Coconut Telegraph - February 1981

Everything must have a beginning. Stories, songs, the Earth (though how it got here is still a matter for some debate), lives, blogs....They all have beginnings. My life began in February, 1981. Coincidentally, Jimmy's eleventh album (and quite possibly my all time favorite), Coconut Telegraph, was also released in February, 1981. That cool, little coincidence led me to the beginning of my little project. I hope you enjoy.





Coconut Telegraph
Released February 1981
MCA Records

Side 1:

"Coconut Telegraph" (Jimmy Buffett) – 2:57
"Incommunicado" (Jimmy Buffett, Deborah McColl, M.L. Benoit) – 3:39
"It's My Job" (Mac McAnally) – 3:10
"Growing Older But Not Up" (Jimmy Buffett) – 3:23
"The Good Fight" (Jimmy Buffett, J.D. Souther) – 3:25

Side 2:

"The Weather is Here, Wish You Were Beautiful" (Jimmy Buffett) – 4:06
"Stars Fell on Alabama" (Mitchell Parish, Frank Perkins) – 4:12
"Island" (Jimmy Buffett, David Loggins) – 3:54
"Little Miss Magic" (Jimmy Buffett) – 4:00

Continuing with our theme of beginnings, let's start with Track 1...

"Coconut Telegraph"
The coconut telegraph is the Caribbean's version of the grapevine. But I guess they can exist anywhere. The alcohol isn't the only reason we wake up the next morning with a sick feeling in our stomachs...You know you probably did something stupid in your drunken state. And that sick feeling confirms that somewhere, (2*) hotlines are hummin'. Before you know it, that very public display of inebriation that in your newly acquired sense of sober, you'd so desperately like to keep private, is being distributed very publicly via text, email, Facebook and Twitter faster than a viral video of Joe Jonas doing Beyonce in a unitard. But fear not, young drunkard!!! Your drunken stage dive at the charity auction will soon be forgotten, because inevitably, we all (*3) break out the rum and run the gaunlet that is the coconut telegraph.

"Incommunicado"
I have to admit, until I started doing my research for this little project, I always thought 'incommunicado' was a cool word that JB made up when he wrote this song. I always took it to mean 'a period of self-imposed isolation'. I know now that is it is, in fact, a real word whose definition is 'without the rights or means to communicate'. So maybe you could take out the 'self-imposed' part of my definition and maybe I'm not too far off base. But whether my definition is right or wrong is not so important as the 'right' and 'wrong' paths we take in our lives. And I feel like that is the real message in this song. In the end, all of those paths (*4) still apply to us and they will all make sense in time. Paths we chose are always the right path because, (*5) holes in the road or not, they got us to where we are...Home, if you will. And you're (*6) never wastin' time, finding the right way home.

"It's My Job"
I want to take just a moment and acknowledge the superb talents of Mac McAnnally. He penned this tune and so many others. :-)

Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great poet, once wrote, 'make the most of yourself, for that is all there is of you'. Surely, Mac had this quote on the brain when he wrote this song. Because his words bring ol' Ralph's words to life in his tale of a streetsweeper and an uncle. The lesson here is simple; what ever it is that you are charged with, be it cleaning up a mess or being worried half to death (*7), it is your job to be better than rest. And that should make the day for you.

"Growing Older But Not Up"
As I round that bend in life that will take me to 30, I feel like I can ignore all the folks that went before me and told me that '30 is going to be that birthday that bothers you'. I'm just not feelin' it. Well....I take that back. I think my body is feeling it. My eyesight is getting worse. Jogging makes me more sore than it did five years ago. And in the immortal words of Hank Williams, Jr, 'the hangovers [SURE] hurt more than they used to'. But my heart doesn't feel almost thirty. Even though my life experiences to date SCREAM that I should be older than thirty... (married, check. given birth, check. divorced, check. bought and sold real estate, check. mulitple career moves, check. remarried with stepchildren, check. going back to school, check.) I'm just not feelin' it. What exactly is turning thirty supposed to mean? What is supposed to bother me about it? If someone figures it out, please let me know....

On second thought, if you do figure it out, keep it to yourself. In the meantime, I'll continue...

...'growing older but not up
My metobolic rate is pleasantly stuck
Let those winds of time blow over my head
I'd rather die while I'm livin' than live while I'm dead'...(*8)

"The Good Fight"
I scrapped the notes I had originally taken for this song after a fight with my auto insurance company this morning. I had some lofty thoughts about perseverance in the face of adversity, etc....Now I just have thoughts of confusion, conflict and conflicting opinions. But, in the end, whether I agree or disagree with my insurance company does not change the fact that I'm still buying that damned windshield. I'm not good when I'm angry. Fully aware of that caveat of my personality, folks. So I knew I needed a tributary to channel my newly acquired negative energy into. So I turned to my blog, here. Imagine my surprise to see that 'The Good Fight' was next on my song list. "Ironic!", I thought to myself. I've spent my morning fighting...

So come the lessons from the lines of 'The Good Fight' as it relates to fighting with your insurance company. You never know until you try (*9) [to get them to waive the deductible even though your policy says they don't have to]. It's hard to see the side you're on. [But I've NEVER paid for a windshield beFORE...Why now?!?!?!?!]. (*10)Jesus, if I had to quit tonight, I'd never know if I was wrong or right [because I'm not a licensed P&C agent]. [But dammit....I'm gonna] go the distance [and be transferred from department to department until I know exactly why I'm buying my own damn windshield]!!!

See....JB really has touched EVERY facet of my life. ;-)

"The Weather is Here, I Wish You Were Beautiful"
First and foremost, I want to go on record that I am not, nor have I ever been a fan of All My Children. I am, however, a fan of Billy Clyde Tuggel (*11). Any guy, no matter how evil, whose lifelong dream is to make enough money to escape to the Caribbean permanently has to have some redeeming qualities. But, seeing that I was never a fan of the show and couldn't pick ol' Billy Clyde out of a lineup, I can't even begin to comment on what those qualities might be. His love for escape and warm tropical locales will have to be enough for me. But could he really be all that crazy if he, like the main character in our song, wanted to trade problems of being overworked and under appreciated for problems of the beer being too cold and the daiquiris, too fruitiful?(*12) We all need time for to play. (*13)

"Stars Fell on Alabama"
I like it when anything falls on Alabama. But usually when I say that, I'm talking in football-speak and Alabama is the Crimson Tide. In this case though, I still dig the celestial shower Jimmy's crooning about in this one. Hear it and close your eyes and you are transported to the glamour of a 1930's Alabama big band club. The only two people on the dancefloor are you and whoever you love. And for four minutes and twelve seconds you can enjoy your own fairy land (*14), complete with soulful harmonica solo. It does a body and soul good to enjoy the classics that came before us.