Jimmy Buffett lived a life that many often romanticize. In reality and in the face of the working world, it is seemingly a life that is arguably unattainable for the average Joe who wants and needs certain first-world things. Well, Jimmy Buffett was never an average Joe, and he never let exterior forces seemingly dull the life he envisioned for himself. That being so, he fled to Key West, made a life, career, and legacy for himself in the United States’ southernmost point.
Videos by American Songwriter
Ernest Hemingway, Tennessee Williams, Robert Frost, Thomas McGuane, and Jim Harrison are just a few of the infamous writers to reside on the Florida island. For fans of literary and music culture, it is a destination worthy of a brief pilgrimage and or indefinite stay. And as we all know, Buffett did the latter, and he did so seemingly out of a creative motivation, as well as a vocational one. In totality, Buffett just wanted to live by the water, and when his first marriage ended, he made that dream come true.
Jimmy Buffett Purchased a Plane Ticket and Set His Roots in Key West
In the latter half of the 20th century, there were truly only a handful of popular figures who lived a way of life like Jimmy Buffett. Nevertheless, that is possibly just one of the many reasons Buffett found this way of life so enticing. It was different and free of generic restraints. Nevertheless, in the PBS documentary, Son Of A Son Of A Sailor, Buffett divulged the series of events and motivations that led him to set his roots in Key West, Florida.
In a conversation with fellow artist and buddy, Jim Harrison, Buffett stated, “I came here escaping my first wife…Bought a ticket on a bad TWA credit card.” Buffett continued, “It’s the farthest place you can drive in America…and I think that has a lot to do with it.” “That was always my intention, to live by the ocean no matter what I ever did…Whatever I would have done, I would have made my living on the sea, just because of the way my family background comes from.”
Per his comments, it seems Buffett’s move revolves around timing and the execution of a dream he always had. Surely, there is more to the story. Maybe he wanted to sink his toes in the sand in search of inspiration, or maybe it was just this deeper generational pull to the ocean. Regardless, Jimmy Buffett’s life, at least as presented to us, was that of a non-fiction fantasy.
Photo by Erika Goldring/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.