May 21, 2007

A Caribbean Soul: Greater Antilles (Haiti)

HAITI

A former French colony, Haiti became the world’s first independent black republic in 1804. Unfortunately, Haiti suffers from political unrest and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Aggressive deforestation has led to soil erosion and exacerbated flooding problems. Still, despite the problems the Haitian people have had to endure, in the liner notes to “African Friend” in the boxed set “Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads” Jimmy says, “they are the warmest and friendliest people I have come across in my travels.”

The music of Haiti also bears mention. The best-known Haitian artist is Wyclef Jean; others include T-Vice and Carimi. Styles include kompa, rasin and kadans. Haitians have also imported zouk from the Lesser Antilles and merengue from the neighboring Dominican Republic. If you travel to Haiti, expect to dance!

Speaking of music, Jimmy sings of Haiti in two of his songs.

On a timeless beach in Hispaniola
A young girl sips a diet cola
She’s worlds apart, worlds apart.
The spirit of the black king still
Reverberates through Haitian hills.
He rules the sea and all the fish
What if he had a TV dish?

(From “That’s What Living Is to Me” on the album “Hot Water”)

And “African Friend” (originally on the album “Son of a Son of a Sailor”) was written after a wild night in a Port-au-Prince casino. Jimmy has said he felt like he was in a Humphrey Bogart movie there.

Disembarking at Duvalier Airport,
Seeking transportation to town.
As the purple ink dried on his passport
He could still feel the eyes look around.
“Monsieur, ou est le casino?”,
He spoke to the cabbie and smiled.
The driver replied “Vieux ou noveaux?”
As he motioned the dark man inside.
Business in Aruba concluded
He now had a little money to spend.
That's how I came to meet my African friend.

next page (Jamaica)

Posted at 08:31 PM | Comments (0)

December 01, 2004

Cedar Key

This sleepy little island community (which is proud to be the #1 producer of farm raised clams in the U.S.A.) off the Gulf Coast of Florida became a little more famous once Jimmy Buffett sang about it in the opening line of "Incommunicado" (on the album "Coconut Telegraph"):

Travis McGee's still in Cedar Key
That's what John MacDonald said.
My rendezvous so long overdue
With all of the things I've sung and I've read
They still apply to me, they all make sense in time.

To learn more about Cedar Key, start by finding them on a map or seeing what the Cedar Key Chamber of Commerce has to say.

So, who is Travis McGee? He's the main character in a 21 book series published between 1964 and 1985 by American mystery writer John D. MacDonald. One of Buffett's favorite authors, "John Mac D" would reappear seven years later in "Prince of Tides" (on the album "Hot Water"):

Paperback novels make young girls dream and
Judy's spending quieter days in the stream
With Goodman, Giovinno, and John Mac D
They were such good friends to me.

If you want to see why Jimmy's such a fan of McGee and MacDonald, here's the Travis McGee series in its entirety:

  1. The Deep Blue Good-by The Deep Blue Good-by (May 1964)
  2. Nightmare in Pink Nightmare in Pink (May 1964)
  3. A Purple Place for Dying A Purple Place for Dying (June 1964)
  4. The Quick Red Fox The Quick Red Fox (October 1964)
  5. A Deadly Shade of Gold A Deadly Shade of Gold (February 1965)
  6. Bright Orange for the Shroud Bright Orange for the Shroud (September 1965)
  7. Darker Than Amber Darker Than Amber (June 1966)
  8. One Fearful Yellow Eye One Fearful Yellow Eye (January 1967)
  9. Pale Gray for Guilt Pale Gray for Guilt (February 1968)
  10. The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper (January 1969)
  11. Dress Her in Indigo Dress Her in Indigo (September 1969)
  12. The Long Lavender Look The Long Lavender Look (October 1970)
  13. A Tan and Sandy Silence A Tan and Sandy Silence (January 1972)
  14. The Scarlet Ruse The Scarlet Ruse (July 1973)
  15. The Turquoise Lament The Turquoise Lament (June 1974)
  16. The Dreadful Lemon Sky The Dreadful Lemon Sky (September 1975)
  17. The Empty Copper Sea The Empty Copper Sea (January 1978)
  18. The Green Ripper The Green Ripper (June 1980)
  19. Free Fall in Crimson Free Fall in Crimson (December 1981)
  20. Cinnamon Skin Cinnamon Skin (June 1982)
  21. The Lonely Silver Rain The Lonely Silver Rain (August 1985)

Posted at 01:49 AM | Comments (0)