Top Ten 1973 Songs: He Went to Paris (#7)

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That loud noise you heard was someone in New Jersey screaming “YESSS!” Nah, this song isn’t included for her benefit, but it is for everyone’s. With the loss of Tina Turner yesterday, this countdown’s purpose of showing how timeless these songs are became magnified. So here’s another timeless great from 1973. #7: He Went to Paris - Jimmy Buffett Every time I bring Buffett up I mention that I’m more a fan of his ballads than the let’s get drunk and have a cheeseburger at 5 o’clock somewhere stuff. And this is one of Buffett’s most loved and enduring ballads. On You Had to Be There he said it was his personal favorite. The “he” in the title is an embellishment of Eddie Balchowsky, a man Buffett knew in Chicago when Buffett was hanging out with John Prine and Steve Goodman (you can see them all on the cover of Goodman’s Somebody Else’s Troubles album). Balchowsky was a Spanish Civil War veteran who played the piano despite losing an arm during the war. Buffett used the general inspiration and an author’s license and created one of his greatest songs. Buffett’s been having some medical problems lately (last weekend he ended up in the hospital in Boston for an “issue that needed immediate attention,” forcing him to cancel a concert), so it’s a stark reminder that this song has been around for half a century. And, like this song’s closing line, I’ve had a good life all the way, too. He Went to Paris Written by Jimmy Buffett Recorded by Jimmy Buffett From A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean, 1973 Left England without a sound: