“Off to See the Lizard”: part two has arrived

Glad to see you didn’t back out on me, It would’ve been a shame if you didn’t come back for more Off to See the Lizard, since I would say this is the half of the album where Jimmy Buffett shines. I won’t keep you waiting any longer, so here we go.

Starting off, we are greeted by mellow instrumentals for “That’s My Story” and “I’m Stickin’ to It.” Buffett is the “kindergarten king of excuses” here, and he describes how you can call him a “liar” or a “writer”; however, he will simply tell you what his story is, judge him as you may. He describes himself as eccentric and able to come up with quips on the fly. Whether what he says is true or not, it makes for a fun song, and its simple premise is entertaining enough for me, so when Buffett says a “spacemen from mars stole all of my money,” I believe him.

The album’s namesake, “Off to See the Lizard,” is a song that has a playful instrumental and rhythm; however, it has lyrics that are at times rather confusing, even to a Buffett aficionado such as myself. The beginning of the song is easy to understand, since Buffett writes about his childhood and when he first heard about the legend of “a red iguana who turned lava into gold.” Though following this first verse the song’s lyrics become much harder to understand, it all follows what the first verse set up, which is Buffett has a wild imagination, and he uses it a lot. It would be hard for me to try and describe these lyrics while making sense, so I would recommend giving it a listen yourself. Overall, I really enjoy this song, and it is one of the best off this album.

Throw a boomerang, what happens? It should come flying back to hit you in your face, which quite accurately describes the premise of “Boomerang Love.” This song expresses a weird mix of emotions that breakups can leave you feeling, and the feelings of emptiness that can consume you. The term “boomerang love” feels like what we would describe as a “situationship,” which isn’t a fun thing to be in. Being in one leaves you searching for love, which is “hard to see in a sky so vast,” leaving you feeling “tension and suspension.” It’s not a good feeling, it’s a complicated one, and the chorus of this song personifies this feeling by doing what a boomerang does, which is fly around and around, repeating its motions, leaving you lost.

Did someone say bagpipes? Well, regardless of anyone did, “Strange Bird” gives us plenty of bagpipes! The lyrics have much to do with flying and what not, but that is all because this song is referencing Buffett’s first seaplane, which was called “Strange Bird.” Now this is an energetic song about this strange bird “flying low, across the Gulf of Mexico”; however, Buffett mentions in the third verse the “Lady of the Waters,” which was his second seaplane, which replaced Strange Bird. So, in short, good song, bagpipes and goodbye Strange Bird, you will be missed.

“The Pascagoula Run” is iconic. Retelling a fictional encounter, Buffett describes how his “black sheep uncle,” Billy, took him on a night he won’t ever forget. For the sake of the song, we go back to the late 60s when Buffett is still a young man, and his uncle takes him to the “state line bar,” in which you can imagine all the drinking and partying Jimmy undertakes. The song’s premise is fun, and the whole atmosphere of the song is energetic, making one of the most memorable moments on this album. Much like “Great Heart” off the previous album, this song is performed on a live album, and the live version adds so much more flare to the song. I love it!

Well, we’ve reached the end of another album. We got the usual subdued chart performance from this one, but “Take Another Road” did reach 18 on the Adult Contemporary charts, for what it’s worth. But guess what? This is a no skip album for me; I like every song from it. Not since 1981’s “Coconut Telegraph” (who here remembers it?) have we had such a thing, and now here we are eight years later in 1989. Now, the album didn’t reach the same heights as some of Buffett’s earlier works, but this album has a unique sound to it, and it is a good album in my book. Now, going forward, I am really excited for what’s next. The next few albums are some of my absolute favorites, so sit down, and let’s celebrate making it this far in our journey. I think this calls for something sweet, possibly “Fruitcakes?”