This is a post I have wanted to write for a long time.


Thoughts on Buffett, Part 1

In the legacy of Leo Strauss's Thoughts on Machiavelli (which I still contend was hidden from me in the library by a certain professor in order to make me "draw my own conclusions on the text"), I will analyze one of my favorite singer-songwriters, Jimmy Buffett. I contend that philosophy is conveyed almost entirely to post modern society via music and song. Lyricized music is the way by which mass society either reinforces culture, or creates it. Even if music is only a subordinate to culture and philosophy, its role must be understood as significant. It is also facilitated in some way by every major world religion, but that is not the nature of this discussion.

It is further stipulated that people seldom read today, and if they do it is only in the same method by which music affects a person. Because books are ultimately chosen through a certain lens and always judged prior to reading as this is inherent in the selection process (except in rare cases of "self exploration"), the philosophical brilliance within books, if present, has a very small opportunity to filter through the normative lenses of most people.

All of that said, it is my contention that music is a much more effective genre for affecting people. It can change moods, and strike a person quite unexpectedly. Books hardly get read on accident, but stumbling across a song on the radio or television can reach a person in a more effective and efficient manner. That is all just to lead up to my main, though somewhat unsophisticated point: that Jimmy Buffett is one of the foremost philosophers of our age.

I am sad to say that I am speaking through my own culture and life experiences when I make this claim, and this bias is sadly noted. What else would a blog be for but to discuss oneself, right? I am a sailor who has enjoyed the ocean and loves to relax and forget about the world and ambition for a while. I have learned to find the perfect balance between working and indulgent wastes of time that serve exactly to rejuvenate and enable me to only work harder when turning the "ambition" switch back on. And this came in great part from my many long drives and flights spent listening to classic Jimmy Buffett, and, dare I say, philosophizing over the meaning of the lyrics. How could this be any different from poring over the complex language of the existentialists or the timeless yet relevant claims of the classics? A person could make the case that this "philosophy" is far from top-heavy. But when basic cultural assumptions corroborate between reader and listener, the ideas create certain meaning that can extend further than initially appears. For example, Plato probably made pretty good sense to a literate Athenian. For us, it takes just a few more steps of research and contextual/historical understanding to tease out the full meaning. That step is skipped when it comes to me and JB.

Now, let's go to the "text." I have come to understand that JB has recently been making country/western albums with popular stars in that genre. I have had limited exposure to this music but nonetheless found it to be unfulfilling when contrasting to the enjoyment I get from the classical Buffett. Again, it is all culture. And speaking of culture, I do not consider myself now, nor have ever considered myself to be a "parrot head." I cannot say with certainty what this term means, and my gut tells me that there could be a connotation of illegal drugs there. All I am saying is that the tunes have reached me up in my "ivory tower," and nothing else. I have never been to a concert, oddly enough.

We'll start with the classic "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes"

I took off for a weekend last month

Just to try and recall the whole year

All of the faces and all of the places

Wonderin' where they all disappeared

I didn't ponder the question too long

I was hungry and went out for a bite

Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum

And we wound up drinkin all night

This is a fascinating verse regarding the condition of what so many aspire to be - the carefree, but perhaps not careless. What is it that really matters? Is there anything wrong with taking off for a weekend and drinking with a chum? Of course not. Breaking out of the social monotony and straightjacket into which many allow themselves to be restrained is a consistent theme of this music. It presses the listener to want to follow suit, which to me is the divergence with traditional published philosophy, ethics and other such theory. Now, the chorus:

It's these changes in latitudes, changes in attitudes

Nothing remains quite the same

With all of our running and all of our cunning

If we couldn't laugh we would all go insane

There is not much to say here, but the general theme of the song is the importance of being lighthearted. But on a heavier note, it is about realizing how life changes both as a person ages and as the various worlds a person has known as a traveler have changed when they are re-visited. There is also a latent punch to the throwdown fight to reach the top endemic in the workforce. While I have no problem with striving for excellence, I most certainly agree that laughing on the way to the bank is essential to sanity.

Reading departure signs in some big airport

Reminds me of the places I've been

Visions of good times that brought so much pleasure

Makes me want to go back again

If it suddenly ended tomorrow

I could somehow adjust to the fall

Good times and riches and son of a bitches

I've seen more than I can recall

This verse echoes of an ultimate satisfaction of a person with their life. To me, it was about finding a deeper level of happiness and contentment. If I suddenly lost my mental or physical capacities and could not do something that I love (such as sailing or law), could I look back and be happy? You bet I could. It took me a while to reach such a point, but after a person becomes inundated with the things they told themselves they always wanted, they realize that there is more to life than what was previously thought. When I realized this, I was able to slow down, and, ever so slowly, feel truly happy.

I think about Paris when I'm high on red wine

I wish I could jump on a plane

So many nights I just dream of the ocean

God I wish I was sailin' again

Oh, 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

This leaves a reader with questions that a listener would probably never consider. Has the writer moved on from the old world that has irreversibly changed? Has the writer gone back to work? Has the spontaneity left? Never. While perhaps circumstances have coalesced and the writer cannot afford the time or resources to travel, there is the ultimate optimism that lies within. The beauty of this song is that it could be coming from the perspective of a consultant who hopelessly works 95 hours per week flying between Cleveland and Boise thrice within each of those weeks, or it could be an 85-year old on a fixed income picking up his grandson at the airport. The message: live life to the fullest. Now. Someday you may not have the option. You may have four kids' child support and alimony to pay, or you might just be in a coma. Live, dammit, live.