"Margaritaville"
Cover of the West German 7 " single
Single by Jimmy Buffett
from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes
A-side(s)	"Margaritaville"
B-side(s)	"Miss You So Badly"
Released	January 1977
Format	7"
Recorded	1976
Genre	Gulf and western
Length	04:09[1]
Label	ABC ABC-12254 (U.S., 7") ABC-17781AT (West Germany, 7") ABC-22039 (Italy, 7") ABC-021254/2 (Spain, 7")
Writer(s)	Jimmy Buffett
Producer(s)	Norbert Putnam
Peak chart positions
#8 (U.S. Billboard Hot 100) #1 (U.S. Billboard Easy Listening) #13 (U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs)
Jimmy Buffett singles chronology
"Woman Goin' Crazy on Caroline Street"	"Margaritaville"	"Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes"

"Margaritaville" is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. He wrote it in Key West, Florida after touring Texas with his group, the Coral Reefer Band. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... West Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include East Germany. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Childrens gramophone records be merged into this article or section. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Gulf and western is a term used to decribe the music genre of American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and other similar sounding performers. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... ABC Records started in 1955 as ABC-Paramount Records, the recording arm of American Broadcasting-Paramount Theatres. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... A record chart, also known as a music chart, is a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ... The Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart (formerly known as Adult Contemporary Singles and only Adult Contemporary) lists the most popular songs weekly calculated by airplay and occasionally sales. ... Hot Country Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... A song is a relatively short musical composition. ... Popular music is music belonging to any of a number of musical styles that are accessible to the general public and are disseminated by one or more of the mass media. ... The term singer-songwriter refers to performers who both write and sing their own material. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes is the breakthrough 1977 (see 1977 in music) album by Jimmy Buffett. ... Nickname: The Conch Republic, Southernmost City In The Continental United States Coordinates: Country United States State Florida County Monroe Government  - Type Council-Manager  - Mayor Morgan McPherson Area  - City  7. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... Jimmy Buffett (born James William Buffett on December 25, 1946 in Pascagoula, Mississippi) is a singer, songwriter, and recently a film producer best known for his island escapism lifestyle and music including hits such as Margaritaville (No. ...

The song was a chart hit in the United States when it was released and is still popular today^{[citation needed]}. It reached #8 on Billboard Hot 100 chart, topped the Easy Listening (Adult Contemporary) chart at #1, and peaked at #13 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It remains Buffett's highest charting solo single. It has been suggested that Billboard be merged into this article or section. ... The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. ... The Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart (formerly known as Adult Contemporary Singles and only Adult Contemporary) lists the most popular songs weekly calculated by airplay and occasionally sales. ... Hot Country Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. ... 2007 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ...

A margarita cocktail: the inspiration for "Margaritaville"

Named for a cocktail, the margarita, and with lyrics reflecting a laid-back lifestyle in a tropical climate, "Margaritaville" has come to define Buffett's music and career. The relative importance of the song to Buffett's career is referred to obliquely in a parenthetical plural in the title of a Buffett greatest hits compilation album, Songs You Know By Heart: Jimmy Buffett's Greatest Hit(s). The name has been used in the title of other Buffett compilation albums such as Meet Me In Margaritaville: The Ultimate Collection and is also the name of several commercial products licensed by Buffett (see below). Download high resolution version (768x1024, 78 KB)Margarita – 2003-09-14 Photographer Jon Sullivan Source http://pdphoto. ... Download high resolution version (768x1024, 78 KB)Margarita – 2003-09-14 Photographer Jon Sullivan Source http://pdphoto. ... A margarita on the rocks The margarita is the most common of tequila-based cocktails, made with Triple Sec (or Cointreau) and lime juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. ... A cocktail. ... A cocktail. ... A margarita on the rocks The margarita is the most common of tequila-based cocktails, made with Triple Sec (or Cointreau) and lime juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. ... A greatest hits album (sometimes referred to as a best of album) is a compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular music artist or band. ... In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need (Kotler et al. ... Margaritaville is a 1977 song by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett from the album Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes. ...

Song narrative

The song is a narrative overview of the singer's life for the previous season. He sings about laid-back living in a drunken haze in a beach community. "Margaritaville" is the mental state in which he exists during this period, induced—presumably—from the perpetual imbibing of margaritas. This is best illustrated in the last verse, when the singer goes for a walk, cuts his heel and returns home to ease his pain with the eponymous alcoholic beverage. The singer says that some friends surmise that he is reeling from a failed romance. The singer concludes at the end of the song, however, that he is not a victim of lost love, but rather of his own design and dissolution. A margarita on the rocks The margarita is the most common of tequila-based cocktails, made with Triple Sec (or Cointreau) and lime juice, often served with salt on the glass rim. ... An eponym is a person (real or fictitious) whose name has become identified with a particular object or activity. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

The song's opening gives a vivid descriptive of the singer's lifestyle in the beach town of Key West:

Nibblin' on sponge cake,

Watchin' the sun bake,

All of those tourists covered with oil.

Strummin' my six-string,

On my front porch swing,

Smell those shrimp; they're beginning to boil.

The song's chorus summarizes the theme of the song: A slice of lemon sponge cake Sponge cake is a type of soft cake based on wheat flour, sugar, baking powder and eggs. ... Tanning oil is used in two senses that have opposite meanings. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

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 nobody's fault); (Hell, it could be my fault); (It's my own damn fault);

There is also a "lost verse" to this song, as described by Buffett, which he often adds when performing in concert, which was reputedly edited out before the record was released in order to make the song more airplay-friendly.

Old men in tank tops,

Cruisin' the gift shops,

Checkin' out chiquitas, down by the shore

They dream about weight loss,

Wish they could be their own boss

Those three-day vacations can be such a bore

It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Sleeveless T-shirt. ... A gift shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs relating to a particular topic, often to simply provide evidence that the consumer has visited that location. ... Chiquita Brands International, fruit company. ...

Lyric Confusion

There is some confusion as to whether Buffett sings, "Wasted away again in Margaritaville" or "Wastin' away again in Margaritaville" in the chorus of the song. When the studio recording is slowed down, it appears he says "wasted". However, played at the normal speed is difficult to verify. The original unedited lyrics, that appear on the record sleeve to the Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes LP, clearly read "wasting" misspelled as "waistin'." Also, most guitar tablature and sheet music read "wastin'" as well. Buffett has never made a statement on the issue.

Other versions

Radio edit

A radio edit was released in 1977, timing at 3:20. The abridged version omits: - The interlude between the second chorus and third verse. - The section during the third chorus and final refrain "…woman to blame but I know, it's my own damn fault. Yes and, some people claim that there's a…" This makes the song structure riff-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-riff, oppose to riff-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-interlude-verse-chorus-refrain-riff. - The track itself was sped up slightly. The original recording of the key of D would be E-flat.

Cover versions

American country singer Alan Jackson covered the song on his 1999 Under the Influence album. The cover featured Buffett singing along on the last verse; it also peaked at #63 after receiving play as an album cut. Professional wrestlers Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock sang the song together on a 2001 episode of RAW. Alan Eugene Jackson (born October 17, 1958) is an American country music singer and songwriter, who became one of the best-selling country musicians of the 1990s. ... In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition (performance or recording) of a previously recorded song. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972) is an American actor and third-generation professional wrestler, best known for his time in World Wrestling Entertainment as The Rock. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Parodies

Comedian Mark Eddie parodied this song as "Marijuanaville" on his 1995 album Rock-N-Roll Comedy Cuts. (MP3) In the 2004 film Club Dread, Bill Paxton's character Coconut Pete sings a song very similar to Margaritaville called "Piña Coladaburg". Parody of Back to the Future In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... A Cannabis sativa plant The drug cannabis, also called marijuana, is produced from parts of the cannabis plant, primarily the cured flowers and gathered trichomes of the female plant. ... DVD case cover for Club Dread Club Dread is a 2004 comedy/horror film written by the comedy group Broken Lizard, who also created Super Troopers. ... William Bill Paxton (born May 17, 1955 in Fort Worth, Texas) is a Golden Globe award nominated American actor and film director. ...

Cultural references

Margaritaville is the password that, according to the CSI: Crime Scene Investigation television show's Gil Grissom in series 5 episode 9 ("Mea Culpa") the CSI Las Vegas department use to access the Journal of Forensic Sciences back issues online. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation is a popular Alliance Atlantis/CBS police procedural television series, running since October 2000, about a team of forensic scientists. ... Gilbert Gil Grissom, Ph. ...

Merchandising

As Buffett's best-known song, "Margaritaville" has been used in a number of commercial ventures and product licensing tie-ins including: A tie-in is an authorized product that is based on an existing or upcoming media property, such as a movie or video/DVD, computer game, video game, television program/television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. ...

• Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville, a casual dining restaurant chain, tourist destination and chain of stores (shops) selling Buffett-themed franchise merchandise in Jamaica and the U.S.
• Margaritaville frozen seafood
• Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Maker
• Margaritaville Chicken Wings
• Margaritaville margarita mix (manufactured by Mott's)
• Margaritaville tequila
• Radio Margaritaville, a radio station that broadcasts on the Internet and Sirius Satellite Radio.
• Margaritaville Soles of the Tropics Footwear

Jimmy Buffetts Margaritaville is the name of a brand of alcoholic beverages and non-alcoholic margarita flavoring mixes. ... A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. ... A restaurant chain is a set of related restaurants, typically with the same name in many different locations either under shared corporate ownership (e. ... Motts is a company involved in producing apple-based products, particularly juices and sauces. ... Various brands of tequila Tequila is a spirit made primarily in the area surrounding Tequila, a town in the western Mexican state of Jalisco, 65 km northwest of Guadalajara. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Sirius Satellite Radio NASDAQ: SIRI is one of two satellite radio (SDARS) services operating in the United States and Canada, along with XM Satellite Radio. ...

Trivia

• The Swarthmore College chapter of Delta Upsilon holds an annual all-campus party in honor of Margaritaville with emphasis on the carefree and laid back attitude that has made the song famous.[1]

Delta Upsilon (ΔΥ) is a non-secret international gentlemens fraternity founded on November 4, 1834 at Williams College. ...

Notes

External links

• Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville - information on Buffett and his commercial products
• Margaritaville Songfacts entry
• "Jimmy Buffett' Margaritaville" at MIX Magazine online - detailed account of the recording and production of Margaritaville based on an interview with producer Norbert Putnam