Jimmy Buffett (Can Kiss My Ass) - original by Ted

[Ted]

so sorry about your driver your worst  nightmare really  can't  imagine it.

I know. A week later, after he had buried his son, he came back down from Antananarivo to meet us in St. Augustin. And he drove us back home over the next three days.

I don't know many details about what caused the death of his son, but it was some kind of gastrointestinal problem. And I assume it was probably preventable. That's the thing about living in a poor country like Madagascar. The grinding poverty just becomes the wallpaper to your life, if you let it. And our driver was unemployed for awhile. We only hired him recently.  I try to never forget that 90 percent of the population live on less than $2 per day. Sometimes when I see someone with a possession that cost more than $200 – such as a crappy car, or a motorcycle – I think to myself, "There's a top-10 percenter."

There are a lot of reasons why a country like Madagascar is poor (and Songcrafters is a music forum, not a global macroeconomic forum). The open secret is that the world is rich enough to provide education and health care for everyone, and we could live sustainably if we only wanted to. It doesn't have to be this way. But we – the humans of the world (particularly the privileged) – choose to let it be this way.

And all that was part of the mix of emotions that was going through my mind as I watched the Vezo fishermen sailing their canoes. Me, a middle-class kid from America, owner of a 12-person diesel-powered van, de-stressing at an AirBnB, regarding the sailors as some kind of decorative aquarium put in my field of view for my benefit. I need this right now, after a series of minor issues. But never forget that I'm not the center of the world. I'm a lucky bastard, and not entitled to any of this.

The man who drives my van just experienced a loss greater than anything I've ever had to grieve – something probably preventable if he had an extra $200 for an emergency, or if his government could provide basic health care (rather than allowing the wealth of the country to be extracted and exported by people who's basic needs are met many times over). What about his needs?

And that's why I got stuck trying to finish lyrics for this song.

[Redler]

What a story    . Very stressful holidays, but the music is so beautiful, meditative and relaxing. Nice pic and track.

[cuthbert]

Man, that sounds more than a bit harrowing. But you made a very relaxing, calming tune, Ted. It helps one appreciate how music can get us through the bad times as well as the good ones.

Well, maybe except for that Buffett dude...

[Rene Asologuitar]

Jimmy Buffet Can Kiss My Ass

Recorded on Micro BR
Ted: Guitar and SY-1 Synth

I recorded this while on vacation.
********************************************************
Hi Ted,
What a trip, and I am glad to be reading this, and know that you guys made it through.
This music sounds so calm, a different vibe what you just went through on the trip.
My blood pressure is plummeting with this lovely song.
Thanks for sharing this.
Rene

[BerryPatch]

Absolutely beautiful instrumental Ted! I love the looping melancholy feel of this. Very sorry to hear of your troubles at the beginning of your vacation and I hope you had a good time later on. That picture of the beach looks stunning, truly a paradise!

[Ted]

Thanks Redler, Cuthbert, Rene, and Berry Patch!

I keep thinking about whether to return to this, and to maybe put lyrics on it.  We'll see. It did bring to mind a much older idea with a similar tempo and rhythm – something I've never recorded, and it already has lyrics. That project might come first.

Also:

Chord changes made me think of Stones straight away.

Yeah, I tried not to think about "Waiting for a Friend," and eventually listened to it for the first time in years. I was relieved to hear that the rhythm isn't quite the same.

[Mike_S]

This is a little beauty I missed first time around. Beautiful soothing playing. And being Jimmy Buffet just passed away seems a fitting OTDB.

Mike

[Ted]

And being Jimmy Buffet just passed away seems a fitting OTDB.

What a coincidence!

Thanks!

[StephenM]

this is beautiful and may Jim RIP

[Ray Brookes]

Cool relaxing track and nicely recorded. Drunken coconut venders? Crazy guys waving machetes? Jeez, don't think I'll be holidaying in Madagascar this year.