“Down to Earth”: notes on Buffet’s album

In 1966, after a year of college, Jimmy Buffett dropped out of Auburn University. However, he left college with the valuable skill of playing the guitar. With this newfound talent, Buffett would briefly play at a bar in New Orleans before he finished his history degree (history majors unite) at the University of Southern Mississippi. Buffett was a street performer on Bourbon Street before he shipped off to Nashville, Tenn., to work at Billboard. With the connections this job afforded him he’d sign on to Barnaby Records, where his first record would be released. “Down to Earth” is Buffet’s first studio album—a folk country album. Unfortunately, folk music isn’t my forte, and there aren’t that many songs on this album that really stand out to me. These are the few that do I wish to talk about.

“The Missionary” puts us in the perspective of a missionary overseas; we hear him spread his faith, speak of civilized society and teach how to “distinguish right from wrong”. However, he’s been gone too long, not knowing his country was at war and the leaders he praised, murdered. He realizes in the final verse that he may have taught these people wrong. It’s a song that looks at European hypocrisy during the age of colonialism. I think of the hypocrisy of the French following the revolution; they were so enlightened, but they never ceased using the guillotine. As a history major, I enjoy the song’s story and meaning.

The next song is “Truckstop Salvation”, the longest song on the album with a 5:48 runtime. I dig the guitar and drum instrumentals; however, the vocals and the lyrics are the best part. A rock star rolls into a small conservative town in the early 70s. What the star represents is so diametrically opposed to the town, with their preacher stating, “That the devil had passed right through their nest.” The ideas of the song interest me, the way the town is threatened by this man just living free. Though the song is from the 70s, its story doesn’t feel all too different from parts of this country today.

In January of 1970, Capt. James Delany Buffett, Jimmy Buffett’s grandfather, would pass away. Capt. Buffett captained the Chiquimula, a steamship upon which he would ship cargo between the West Indies and the United States. He would tell Buffett stories about the sea. “The Captain and the Kid,” written a few weeks after his grandfather’s death, is a beautiful song about just that. It’s an eloquent tribute to his beloved grandfather, who he’d sit upon the knee of and “listen to the many tales of life upon the sea.” I understand the feeling of being with a loved one and just listening to the tales they tell. It’s a song that I connect with, and that’s an important part of music.

Lastly, I like how the song “Captain America” pokes fun at then Vice President Spiro Agnew. Besides that, there isn’t too much I can say for this early album. However, in only a few short albums, I’ll be able to talk more about these songs and what they mean to me. Until then, thank you for reading.