Capo 5th fret

Standard (EADGBE)

Intro

When I woke up this mornin'

I was tired as I could be

I think I was countin' my money

When I should a' been countin' sheep

My agent he just called me

And told me what I should be

If I would make my music for money

Instead of makin' 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, "The people only buy the love songs

Rock n' Roll and not too long"

He said, "Son you got to be commercial

If you want to turn the people on"

And I said, "Turnin' on the people

Now that's a beautiful place to be

But if I spend my time makin' them up a rhyme

Well, who's gonna turn on me?"

(Repeat Chorus)

Bridge

(Use bar/power chords)

D-E D-E D-E-D-B-A---|A-E-G

D-E D-E D-E-D-B-A---|A-E-G

Well now I went up to Country

And I'll tell you all about the scene

I found a place with much charm and much grace

That wasn't touched by the music machine

Whoa, the people were havin' a good time

Makin' music all day long

And nobody cared if they ever got paid

One penny for playin' a song

Chorus

Door Number Three

By: Jimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman

1974

Intro

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, I 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

Or 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 walkin' down your hall

Got beat, lost my seat, but I'm not a man to crawl

Though 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

Intro

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 leavin' this town as soon as I can

Gonna stop off for awhile 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

(Repeat chorus)

Bridge

Well, people like me just can't be free

The Provo man won't let us be-ee

If the people who knew could get away

I'm real sure they'd heed the day

(instrumental)

Yeah, now come on down and lose your mental balance

Look at me half crazy now

Oh, talkin' to chairs is strange and I know it

Look at me I'm doin' it know

(Repeat Chorus) (3x)

Chord Diagrams:

|244222| -

Intro

Well now I'm in love with a fast-movin' 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 can never ever pretend

You're 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 really wasn't my friend

And I know I'll never see him again

(Repeat chorus)

Yeah, I thought I might sail down to Bridgetown

Spend some time in the Barbados sun

But my plans took a skid when I smoked a whole lid

Wound up where I'd begun

(Repeat chorus)

(instrumental)

(Repeat chorus)

Intro

Talkin' to myself again

Wonderin' if this travellin' is good

Is there somethin' else a' doin'

We'd be doin' if we could

Chorus

But ah, the stories we could tell

And if it all blows up and goes to Hell

I wish that we could sit upon a bed in some motel

Listen to the stories we could tell

Stared at that guitar in that museum in Tennessee

Nameplate on the glass brought back twenty melodies

Scars upon the face told of all the times he fell

Singin' all the stories he could tell

Chorus

Ah, the stories he could tell

And I'll bet you it still rings like a bell

I wish that we could sit upon a bed in some motel

And listen to the stories it could tell

So if you're on the road trackin' down your every night

Playin' for a livin' beneath brightly colored lights

And if you ever wonder why you ride the carousel

You do it for the stories you can tell

Chorus

Ah, the stories we could tell

And if it all blows up and goes to Hell

I wish that we could sit apon a bed in some motel

And listen to the stories it could tell

@SONG: Life is Just a Tire Swing

Life is Just a Tireswing

By: Jimmy Buffett

1974

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

Chorus

Life was just a tire swing

'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing

Black-berry 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

(2nd chorus)

Life was just a tire swing

'Jambalaya' was the only song I could sing

Chasin' after sparrows with rubber-tipped arrows

knowin' I could never hurt a thing

and 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 R.C.A. Victrola

And Elvis would sing and then I'd dream about expensive cars

and who would've figured twenty years later

I'd be rubbin' shoulders with the stars

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 I could see it hangin' from a tree

and I knew that I had survived

Last Chorus:

Life was just a tire swing

'Jambalaya's still the best song that I sing

Black-berry pickin', eatin' fried chicken

And I finally learned a lot about pain

'Cause life is just a tire swing

Life was just a tire swing

Chord diagrams:

@SONG: A Pirate Looks at Forty

A Pirate Looks at 40

By: Jimmy Buffett

1974

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

2)

Watched 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

3)

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

4)

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

5)

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 stop wishin', got to go fishin'

I'm down to rock bottom again

Just a few friends, just a few friends

6)

I go for younger women, lived with several awhile

And though I ran away, they'll come back one day

And I still can manage a smile

It just takes a while, just takes a while

7)

Mother, mother ocean, after all these years I've found

My occupational hazard being my occupation's just not around

I feel like I've drowned, gonna head uptown

@SONG: Migration

Migration

By: Jimmy Buffett

1974

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, listenin' to Murphy, Walker, and Willis

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

I hate those bastards so much

I wish a summer squall would blow them

All the way up to fantasy land

Yeah, they're ugly and square, they don't belong here

They looked a lot better as beer cans

Chorus

Yeah and that's why it's still a mystery to me

Why some people live like they do

So many nice things happenin' out there

They never even seen the clues

Oh, but we're doin' fine, we can travel and rhyme

I know we been doin' 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 all that I got married too early

'Cost me much more than a ring

But now those crazy days are over

Just gotta learn from the wrong things you've done

I came off the rebound, started lookin' around

Figured out it's time to have a little fun

(repeat 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 gonna teach him how to cuss, teach him how to fuss

And pull the cork out of a bottle of wine

(repeat chorus, then)

Yeah, got a Caribbean soul I can barely control

And some Texas hidden here in my heart

@SONG: Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season

Trying to Reason with Hurricane Season

By: Jimmy Buffett

1974

Squalls out on the gulf stream, big storms comin' soon

I passed out in my hammock, God, I slept 'till 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

(repeat chorus)

Well, the wind is blowin' harder now, fifty knots or there abouts

There's white caps on the ocean, and I'm watchin' for waterspouts

It's time to close the shutters, it's time to go inside

In a week I'll be in gay Paris

Well that's a mighty long airplane ride

(repeat chorus and fade)

@SONG: Nautical Wheelers

Nautical Wheelers

By: Jimmy Buffett

1974

Intro

Nautical Wheelers who call themselves sailors

Play fiddle tunes under the stars

Petti-coats rustle, working shoes scuffle,

Hustle on down to the bars

Where the juke-box is blastin' and the liquor is flowin'

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, dance with me Nautical Wheelers,

I want so badly to go

Well, the left foot it'll follow

Where the right foot has travelled

Down to the sidewalks unglued

And into the street of my city so neat

Where nobody cares what you do

And Sonna's just grinnin' and Phil is ecstatic

And Mason has jumped in the sea

And I'm hangin' on to a line from my sailboat

Oh, Nautical Wheelers save me

(repeat Chorus)

Well the sunrise will bring on

The sleep that's escaped us

And everyone's off to their beds

There'll be huggin' and squeezin'

A little pleazin' and teasin'

And rubbin' of each other's heads

So won't you dream on comrades, seems nothin' escapes you,

Nothin', no reason, nor rhyme

That's 'cause everyone here is just more than contented

To be living and dying in three quarter time

(repeat chorus and fade)

@SONG: Tin Cup Chalice

Tin Cup Chalice

By: Jimmy Buffett

1974

Intro

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

|

C |1. lie beside | Em

I want to go back down and |2. get high by | the sea there

|3. die beside |

With a tin cup for a chalice, fill it up with good red wine

and I'm a' chewin', on a honey-suckle vine

Yeah, now, the sun goes slidin' 'cross the water

Sailboats, they go searchin' for the breeze

Salt air it ain't thin, I can stick right to you skin

And make you feel fine

It makes you feel fine

(repeat chorus)

Yes, and now you heard my strange proposal

Get that pack gear up and let's move

I want to be there 'fore the day, tries to steal away

And leave us behind

I've made up my mind

(repeat chorus and fade)

Disclaimer -(please read)-:

Thank you,

The GCC authors

[end of disclaimer]

-- GCC Author's note: This being IMOHO, THE definitive Buffett album,

it was the very first created of the GCC series. So far this has

been some serious work, but then just think how long it took Jimmy

to write all this material. I got a little bit of understanding

helping with the GLC (Great Lyrics Compilation) of Spring '94, but I

have really acquired a new respect for Jimmy Buffett's many talents.