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Jimmy Buffett




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Jimmy Buffett Album


Somewhere Over China (1981)
1981
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By: Jimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman, B. LaBounty

Every night the stars come out to light another town
Just because I'm lonely doesn't mean that gets me down
I cruise the local drive-in watchin' lovers holdin' hands
Like movie stills of Coupe de Villes and Japanese sedans

Chorus:
Where's the party?
Where's the party?
Everybody I know say they expect me to go to the party

Sometimes I wish the radio would learn another song
I'd stay at home and watch TV if there was somethin' on
Ooh but why should I get all dressed up when there's no place to go
Still everybody looks at me as if they think I know

Chorus:
Where's the party?
Where's the party?
Everybody I see say they expect to see me at the party

I could stay here all night long
Wait for her to call
Or I could put my Walkman on
And never care at all

Still every night the stars come out to light another town
And just because I'm lonely doesn't mean that gets me down

Chorus:
Where's the party?
Where's the party?
Everybody I know say they'd expect her to show at the party

. . .


By: Jimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman

Catch the elevator from the penthouse suite
And take it down to the casino
The god-almighty sound of money movin' round
Can be heard all the way to Reno

Chorus:
Well it's midnight and I'm not famous yet
Tryin' to win it all with one more bet
Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
Or my ten dollar yo yo yo
It's midnight, I'm just gettin' ready to roll

(Midnight)
Now Lester Polyester signs another marker
Like the high rollers do
Seven come eleven
His brand new baby needs Gucci shoes

Chorus:
Well it's midnight she's not famous yet
Tryin' to break the bank with one more bet
Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
Or my ten dollar yo yo yo
It's midnight, Lester's gettin' ready to roll

Midnight (midnight)
Midnight

(instrumental)

(Midnight)
They're pagin' someone we know, Lester hits a keno
He's not leavin' yet
Vacuum cleaners hummin' lounge act still is strummin'
It's their twenty-fourth set
Well it's midnight they're not famous yet
Tryin' to win it all with one more bet
Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
Or my ten dollar yo yo yo
It's midnight, got nowhere to go (Oh oh)

Midnight (midnight)
(Oh oh oh)
Midnight (midnight)

(Oh oh oh, Midnight)
(Oh oh oh, Midnight)
(Oh oh oh, Midnight)
(Oh oh oh)

. . .


By: Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley

Came to see friends
Walk old streets again
Grab a bite and a beer by the sea
It caught my attention
The old town has grown
That's why I came alone

I've been treated well
I raised all kinds of hell
When a full tank was only a fin
Ain't it quite funny how things turn around
I heard I was in town

Madman in a pickup truck
So many years ago
Changes have come like the storms of the season
But time here still moves slow

Passed the old joints
My favorite haunts
We'd stay for twelve or ten
Ain't it quite funny word gets around
I heard I was in town

(instrumental)

I was a madman in a pickup truck
So many years ago
Changes have come like the storms of the seasons
Time here still moves slow

Came to see friends
Walk old streets again
Maybe strike up a tune with the moon
Don't it seem funny
Word gets around
I heard I was in town

Coda:
Ain't it quite funny
Word gets around
I heard I was in town

. . .


By: Jimmy Buffett

Just a semi-normal person
Thought he had the future planned
Then he won some silly sweepstakes
Now he had a hundred grand
Never stopped to think of taxes
He was gone before they knew
With a flair for ol' romantics
To the Orient he flew

When they fueled in Papeete
Placed a call to Big Mamou
With an honest explanation
Just to tell the whole damn truth
It's his one chance in a million
Who'd deny the simple fact
'Twas no use to talk it over
He'd be home when he got back

Chorus:
Now he's somewhere over China
Lookin' down on all the trails
On the mountains lookin' back at him
It's a real live fairy tale
Put a little distance
Between causes and effects
Like a day old fortune cookie
Askin' who or what comes next

What the hell did Marco Polo think
When he ran into the wall
Or the crazy Flying Tigers
Doin' spins and loops and stalls
Just a taste for somethin' different
Perking up a borin' day
Now our man from Louisiana
Feels exactly the same way

Chorus:
They're all somewhere over China
Shanghai or old Peking
On a plane or a boat in an envelope
Real adventure has its ring
Just to put a little distance
Between fact and fantasy
Still six thousand miles away from
Where I'd really rather be

How I would love to drive the shuttle
Just to feel the engines roar
And to operate the levers
That control the payload doors
I could buzz the Himalayas
Barrel roll above Hong Kong
Set her down in San Francisco
To the clangin' of a gong

Chorus:
We're all somewhere over China
Headin' east or headin' west
Takin' time to live a little
Flyin' so far from the nest
Just to put a little distance
Between causes and effects
Like an ancient fortune teller
Knowin' who and what comes next

. . .


By: Jimmy Buffett

When Salome plays the drum
Crowd goes deaf and dumb
Swept up by dark sensations

Partially the heat
More so it's the beat
She moves in syncopation
Gazelle on the run

Skirts slit past her thigh
Boys let out a sigh
The beat begins to quicken
Crowd ascends the stairs
Climbin' on the chairs
The plot begins to thicken
Phasers on stun

Chorus:
Take them to the carnival (take them to the carnival)
Let them hear the conga
Tonight the tempo feels so right
Tomorrow may be wrong-a

(instrumental)

Gendarme close her down
Make her leave the town
She caught the flight to Rio
Nothin' to say

Wavin' from the plane
Pourin' pink champagne
She toasts her loyal trio
It was a lucrative stay

Ooh take them to the carnival (take them to the carnival)
Let them hear the conga
Tonight the tempo feels so right
Tomorrow may be wrong-a

Oh won't you take them to the carnival (take them to the carnival)
Let them play for hours
Tonight the weather feels so right
Tomorrow (tomorrow) feels like showers

. . .


By: Jimmy Buffett, Michael Utley

Talk-a, talk-a, talk until your jaws turn blue
But you never really tell me what you're gonna do
Seem to keep it all locked up inside
I can't help but start to thinkin'
You've got somethin' to hide
Why the pain
What's your game
You're drivin' this boy insane
Oooh what a voodoo, nobody can do like you do

Your bitchin' and your cryin' finally got to me
So I thought I'd take you baby on a shoppin' spree
You bought a space age watch and an antique hat
Hell now it's digital this and digital that
What a pain
Silly games
Still drivin' your man insane
Oooh what a voodoo, nobody can do like you do

Chorus:
Oh darlin' oh darlin'
All I ever get is lip service from you
Oh darlin' oh darlin', I'm through
'Cause all I ever get is lip service from you

(instrumental)

So listen to me baby
You got to change your ways
Or I'm off to Pascagoula in a few more days
I'll leave you and your poodle and all the mess he makes
Find some other fool to man your shovel and your rake
No more pain
End of game
You're drivin' yourself insane
Ooh what a voodoo, nobody can do like you do

Chorus:
Oh darlin' oh darlin'
All I ever get is lip service from you
Oh darlin' oh darlin', I'm through
'Cause all I ever get is lip service from you

Lip service from you (lip service)
Lip service from you-hoo
Lip service from you (lip service)
Lip service from you-hoo
Lip service from you (lip service)
Lip service from you-hoo

. . .


By: Jimmy Buffett

If I could just get it on paper
The things that have happened tonight
That seems to me to be the big key
I'm havin' too good a time to ever turn
Out the lights

Go to bed wake up with a clear head
Recallin' what made it a ball
Yes if I could just get it on paper
I might make some sense of it all

If I could tell half of the stories
The funny way most things begin
Figure ways to disguise all the half-truths and lies
Find the heart of my song with the point of a pen

Simple words can become clever phrases
And chapters could turn into books
Yes if I could just get it on paper
But it's harder than it ever looks

(instrumental)

All alone on the edge of the water
Hidin' out by the Sea of Cortez
With my sketch pads and Flairs
Tapes and battery spares
It's just no comprehendo to what everyone says

Time alone seemed to work well for Faulkner
Time away seems to work for the kid
Life and ink they run out at the same time
Or so said my old friend the squid

Yes if I could just get it on paper tonight
I could tell you what I think I did

. . .


By: John Scott Sherrill

I remember that steamer
Time you set sail
The crowd was steamin'
Streamin' and leanin' on the rail

Then the big whistle blew
And I lost my place
Next thing I knew
I could not find your face

I can see myself dreamin'
The time you came home
Your face was beamin'
Seemin' to stand out alone

Dinner bell chimed
And I found my seat
And your eyes met mine
Your smile was so sweet

I remember that river
First time we made love
Oh I still kinda shiver a little
At what I'm thinkin' of

How your dress it just floated
All down around your knees
And I held my breath, my God my girl
'Cause I could not believe

(instrumental)

Most of all it's that steamer
Time you set sail
Ah the crowd's always steamin'
Streamin' and leanin' on the rail

Then the big whistle blows
And I always lose my place
Next thing I know
I cannot find your face

. . .


By: Frank Loesser

-- Spoken:
"And now from the Grand Ballroom"
"The S.S. ???? proudly presents our boy singer: Jimmy Boofey"
"Take it away Jim"

I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All to myself alone

Get you and keep you
In my arms ever more
Leave all your lovers
Weepin' on a far away shore (waiter!)

Out on the briny
With the moon big and shiny
Melting your heart of stone
Honey I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All by myself alone

-- Spoken:
"Who's steering the boat?"
"Who's steering this boat?"
"Waiter!"
"May I get a drink around here, now uh...?"
"You ever been on a cruise?"
"Neither have I!"

(instrumental)

"...isn't that a good one?"
"Yes, can I see you later, You bet!"
"Excuse me, I have to go back to the bandstand now"

I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All to myself alone
A twist in the rudder
And a rip in the sails
Driftin' and dreamin'
Honey throw the compass over the rail

Out on the ocean
Far from all the commotion
Melting your heart of stone
Honey I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All by myself alone

(I have to go now)
(Wait! Don't leave!)
Honey I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All to myself alone

-- Spoken:
"You know our last set is at two"
"I get off after that"
"What you doin'?"
"Would you like to take a stroll around the upper deck?"
"See you then"
"Maybe, oo-hoo"

. . .


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