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I Will Play For Gumbo

by Jimmy Buffett

from the album Beach House on the Moon

Lyrics

I don’t smoke, I don’t shoot smack
But I got a spicy monkey ridin’ on my back
Don’t eat beignets, too much sugar and dough
But I will play for gumbo
Yes, I will play for gumbo

It started at my Grandma’s in her kitchen by the sea
She warned me when she told me “son the first one’s free”
It hit me like a rock or some Taikwondo
Cause I will play for gumbo
Oh yea, I will play for gumbo

Chorus
A piece of French bread
With which to wipe my bowl
Good for the body
Good for the soul
It’s a little like religion
And a lot like sex
You should never know
When you’re gonna get it next
At midnight in the quarter or noon in Thibadeaux
I will play for gumbo
Yes, I will play for gumbo

I’m not talkin’ quesadillas or a dozen Krispy Kremes
Or a pound of caviar that’s a rich man’s dream
No banana split or fillet of pompano
No, I will play for gumbo
Yeah, I will play for gumbo

Chorus

Maybe it’s the sausage or those pretty pink shrimp
Or that popcorn rice that makes me blow up like a blimp
Maybe it’s that voodoo from Marie Leveaux
But I will play for gumbo
Yeah, I will play for gumbo

The sauce boss does his cookin’ on the stage
Stirrin’ and a singing for his nightly wage
Sweating and frettin’ from his head to his toe
Playin’ and swayin’ with the gumbo
Prayin’ and buffetin’ with the gumbo

Chorus