|
Issue Date: September 28, 2008
Margaritaville sing along!
We asked readers to add a verse to the Jimmy Buffett classic "Margaritaville." More than 14,000 of you responded with new classics of your own.
By Lisa Gartner
And the winning verse is ...
A glass of perfection
Headed my direction
Givin' my mind a chance
to be free
Head's still reelin'
Sunburn's still peelin'
Finding sand where sand
shouldn't be
(Refresher: Jimmy's original lyrics)
|
Jimmy Buffett incited a beach-bum revolution when he released his highest-charting single, "Margaritaville," in 1977 -- and created a mystery. Where was this head-swaying haven where ice was always in the blender? Was "Margaritaville" in Key West? New Orleans? Montego Bay, Jamaica?
Now, it appears USA WEEKEND has solved that 31-year mystery: Margaritaville is located across America, in the hearts -- and salt shakers -- of our readers.
This summer, we invited you to compose a new first verse to Buffett's classic tune. The winner was promised round-trip airfare for two to Jamaica and five nights at the all-inclusive Breezes Runaway Bay Resort & Golf Club.
The response was overwhelming: More than 14,000 readers from across the country waxed poetic on nibbled spongecake, shrimp left untended and, in a frankly convincing attempt to win us over, USA WEEKEND Magazine.
Needless to say, picking a winner was tough. But we did, and we can't imagine a better choice: It is Jack Honey, 59, a carpenter from Salem, Ore., who got the news on his 36th wedding anniversary and who has only flown once on an airplane. "I was reading USA WEEKEND, and I saw the contest and thought, 'I kind of get the attitude of Jimmy,' " says Honey, who has a garage band named Loose Rock. "Not that I can write as well as he does, but I thought, 'Maybe I can write just one lyric that will fit into the song.' I can't believe I did."
So put on your flip-flops, relax and check out Honey's winning verse (above), along with some others, from the topical to the tropical, we thought you'd enjoy (below).
Go to top
From aging Parrotheads to the gasoline blues, common themes emerged from your thousands of entries.
Wastin' away, again
I threw my agenda
Into the blender
Got nothin' to work on except
for my tan
The only job hazard
Is gettin' too hammered
But, then again, that's kinda the plan
-- Tracy McCarthy, Mount Sinai, N.Y.
Wasn't a good night,
Got into a fist fight,
Now I'm sitting in a crowded jail.
Don't know what I was thinking,
Possibly due to my drinking,
I sure hope someone posts my bail.
-- Robert Keller, Park Forest, Ill.
Aging Parrotheads
Adjustin' my dentures
Recallin' adventures
All those crustaceans I ate years ago
At least I have liquid
To go with my boiled squid
Can somebody help me program my TiVo?
-- Dave Larson, Bayport, Minn.
Gummin' my sponge cake
Man, do my joints ache
All the tourists look blurry from here
I once had a six-pack
Now everything's gone slack
Can't grow hair 'cept out of my ears
-- Frank Mooney, Prospect Park, Penn.
Living on rice cakes,
Watching my intake,
Blood pressure, weight and cholesterol.
Drinking my green tea,
And anything fat free,
And the doctor says I should take Geritol.
-- Dennis Basden, Hoffman Estates, Ill.
Sippin' on Slimfast
Watchin' young girls pass
Not seein' me as I suck my gut in.
Tryin' to lose pounds
But I'm hearin' bar sounds
Get me a drink, who cares if I'm thin!
-- Pam Gauper, Palatine, Ill.
Escaping the grind
I'm here on the cruise ship
Takin' my first sip
The cellphone rings, it's the boss's ID
No time for thinkin'
Just laughin' and drinkin'
And watchin' that phone as it sails out to sea
-- Roger Ferguson, Findlay, Ohio
Goodbye to Wall Street
Give me some crabmeat
Show me the sand and I will show you my toes
Top off of my van
Coconut suntan
I'm off to the beach that every one knows
--Suzanne Smith, Hagerstown, Md.
Fans of USA WEEKEND
Sitting on my couch
Feeling like a slouch
Start to read USA WEEKEND
Learnin' some new stuff
'Bout health and getting buff
Now I can see my toes without having to bend
-- Bill Lagory, Cleves, Ohio
Got me to thinking,
Reading USA WEEKEND;
I want to be a tourist covered with oil.
Packed up my suitcase with clothes for a warm place.
Now I'll just wait here for Breezes to call.
-- Ann Craighead, Rochester, Minn.
I'm here with my feet up;
The sun's turned the heat up.
Just wanna sit here and sip away time,
With my USA WEEKEND,
A tequila iced drink blend,
Add an umbrella and a small wedge of lime.
-- Susan Fritz, Jonestown, Penn.
Gasoline and other woes
Oh to be debt free
Under a palm tree
Filled up my gas tank, took ev'ry dime
Out on the highway
Waitin' for payday
Walkin' home to tequila and lime
-- Jennie Pitkus, Tunkhannock, Pa.
Gassin' up my car
Won't get me too far
These high dollar prices are gettin' me down
I'll walk, bike and skate now
With American know-how
And not let big oil drain the blood from my town
-- Kim Roozeboom, Oskaloosa, Iowa
Looking at Wall Street,
Watching the market beat,
All of the brokers crying 'bout oil.
I'm on vacation,
Like the rest of the nation.
Even Warren Buffett can't reverse this big foil ...
-- Michael Freker, Pittsburgh, Penn.
Lookin' at oil bills,
While I'm poppin' blood pressure pills.
Two kids in college. The job is a pain.
Got to get disconnected.
From the stuff that's expected.
Goin' back to the place where the pace ain't insane.
-- Andrew Frederick, Greene, Maine
Traded my suits for Bermudas
Learned to snorkel and scuba
Had to get away from the stress and the strife.
Dumped the cell phones and meetings
Now time's not so fleeting
Man I've been having the time of my life!
-- Kelley Pearson, Madison, Miss.
Goodbye to Wall Street
Give me some crabmeat.
Show me the sand and I will show you my toes.
Top off my van.
Coconut suntan.
I'm off to the beach that everyone knows.
-- Suzanne Smith, Hagerstown, Md.
Sittin' in my lawn chair
Lovin' the sea air,
All my troubles seem so far away...
Enjoying the beach life,
Away from my ex-wife,
When her lawyer finds me, I'll probably pay ...
-- Paulette Carpenter, Napoleon, Ohio
Sittin' in the sunshine,
Workin' my tan line,
The crashing of waves are singing my song.
Then a bird flies by,
Poops on a tourist guy,
Don't know why, but this doesn't seem wrong.
-- Valerie Abati, Pittsburgh, Penn.
Refresher: Remember these? Jimmy's original lyrics:
"Margaritaville"
Nibblin' on sponge cake
Watchin' the sun bake
All of those tourists covered with oil
Strumming my six-string
On my front-porch swing
Smell those shrimp they're beginning to boil
Chorus:
Wastin' away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
But I know its nobody's fault
I don't know the reason
I stayed here all season
Nothing to show but this brand new tattoo
But it's a real beauty
A Mexican cutie
How it got here I haven't a clue
Chorus:
Wastin' away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
Now I think
Hell, it could be my fault
I blew out my flip-flop
Stepped on a pop-top
Cut my heel had to cruise on back home
But there's booze in the blender
And soon it will render
That frozen concoction that helps me hang on
Wastin' away again in Margaritaville
Searchin' for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there's a woman to blame
But I know it's my own damn fault
Yes and some people claim that there's a woman to blame
And I know it's my own damn fault
By: Jimmy Buffett
1977
Photo by Robbie McClaren for USA WEEKEND
|
