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Mañana

by Jimmy Buffett

from the album Son Of A Son Of A Sailor

Lyrics

She said I can’t go back to America soon
It’s so goddamn cold it’s gonna snow until June
Yeah, they’re freezin’ up in Buffalo stuck in their cars
And I’m lyin’ here ‘neath the sun and the stars
Customs man tell her that she’s gotta leave
She’s got a plan hidden up her shrewd sleeve
Wants to find her a captain, a man of strong mind
And any direction he blows will be fine

Please don’t say Mañana if you don’t mean it
I have heard those words for so very long
Don’t try to describe the ocean if you’ve never seen it
Don’t ever forget that you just may wind up being wrong

Tried and I tried but I don’t understand
Never seems to work out the way I had it planned
Hanging out at a marina when Steve Martin called
Singin’ anybody there really want to get small

But women and water are in short supply
There’s not enough dope for us all to get high
I hear it gets better, that’s what they say
As soon as we sail on to Cane Garden Bay

Please don’t say Mañana if you don’t mean it
I have heard your lines foe so very long
Don’t try to describe the scenery if you’ve never seen it
Don’t ever forget that you just may wind up in my song

Let’s Reggae Reefers!

Called all my friends on those cheap nightly rates
Sure was good to talk to the old United States
While the lights of St. Thomas about twenty miles west
I see General Electric’s still doing their best

I’ve got to head this boat south pretty soon
New album’s old and I’m fresh out of tunes
But I know that I’ll get ‘em, I know that they’ll come
Through the people and places and Caldwoods Rum

So please don’t say Mañana if you don’t mean it
I have done your lines for so very long
Don’t try to describe a Kiss concert if you’ve never seen it
Don’t ever forget that you just may wind up being gone
And I hope Anita Bryant never does one of my songs

Jimmy’s Note:

I spent a winter living on my boat in the British Virgin Islands. One night , I was anchored in Jost Van Dyke in front of Foxy’s Bar and was staring out at the lights of St. Thomas in the distance. All of a sudden the electricity went out, and the stars were the only lights left. I imagined the panic at the power plant while the stars smugly shone on into the dawn, and then the song became a chronicle of things I had done and seen that week. Better than notes on a calendar.