5 Best Travel Songs by Jimmy Buffett

Sometimes it takes some good music to get your travel juices going. If you ask me, the best musician for this particular occasion has got to be Jimmy Buffett. Here are my favorite five songs by him that really make me want to take off and travel.

Punta Mita near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

5. Cowboy in the Jungle

Overview:

This song talks about a cowboy who gets "stuck in Portobelo since his money all ran out" on his way to Paraguay. It is a great representation of a laid-back expatriate in South America who "rolled with the punches; played all of his hunches; made the best of whatever came his way". It also shows how people need to travel more in order to avoid "trying to cram lost years into five or six days".  

Favorite Line:

"And still twenty-four hours, maybe sixty good years, it's really not that long a stay." 

Listen: 

4. Son of a Son of a Sailor

Overview: 

In this Jimmy Buffett classic, he talks about going "out on the sea for adventure" thanks to his grandfather's hobbies. Gives you an overall grasp of what it would be like to sail around the world (which is everybody's hidden dream). Also, I am a son of a son of a sailor myself, so this resonates especially well with me. "I'm just glad I don't live in a trailer." 

Favorite Line:

"You can shake the hand of the mango man as he greets you at the border."

Listen:

3. One Particular Harbour

Overview:

This song has a bit of a South Pacific feel to it, especially since the beginning is sung in Tahitian. And Jimmy speaks the truth when he says that travel is "a  magic kind of medicine that no doctor could prescribe". This song makes me want to be a beach bum. 

Favorite Line:

"Where I can see the day when my hair's full gray and I finally disappear."

Listen:

2. He Went To Paris

Overview: 

The story in this song is about a man who goes to Paris because he is "looking for answers". He then drifts over to England where he marries and has a son. Then they both die and he moves to the islands where he's "writing his memoirs, losing his hearing, but he don't care what most people say". Probably my favorite melody in any song by Jimmy Buffett. 

Favorite Line:

"Some of it's magic, some of it's tragic, but I had a good life all the way."

Listen:

1. Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes

Overview:

This is the epitome of Jimmy Buffett's travel theme. To be able to "run into a chum with a bottle of rum and wind up drinking all night" is something that few people know they are able to do. The title and the chorus are a great indication of how travel, though great, requires a bit of laughter to express itself properly.

Favorite Line:

"Yesterday's over my shoulder, so I can't look back for too long. There's just too much to see waiting in front of me and I know that I just can't go wrong."

Listen:

What are your favorite travel songs (not necessarily by Jimmy Buffett)? Please feel free to discuss below.