We'll Always Have "He Went to Paris"

[tponton]

My father died on Friday, Sept. 1, 2000. At his funeral, I said my dad, a raconteur in his own right, was "the life of the party."

Some 23 years later, Jimmy Buffett died on Friday, Sept. 1. Jimmy was the ULTIMATE life of the party. It is hard to believe he is gone AND that it has been a year now since his passing.

Despite my French sounding last name, I grew up in an Irish household listening almost every night to Irish folk music. It made sense that by the time I reached my teens in the mid 1970's I would gravitate to the folkie singer songwriters of the time, including Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy wrote with a sense of humor, and, of course, had a number of drinking songs in his stable, much like Irish music. He came off like the sardonic, half-inebriated beach poet I believe he was at the time and yes, "Margaritaville" is not quite the sunny anthem most people think it is.

By this time, Jimmy began playing larger venues and he faithfully came to Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD each year, the concert venue closest to my house. The concerts then were popular but not overly crowded, the ticket price was affordable, and the vibe was more laid back. Still, it was obvious that Buffett had a most engaging stage presence and connected easily with the audience.

Twice during the period 1980-85, I met ever so briefly with Jimmy. The first time came when a group of us hopped a fence after a show and went up to Buffett's trailer where we all shook hands. He did not seem alarmed but the late arriving security officials were and they supervised us as we scaled the fence once more out to the parking lot.

By 1985, I was working at a small radio station nearby and we secured backstage passes for after the show to record Jimmy doing a few station ID's for us. Fortunately for me I had double checked the spelling of Buffett's last name before leaving the station as the first thing Jimmy said to us when we met him backstage was, "You spelled my name right!"

Soon after this, I got married and my wife and I started a family. I got very busy. But by the mid 1990's, I came back to Buffett. You see, at that time, my mother had died, my dad was sick, my father-in-law had died, and my mother-in-law had dementia. My wife and I had three small kids and we both were working two jobs to make ends meet. I was stressed, to say the least. Listening to Buffett was like musical ***** and his songs brought me to places that I thought I would never see in person.

I caught Jimmy in concert at Merriweather for several years in the late 1990's.
The shows were much larger, the ticket prices much higher, and the performances were more upbeat and less laid back. They were enjoyable just the same.

At this time, Buffett also began playing at a larger outdoor facility in Manassas, VA and he eventually stopped playing Merriweather altogether. I made the long trek from my house to Virginia twice. I had befriended Coral Reefer Band member Doyle Grisham and Doyle actually took my wife and I backstage and then onstage (briefly) before one of the shows. We passed by a room just outside the stage that said, "Jimmy Buffett -- Do Not Disturb." My wife and I enjoyed the show. I went back to Virginia the following year but got hung up in miserable traffic getting to the venue and vowed to never return.

It was in 2022 we learned that Jimmy would be returning to Merriweather for the first time in 19 years. (Despite that absence, he remains the artist with the most gigs ever at the venue). We secured great seats, and my wife, daughter and I enjoyed the show very much. So much so that we vowed to return if Jimmy returned again the following year.

Like many fans, in 2023, I began to notice that Jimmy was cancelling a number of concerts. Then I saw an interview he conducted with a radio station in July. A picture was taken and it seemed obvious to me that Jimmy was pretty sick. So while I was surprised to hear that he died in September last year, I was not shocked.

I believe Jimmy's writer friend and brother-in-law, Tom McGuane, said he told Buffett on Jimmy's deathbed that his music and legacy would endure for a long, long time. McGuane said, "I could tell that he liked hearing that."

So Jimmy is gone. But we will always have "He Went to Paris."

In June, I visited Key West, Jimmy's old haunting grounds, for the first time. I had breakfast at the Blue Heaven, dined at Margaritaville, had drinks at Captain Tony's (and used the infamous restroom), and staged being thrown out of Sloppy Joe's. I visited Shrimpboat Sound too.

Having recently won a few nationwide toast contests sponsored by Guinness, I recited one of my own at sunset on Mallory Square:

Whiskey at sunset
No better blend
Makes my heart easy
My mind on the mend
My worries they vanish and come to an end
Whiskey at sunset -- here's to you my good friend!

The next night we took a cruise and yes, we witnessed a green flash at sunset. Then, as the boat began its way back to harbor I recited Jimmy's words in the form of a toast:

Follow in my wake
You've not that much at stake
For we have plowed the seas
And smoothed the troubled waters
Come along and have some fun
The hard work has been done
We'll barrel roll into the sun
Just for starters.

Rest in Peace Jimmy. Your legacy lives on. See you on the flip side.

-- Thomas Ponton

[SMLCHNG]

Very nice, Mr. Ponton.

[TravisMcGeeBahiaMar]

Love this.
I, too, saw Jimmy Buffett at Merriweather Post all through the 80’s. I saw him for the first time in July of 1980, then every year (and every show) at MPP until 1993. I do remember looking around in 1985 thinking “ where did all these people come from?” I moved to New York in 1985 and started seeing Jimmy up there at various venues, mostly Jones Beach which was perfect for Jimmy Buffett. I continued to see him at MPP and also Nissan Pavilion, as well as many other venues up and down the east coast, eventually seeing him over 100 times. I saw him for the last time in 2011 in Paris. I had always wanted to see him one more time, but life got in the way and I never did. His impact on my life is unmatched by any other artist. From Travis McGee novels, to Pat Conroy novels to living in Key West and eventually having my son born there. I never thought i would miss someone so much that I never really “knew.’ I miss that guy every day.

[TravisMcGeeBahiaMar]

Also, I really wish I came up with, “we’ll always have He Went to Paris.” Brilliant.

[Caribbean Soul]

What a wonderful recounting of a life intermingled with Buffett...
You have always had a way with words (as I discovered so many years ago digitizing all those cassette radio shows )
I'm very happy to see it's still there!

[Bucarader]

I absolutely love that! Thank you for sharing!