For nearly 60 years, Jimmy Buffett’s lyrics stretched beyond the easy listening and sunnier disposition of his countless compositions with the Coral Reefer Band.
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Collaborating with artists as far back as when he was singing on the Eagles‘ “The Greeks Don’t Want No Freaks,” off the band’s sixth album, The Long Run, in 1975 through his 2010 feature on Zac Brown Band‘s “Knee Deep,” Buffett added on countless unions across genres throughout his career.
Adding on a deeper collection of collaborations within country music, alone, from the blue-collar anthem with Alan Jackson, “It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere,” and more with Martina McBride (“Trip Around the Sun”), Toby Keith (“Too Drunk to Karaoke”) and Kenny Chesney (“Trying to Reason With Hurricane Season”), among others, Buffett always kept his musical palette vivid.
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In 1973, Lefty Frizzell recorded the song, “Railroad Lady,” which was written by Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker. He also co-wrote “Sugar Trade,” from James Taylor’s 1981 album, Dad Loves His Work.
Honoring Buffett’s diverse catalog, here’s a look at three more songs he wrote for other artists over three decades.
1. “If I’m Gonna Eat Somebody (It Might As Well Be You),” Tone Loc (1992)
Written by Jimmy Buffett and Mike Utley
Scored by Alan Silvestri, the soundtrack to the 1992 animated film, FernGully: The Last Rainforest, featured the late actor Robin Williams, Tim Curry, Sheena Easton, and even Elton John, who also co-wrote one of the tracks.
Buffett also made a contribution and co-penned a song with Mike Utley, musical director for his Coral Reefer Band. His hip-hop slanted “If I’m Gonna Eat Somebody (It Might as Well Be You)” was sung by “Wild Thing” rapper Tone Loc.
Oh I seem to get the munchies
This time each and every day
Go charging through the food chain
Like gas through a main
Slithering through the thorn
Til something comes in view
If i’m gonna eat somebody
It might as well be you
Aw yeah one two one two
2. “Happiness Alone,” Clint Black (1993)
Written by Jimmy Buffett and Clint Black
On Clint Black‘s fourth album, No Time to Kill, Buffett co-wrote “Happiness Alone,” a track that was originally omitted from the cassette release. The album went to No. 2 on the country chart and also features Wynonna Judd on the song “A Bad Goodbye.”
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In 1994, Buffett also joined Black on his rendition of Buffett’s 1978 song, “Come Monday.”
I think I’ll go back down to New Orleans
Try to bury my travelin’ bone
Unpredictable me, like I swore I would be
Nothing’s ever written in stone
There’s a knock on her door, is she here anymore
I guess me and the neighbors will see
If the one thing that I couldn’t do without her
She couldn’t do without me
Could I leave her behind, go on losin’ my mind
While the good times continue to roll
With this time on my hands, I can change all my plans
And it really wouldn’t bother a soul
I can make all the rounds, paint all the towns
Do all that and more on my own
But a man can’t survive on happiness alone
3. “Barmageddon” Theme Song, Blake Shelton (2022)
Written by Jimmy Buffett and Mac McAnally
Before Blake Shelton premiered his new TV show Barmageddon, he asked Buffett for permission to sing “Margaritaville” in a future episode. Instead, Buffett ended up writing the theme song for the entire show.
“We reached out to get permission to sing ‘Margaritaville’ as one of the intro songs — every show opens with a singalong song,” recalled Shelton. “And I got an email back from [them] — they just forwarded Jimmy’s email back to him onto me — that said, ‘Yeah, they can do this song. I love the title of that TV show. That sounds like a good song.”
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Shelton jumped on the opportunity and asked Buffett to get involved. Buffett ended up co-writing the Barmageddon theme with longtime Coral Reefer Band member Mac McAnally, who also co-wrote Buffett’s 1989 song “Changing Channels.”
“I figured Jimmy Buffett can pull this off if anybody in the world can,” added Shelton. “It ends up being perfect. I mean, it really is actually just [a] good, fun song. It gets stuck in your head, and I mean, who else can say that Jimmy Buffett wrote the theme song for the TV show?”
Barmageddon
A high tech honky tonk, shotgun weddin’
There ain’t no tellin’ how it’s gonna go
Barmageddon
You never know just what you’re gettin’
But win, lose or draw
It’s gonna be a show
There’s a neon sign at the edge of town
A waterin’ hole where we can all throw down
Anything can happen there and it usually does
We got suits and cowboys and kids and freaks
We all high five at the end of the week
But come Monday it’ll be alright
But we’re still gonna have a buzz from
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder/WireImage
