December Buffett Buffet: Banana Republics

Tweet

The month of December means colder weather for many here in America, so there’s nothing like Jimmy Buffett music to make you feel like you’re on an island! I’m celebrating the career of the late, great singer/songwriter this month. Here’s today’s song from the catalog of Buffett that ranks among my favorites. Banana Republics And here we have Steve Goodman’s first (but not last) appearance on the list! A year before Buffett’s breakthrough album was released Goodman let this song provide the title for his album Words We Can Dance To (takne from this song’s line, “Give me some words I can dance to or a melody that rhymes”). Buffett and Goodman were longtime friends. Buffett (as “Marvin Gardens,” the pseudonym he used for writing the song “Why Don’t We Get Drunk”) appeared on the cover of Goodman’s second album, Somebody Else’s Troubles. They were out on Buffett’s boat together, watching Let’s Make a Deal, then came back to shore and wrote “Door Number Three” together. There’s a bittersweet story in Goodman’s biography. Jimmy said he was in Goodman’s hospital room the day before Goodman died. Goodman, in a coma since complications from a bone marrow transplant, was connected to machines to monitor his vitals. Buffett said he took a guitar that was in the room (originally for Steve to play while he recovered) and played a song he’d recently written. As he played, Buffett said, “Every alarm on every monitor went off.” Buffett decided either Steve really liked it or really hated it. Goodman was one of the “honorary Coral Reefers,” appearing on albums as well as writing a number of songs that Buffett recorded. Since this is from Buffett’s “big album” (the one with “Margaritaville” on it), it’s probably one of the best-known. Banana Republics Written by Steve Goodman, Jim Rothermel, and Steve Burgh From Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes, 1977 Second-hand American dreams: