I have been to Margaritaville.
It is a magical place that teleports you to a tropical paradise. There is indeed a state of mind that you sense when you see not only half a pirate ship jutting out of the wall but also half of a small two-engine airplane hanging from the ceiling. There are indeed Margaritas at Margaritaville and the food captures the tropical culture with such dishes as buffalo wings, Caesar Salad, Chicken and Broccoli pasta and my choice for my visit, Steak Fajitas. There are ten different locations where Margaritaville lies and my adventure into this tropical state of mind was during my last visit to Las Vegas.
I cannot think of any other songs that have become a chain of restaurants except for maybe “Ruby Tuesday” (however, that restaurant does not have as strong a connection to the Rolling Stones as “Margaritaville” has to Jimmy Buffet). I enjoyed Margaritaville. It was a little gaudy but the food was a good value and I had a great time.
When I was researching songs that have alcohol as the subject “Margaritaville” showed up again and again on people lists of best song about drinking as well as lists of drinking songs. It’s hard to take seriously a song that is a restaurant chain and it’s a challenge to take seriously an artists whose second biggest hit behind “Margaritaville” is “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” I mean, seriously what’s next, “Side of fries in the Sand”?!?
I don’t judge the quality or worth of music on its popularity but if enough people love a song and it means a lot to them, I’m intrigued to find out why. “Margaritaville” is a song that seems to be merely a novelty song but has an interesting journey of self-realization linked directly to the way alcohol not only influences the way act, but the way we think.
There are three verses. The first sets the image of a tropical paradise, watching the sun on the back porch, playing guitar and watching tourist be silly. The second verse starts to paint a different picture. He doesn’t know why he’s been there all season and has nothing to show for being there except a tattoo he doesn’t remember getting. We get a funny drinking story but there is a slight edge of regret with getting a tattoo. The last verse is the end of the visit to paradise. He injures his foot when his flip-flop “blows out” and he has to go home, but what has to look forward to is alcohol, which he feels will comfort him. He gets no consolation in the memories of being in paradise or looking forward to coming back next year. He gets that from knowing that he can get drunk.
I’m not saying that going to a tropical place, getting drunk and having a good time is a bad thing, but I do agree with the song that having nothing to show for that experience except a tattoo that you don’t remember getting is a little sad. We do take vacations to escape, but if that escape is more in a bottle then in the actual environment that you are in, well then just do that at home and save some cash.
The three chorus have an interesting progression that mirrors the verses. The fist four lines of the choruses are the same each time.
Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville
Searching for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame.
I picture a guy at bar, drunk crawling under a table looking for a shaker of salt that he thought he dropped that is actually on top of the table. Then he goes over to the bar tender and asks, “what am I doing here? How did I get to this point?” and bar tender tries to explain to this guy that there something that happened with a woman that drove him to this low in his life.
Each chorus ends differently:
End of 1st chorus: But I know its nobody fault.
End of 2nd chorus: Hell, it could be my fault.
End of 3rd chorus: And I know it’s my own damn fault.
He’s working through the stages of guilt. If you’ve ever tried to convince someone of something that you know is there fault at first they start not thinking it’s no one’s fault and hopefully, they get to admitting their role in the situation. It’s like he’s slowly sobering up throughout this song. His mind clears and we get a better sense of what is happening in his life.
Now if you look at this song that way, it’s really kind of depressing but if you watch that youtube.com performance at the top of the page, Jimmy Buffet doesn’t look sad and NO ONE in the audience is experiences a deep introspect reflection of the role of alcohol in their lives. What comes across in this songs is “wastin’ away again in Margaritaville.” There is something comforting in this idea of being in this place where you can go and drink, a place like the bar in Cheers where everyone knows your name.
As sad as this story is, because melody is so optimistic it has a feeling of “well, bad things, happen, it’s probably my fault, but y’know life goes one and we should enjoy ourselves and have a good time.” That feeling of moving on through bad things happening and looking forward pass tragedy to something that brings hope connects to people. It’s not that strange that the thing that this guy looks forward to is booze because well, I admit I’ve had days where I’ve had a hard day at work and I can’t wait to get home and have a beer.
When you have a relaxing drink the world floats away and you go to wonderful place like Margaritaville, but only for a moment. What this song reminds us, is that even though booze can take us there, reality is waiting for you unchanged since you started drinking as soon as you sober up.
Escapism hopefully gives us time, perspective and a renewed strength to face our lives as we all continue to work to make Margaritaville more about a feeling of joy that we face our day with, than a drink in a blender.
It is a magical place that teleports you to a tropical paradise. There is indeed a state of mind that you sense when you see not only half a pirate ship jutting out of the wall but also half of a small two-engine airplane hanging from the ceiling. There are indeed Margaritas at Margaritaville and the food captures the tropical culture with such dishes as buffalo wings, Caesar Salad, Chicken and Broccoli pasta and my choice for my visit, Steak Fajitas. There are ten different locations where Margaritaville lies and my adventure into this tropical state of mind was during my last visit to Las Vegas.
I cannot think of any other songs that have become a chain of restaurants except for maybe “Ruby Tuesday” (however, that restaurant does not have as strong a connection to the Rolling Stones as “Margaritaville” has to Jimmy Buffet). I enjoyed Margaritaville. It was a little gaudy but the food was a good value and I had a great time.
When I was researching songs that have alcohol as the subject “Margaritaville” showed up again and again on people lists of best song about drinking as well as lists of drinking songs. It’s hard to take seriously a song that is a restaurant chain and it’s a challenge to take seriously an artists whose second biggest hit behind “Margaritaville” is “Cheeseburger in Paradise.” I mean, seriously what’s next, “Side of fries in the Sand”?!?
I don’t judge the quality or worth of music on its popularity but if enough people love a song and it means a lot to them, I’m intrigued to find out why. “Margaritaville” is a song that seems to be merely a novelty song but has an interesting journey of self-realization linked directly to the way alcohol not only influences the way act, but the way we think.
There are three verses. The first sets the image of a tropical paradise, watching the sun on the back porch, playing guitar and watching tourist be silly. The second verse starts to paint a different picture. He doesn’t know why he’s been there all season and has nothing to show for being there except a tattoo he doesn’t remember getting. We get a funny drinking story but there is a slight edge of regret with getting a tattoo. The last verse is the end of the visit to paradise. He injures his foot when his flip-flop “blows out” and he has to go home, but what has to look forward to is alcohol, which he feels will comfort him. He gets no consolation in the memories of being in paradise or looking forward to coming back next year. He gets that from knowing that he can get drunk.
I’m not saying that going to a tropical place, getting drunk and having a good time is a bad thing, but I do agree with the song that having nothing to show for that experience except a tattoo that you don’t remember getting is a little sad. We do take vacations to escape, but if that escape is more in a bottle then in the actual environment that you are in, well then just do that at home and save some cash.
The three chorus have an interesting progression that mirrors the verses. The fist four lines of the choruses are the same each time.
Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville
Searching for my lost shaker of salt
Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame.
I picture a guy at bar, drunk crawling under a table looking for a shaker of salt that he thought he dropped that is actually on top of the table. Then he goes over to the bar tender and asks, “what am I doing here? How did I get to this point?” and bar tender tries to explain to this guy that there something that happened with a woman that drove him to this low in his life.
Each chorus ends differently:
End of 1st chorus: But I know its nobody fault.
End of 2nd chorus: Hell, it could be my fault.
End of 3rd chorus: And I know it’s my own damn fault.
He’s working through the stages of guilt. If you’ve ever tried to convince someone of something that you know is there fault at first they start not thinking it’s no one’s fault and hopefully, they get to admitting their role in the situation. It’s like he’s slowly sobering up throughout this song. His mind clears and we get a better sense of what is happening in his life.
Now if you look at this song that way, it’s really kind of depressing but if you watch that youtube.com performance at the top of the page, Jimmy Buffet doesn’t look sad and NO ONE in the audience is experiences a deep introspect reflection of the role of alcohol in their lives. What comes across in this songs is “wastin’ away again in Margaritaville.” There is something comforting in this idea of being in this place where you can go and drink, a place like the bar in Cheers where everyone knows your name.
As sad as this story is, because melody is so optimistic it has a feeling of “well, bad things, happen, it’s probably my fault, but y’know life goes one and we should enjoy ourselves and have a good time.” That feeling of moving on through bad things happening and looking forward pass tragedy to something that brings hope connects to people. It’s not that strange that the thing that this guy looks forward to is booze because well, I admit I’ve had days where I’ve had a hard day at work and I can’t wait to get home and have a beer.
When you have a relaxing drink the world floats away and you go to wonderful place like Margaritaville, but only for a moment. What this song reminds us, is that even though booze can take us there, reality is waiting for you unchanged since you started drinking as soon as you sober up.
Escapism hopefully gives us time, perspective and a renewed strength to face our lives as we all continue to work to make Margaritaville more about a feeling of joy that we face our day with, than a drink in a blender.
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