Off To See The Lizard

Jun 26, 1989

Carnival World

Lyrics

CARNIVAL WORLD
Jimmy Buffett, Roger Guth & Jay Oliver
My father always said that there's no free ride
You've got to make a sacrifice
With so many Prophets on the Lord's side
Even your soul has got a price
But talk is cheap it takes money to buy your freedom
And the tax man's knockin' at your door

CHORUS
Spend it while you can
Money's contraband
You can't take it with you when you go
Spend it while you can
Before it's taken from your hand
There's no free ride in this carnival world

Too many hawkers on this travelin' show
Everybody's got something to sell
Bootleg Swatches, cardboard Gucci gear
Watch your step at the wishing well

What's mine is mine
If it's only one thin dime
My cash has always meant to flow

(Chorus)
Spend it while you can, etc..........
There's no free ride in this carnival world.

But talk is cheap it takes money to buy your freedom
And the tax man's knockin' at your door.

(Chorus)
Spend it while you can....
....there's no free ride in this carnival world.
There's no free ride in this carnival world.
Take Another Road

Lyrics

TAKE ANOTHER ROAD
Jimmy Buffett, Jay Oliver & Roger Guth
Seen the false horizon fade away like bisons
Headed for the jungle, the cowboy can't endure
Never look back, that's what he swore
I'll take my pony to the shore
somewhere, somewhere

(Chorus)
Take another road to a hiding place
Disappear without a trace
Take another road in another time
On another road in another time
Like a novel from the five and dime
Take another road in another time

Follow the equator, like that old articulator
Sail upon the ocean, just like Mr. Twain
Never look back, this is my plan
Run my pony in the sand
Somewhere, somewhere

(Chorus)
Take another road, etc...
....another time.

Leave my cares behind
Take my own sweet time
Ocean's on my mind

(Chorus)
Take another road, etc......
......another time.
That's My Story and I'm Stickin' to It

Lyrics

THAT'S MY STORY AND I'M STICKIN' TO IT
Jimmy Buffett and Jay Oliver
Kindergarten
King of excuses
Sister Mary Mojo, so hard to trick
What can I say
The dog ate my homework
I could play the game
They love me anyway
Alibis, angles and tales from the tropics
Come to my mind, so easy and quick
Spacemen from mars stole all of my money
I could play the game
They love me just the same
CHORUS
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it
That's my life and all that I've got
Call me a liar, call me a writer
Believe me or not
Believe me or not
Women always know before you tell them
The younger girls, so easy to trick
What's that word? I think I'm eccentric
I can play the game
They love me anyway
Revelations
Love when they happen
Wizards and lizards, I choose and I pick
In a hundred years it all won't matter
How you play the game
They love you just the same
Repeat Chorus
I will play the game
I still stay the same
I will play the game
Believe me or not
Repeat Chorus
That's my story and I'm stickin' to it
That's my life and all that I've got
Call me a liar, call me a writer
Believe me or not
Believe me or not
I will play the game
I will stay the same
I will play the game
Again
And again
I will play the game
I will stay the same
I will play the game
Again
And again.
Why the Things We Do

Lyrics

WHY THE THINGS WE DO
Jimmy Buffett/Jay Oliver/Roger Guth
In an old house down by the beach
Lives an old man who's just out of reach
Ohhh he's got nothin' to lose
Some say he's a crazy old man
A refugee from a rock and band
Oh oh he's still playin the blues

In the mornin' when you rise
Aren't you glad to be alive
Oh oh put on your barefoot shoes
When you dance beneath the moon rainbow
Can't you feel the afterglow
Oh oh why the things we do
Why the things we do

In the driftwood house you learn how to dream
Truth is stranger that fishin' it seems
Oh oh there's no earthly rules
And the people come to hear him say
Life's too short to live your way
Oh oh who's really fooling who
Invisible means are the key to support
Makes you a king in your own court
Oh oh what have you got to lose
Push the sadness from your heart

There's no living in the dark
Why the things we do
Why the things we do
Why the things we do
Why the things we do

Why the things we do
Why the things we do
Why the things we do
Why the things we do

In the mornin' when you rise
Aren't you glad to be alive
Oh oh put on your barefoot shoes
When you dance beneath the moon rainbow

Can't you feel the afterglow
Oh oh that's why the things we do
That's why the things we do
That's why the things we do
That's why the things we do
Gravity Storm

Lyrics

GRAVITY STORM
Jimmy Buffett/Jay Oliver
Apple fall out of the tree and hit the ground
Pretty soom we realize we're earthly bound
Babies fall and babies cry in early years
Mamas dust them off and wipe away the tears

CHORUS

Ohhhhhhhh watch out for that gravity storm
It don't give no warning signs
Ohhhhhhhh watch out for that gravity storm
Ohhoo

All your life you have to deal with ups and downs
So listen to your heartstrings as you move around
Don't forget to listen to the steady beat
Don't forget to balance on your ready feet

Repeat Chorus

I will keep you warm
Shelter in the storm
All your life
I well keep you warm
Shelter from the storm
All your life

Apple fall out of the tree and hit the ground
Pretty soon we realize we're earthly bound
Babies fall and babies cry in early years
Mamas dust them off and wipe away the tears

Repeat Chorus

I will keep you warm
Shelter in the storm
All your life
I will keep you warm
Shelter from the storm
All your life
Off to See the Lizard

Lyrics

OFF TO SEE THE LIZARD
Jimmy Buffett/Jay Oliver
I was raised by a maid who came from Martinique
She wore geckos round her neck and bracelets on her feet
A superstitious woman from the land of sugar cane
She'd sing the sun to bed and dance out in the rain
Dance out dance out dance out dance out in the rain

She'd excite us with his legend that the
Africans had told
About a red iguana who turned lava into gold
We'd mount an expedition headin' out into the bay
Superstitious children playing pirate for a day

CHORUS

Off to see the lizard
Off to see the lizard
Deja deja deja vu, believe it
And it will come true
Veja Veja Veja du
What works for me might work for you

Bein' rich and famous seems to have its ups and downs
That's the price you pay for being troubadours
and clowns
Godzilla's halitosis it be vaporizing cars
Elvis up in Michigan or maybe out on Mars
Dance out dance out dance out to the stars

But livin' in the briar patch ain't what it appears
Sooner or later you gotta face your fears
I heard it from the parrot verbalizing in the tree
I heard it in the songllines of the aborigine

Off the see the lizard
Off the see the lizard
Deja deja deja vu, believe it
And it will come true
Veja veja veja du
What works for me might work for you

Does it work for me?
Yeah yeah
Will it work for you?
Yeah yeah
If you believe it will
Yeah yeah
It will come true

I got problems wif my brain underneath my curls
Problems wif Loraine and all the other girls
Love a wealthy woman and the pretty plane she flies
If you think this songs confusing you should see it through my eyes
Dancin, dancin, dancin through my eyes

I'm turning off the waterfall the tourists can go home
Feel it time to travel time to write a poem
Time to seek some therapy I'm goin' walkabout
Answers are the easy part questions raise the doubt

Off the see the lizard
Off to see the lizard
Deja deja deja vu, believe it
And it will come true
Veja veja veja du
What works for me might work for you

Deja deja deja vu, believe it
And it will come true
Veja veja veja du
What works for me might work for you
Boomerang Love

Lyrics

BOOMERANG LOVE
Jimmy Buffett
Hole in the wind behind the island
Big blue hole in the middle of my heart
I can't forget the time we spent together
I can't remember how long
How long we've been apart

CHORUS

Be ridin' on this boomerang love circling fast
hard to see in a sky so vast
Laugh till you cry, cry till you smile
Up and down all around
Boomerang boomerang
Boomerang love

Now we both know, we're now in different orbits
Different islands, different worlds
Though we really are the same
I'm just glad, glad we started talking
Finally realize no one is to blame

Repeat Chorus

We've been riding on a boomerang love
can't let go
Running fast, movin' slow
What's the right way, who is to say
Tension and suspension
On a boomerang boomerang love
Boomerang boomerang love

Instrumental

Big blue hole out in the ocean
Where I dive straight down until
I can not see
Feel my way through a bevy of solutions
There I realize the answer lies in me

Gettin' off of this boomerang love
Comin' up for air
Do what's right do what's fair
Come what may, we'll find a way
No more tension and suspension
No more boom boom
Boomerang love
Strange Bird

Lyrics

STRANGE BIRD
Jimmy Buffett/Jay Oliver
Half fast and seldom seen
He don't blip the radar screen
On the deck below the dune
Under the commander's moon
Strange bird from a different nest
Flying low not like all the rest
God only knows where the strange
bird goes when he's flyin'
Everybody's trying to find him
But they don't know where to start
The ornithologist lady says that he has wings on his heart

CHORUS

Strange bird from a different nest
Flying low not like all the rest
If you can't catch him, you can't claim him
If you can't see him you can't name him
Stay on the ground or he will shoot you down
Wings on his heart, he's a strange bird

His only home is in the skies
Slicing through the cloudy pie
Above the whole Caribbean
Moves the swift amphibian

CHORUS

Strange bird from a different nest
Flying low not like all the rest
If you can't catch him, you can't claim him
If you can't see him you can't name him
Stay on the ground or he will shoot you down
Wings on his heart, he's a strange bird
Watch out girl, he's a strange bird

But he's in love with the lady of the waters
And she lives somewhere up around Cheauxvan
He's gonna circle high above her runway of love
Until she gives him her permission to land

CHORUS

Strange bird from a different nest
flying low not like all the rest
If you can't catch him, you can't claim him
If you can't see him you can't name him
Stay on the ground or he will shoot you down
If you can't see him you can't claim him
If you can't see him, you can't name him
Stay on the ground or he will shoot you down
Wings on his heart, he's a strange bird

Strange bird flying low
Cross the Gulf of Mexico
Strange bird, not like all the rest
Watch out girl, he's a strange bird
Shoot you down, he's a strange bird
It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a strange bird
I Wish Lunch Could Last Forever

Lyrics

I WISH LUNCH COULD LAST FOREVER
Jimmy Buffett/Jay Oliver
The place down the block, the one
with no clock
Covert rendezvous with you at the
usual time
I savor the scent of the fish on
the grill
Life's so spicy up on bar-b-q-hill

Lookin' good, you look so fine
Waiter bring us one more bottle of wine

CHORUS

I wish lunch could last forever
Make the whole day one big afternoon
We'll begin with dessert a little coconut tart
Mmmm tastes as sweet as a piece of your heart
Cafe au lait beneath the Paris moon

Don't hide you eyes just wear your disguise
Brazil's in the air I swear it feels like Mardi Gras time
I savor the scent love that Anik Goutal
As we walk in time to the cathedral bell

Repeat Chorus

I wish lunch could last forever
Make the whole day a first time love affair
We'll begin with a kiss, such a warm place to start
Let me into your life, let me into your heart
Mea culpa mea culpa carnival's in the air
The Pascagoula Run

Lyrics

PASCAGOULA RUN
Jimmy Buffett/Jay Oliver
Billy pulled in in a Jaguar
Red convertible sixty-five
Headed home to Mississippi, he'd been
around the world
He was that black sheep uncle of mine

His ship had come in, he was lookin' to sin
He was singing his own song
When he yelled from the drive, my heart came alive
"Jimmy boy come along"

CHORUS

It's time to see the world
It's time to kiss a girl
It's time to cross the wild meridian
Grab your bag and take a chance
Time to learn a cajun dance
Kid you're gonna see the mornin' sun
On the Pascagoula run

Friday night at the Stateline Bar
Where the waterfront people dwell
Better watch my step if the floor caves in
I'll go right straight to hell
There were pinball machines and cajun queens

Men with knives and scars
Billy moved 'cross the floor through
the real hard core
And said "Here's where it gets bizarre"

Repeat Chorus

What do the ladies say what do the ladies say
What do the ladies say, what do the ladies say
What do the ladies say what do the ladies say
What do the ladies say what do the ladies say
What do the ladies say what do the ladies say

Bring that young man over here
We gonna buy that boy a beer
And that ain't all we want to do
And bring your crazy uncle too
Mermaid in the Night

Lyrics

MERMAID IN THE NIGHT
Jay Oliver/Roger Guth
I went out fishing on a sandy beach
Cast my line out as far as it would reach
Looking for something from the frying pan
I kick back with a beer in my hand

I must've got a big one cause it's bending my pole
I'm having to fight just to keep my hold
It could be a whale (oh) God only knows
Whatever it is it's not wearing any clothes

CHORUS

She's larger than life
Made from holy water
She's covered in green
She's got little scales upon her
She's larger than life
She's a mermaid in the night

She's got a set of gills, like no fish I've ever seen
Long blonde hair and a tail in between
I'm in love with a creature from the sea
And she's bringin' out the crustacean in me

Her voice is a temptation it's a siren song
When we kiss there could be no wrong
I ask her to marry me, to be my wife
And we could do the backstroke for the rest of our lives

Repeat Chorus

She's larger than life
Made from holy water
She's covered in green
She's got little scales upon her
She's larger than life
She's a mermaid in the night
Changing Channels

Lyrics

CHANGING CHANNELS
Jimmy Buffett and Mac McAnally
Girl of a thousand faces
From a long line of basket cases
Daughter of a fortune teller
Oh the lovely Isabella

CHORUS

She's changing channels
Stayin' on her toes
She's just changin' channels
As she goes

This place is full of beachhead sailors
Fisherman and old retailers
Simple lives are so deep seated
and history always gets repeated
Some folks see a birds eye view
Others haven't got a clue
Some will go and some will stay
It doesn't matter anyway

CHORUS

They are changin' channels
Crazy girls and boys
They'll be changin' channels
Changin' toys

Survivors of tidal waves
children of former slaves
don't it that they behave
Like it's another world

There's an island in the ocean
Where the people stay in motion
Somewhere on the old gulf stream
Do they live or did I dream

CHORUS

They were changin' channels
Waitin' for their sails to fill
They were changin' channels
Always will

They'll be changin' channels
Waitin' for their sails to fill
They'll be changing channels
Always will

Off To See The Lizard

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