnaire
He waltzes on memories while he fades like a flare

Now his storybook childhood was not make-believe
On the decks of a tallship he was taught to achieve
Witnessed storms and starvation, natural wonders and force
Oh, the life of a sailor steers a wanderin' course

(Chorus)

Well, now life throws us curve balls we never can reach
He gave up the ocean but he lived by the beach
Where he raised up his family, taught us all to survive
Then the wind went away in 1995

Now the old Chicamauga has slipped by the way
She lies on the bottom of old Mobile Bay
Where the ghosts of his father and his brother are near
They protect him and tell him there's nothing to fear
'Cause it's family tradition we take to the sea
And it's a time in the future for Cameron and me

(Chorus)

The skies over Cuba were warmed by the sun
Twenty-fifth of November, 1921

I was born and raised on the shores of the Northern Gulf of Mexico, which runs from Perdido Bay on the Florida, Alabama border (just east of the Flora Bama bar) to the Pear River that separates Mississippi from Louisiana. To most folks, it is about as far south as you can go without getting your feet wet. To me it is the northern edge of the Caribbean. The night sky and constellations above Pascagoula look pretty much the sane as those above Martinique. The culture that came with the early French explorers was cradled in New Orleans but flowed east and west permeating the bayous, beaches and bays that make up this unique region.
Banana Wind is an island term...a wind not as dangerous as a hurricane but strong enough to blow bananas off the trees.
This collection of songs is just a continuation of my story. Stories of ships and sailors, life and death, women and children, love and friendship, seaplanes and paradoxes.