What 4 songs would you use as deep cuts to show Jimmy was more than just the patron saint of drunks?
Trying to come up with a karaoke set list ahead of his passing to show Jimmy was a deeper artist than what Margaritaville and Five O'clock Somewhere would suggest.
Current set idea is Quietly Making Noise, Lone Palm, Delaney Talks To Statues, and Tides.
EDIT: Thank you to everyone that has provided answers to this question and stuck by the request of 4 songs. Hopefully it has offered you as much challenge and interest as it has for me. It has been great to see everyone's responses, there have been some commonalities, as well as some good diversity and unique answers. I think that really speaks to the broad talent that Jimmy carried across his entire career. This has helped a lot in nailing down my set list.
For those curious, my final set list I will be preparing for is as follows:
Quietly Making Noise
Tides
He Went To Paris
Barefoot Children
Potential Encore: Bob Roberts Society Band
For those curious on how and why I made this set and came to those choices, I was talking to a friend recently about music, and we started talking about Jimmy Buffett. They said they've never been a fan, and believed that he and his followers had a stereotype of being kind of rowdy drunks and partiers, and also adamantly believed he was a country artist. This is probably a sentiment most of us in this sub have heard, and maybe some of you are like me and dislike this portrayal. So I decided to take matters into my own hands and show them what the Jimmy I know is really about outside of the couple mass hits the public knows him for. Our karaoke bar that we frequent on less busy nights will average 4, maybe 5 songs per singer, thus the hard limit of 4 songs. Through this set I wanted to create a narrative of Jimmy's body of work, not just through down some of his more popular songs and call it good. Jimmys songs cover a wide range of skills and topics that I feel one must see at least a bit of all of it to really start to understand what we Parrotheads truly appreciate from him. On top of that, these needed to be songs that could easily resonate with a crowd, and wouldn't fall flat in a sea of other singers and genres. Luckily this bar tends to have a more laid back crowd that goes over a wide variety of genres and has a good level of respect for everyone and every song that is played.
Quietly Making Noise in my head *had* to be the opener for this set. It's familiar enough as a rock song that no one will be expressly surprised it also happens to be a Jimmy Buffett song. It retains a lot of the Jimmy Buffett sensibilities while being something a bit faster pace, louder, and well suited to a karaoke environment. Added benefit, the group we hang out with likes to bring instruments -- triangles, tambourines, maracas, bongos, xylophones, etc, so the "kindergarten toys" and "quietly making noise" should bring some enjoyment to that part of the group and hopefully get people involved.
Tides may initially seem like an odd choice to follow Quietly Making Noise, and for a long time I was thinking of using Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On in it's place. Ultimately between the two Tides felt like it would cut through in karaoke just a bit better, and more obviously pushed the narrative I wanted for this slot. For this song I wanted something that highlighted Jimmy's point of view for the world, and how he used his music to share that. The inner peace, the comfort and acceptance of life, the sage wisdom that comes from of life spent finding the quiet, introspective meaning. Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On, while a wonderful song, beats around this bush, and in this regard it's hard to compete with a stanza like "To whom it may concern, I've always tried to learn, That the good days need to last, Seasoned with a lot of laughter, Here and in the ever after, With poetry and painters from my past". This, too me, becomes an important preface in the narrative of the set to frame Buffett as an artist that is not just trying to make hits, but trying to share his perspective through his music. Tides is also one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs, and it wouldn't feel right to not have a personal favorite in the mix. Beyond that, Tides serves as an important way of helping to bookend his career as it comes from one of his last albums showing that he wasn't a one era pony. More than that, this element shows why Jimmy is so difficult to authentically imitate.
He Went To Paris was a highly suggested inclusion by everyone in this post, and I had previously had it on the list, but replaced it with Lone Palm. Personally, Lone Palm still takes it for me between the two, although it's a close call, but He Went To Paris serves the function of the set better. First and foremost, it's a better karaoke song for the uninitiated. Secondly, and more important to the narrative, He Went To Paris is a very strong example of the next core element of Buffett that I wanted to share, his story telling and lyrical talent. You can't talk about the essence of Jimmy Buffett without mentioning his ability to craft a compelling and unique story. A lot of songs obviously fit this bill, and this is perhaps the most difficult slot to fill. He Went To Paris is one of the songs I would expect someone somewhat familiar with Buffett to have heard, but this listening will hopefully put it in a new, deeper context. If Tides is the closing bookend to Jimmys career, then He Went To Paris is the opening bookend, coming from the second album he ever released. Jimmy was onto something from the start, and this song highlights in a way that can still resonate with a live crowd.
Barefoot Children replaced Delaney Talks To Statues, but both serve a similar purpose of highlighting Jimmys theme of childlike wonder and enthusiasm for the world throughout a great many of his songs. While I prefer the personal nature of him singing about his own daughter, I ultimately decided that was too intimate for the nature of the evening. Barefoot Children also does a better job of tying the set back to the opening song, bringing us full circle to the deep cut Jimmy Buffett Experience. Bonus points, the KJ already has Barefoot Children in their catalog, so it's less work for them.
As a final encore should the opportunity arise, Bob Roberts Society Band really closes the set, bringing us back to the energy of Quietly Making Noise, but layers in the nuances of the themes we started building throughout the rest of the set. Like the Heroes Journey, this is the final step, the return to normal life, but now with the added wisdom of the journey we just went on. A chance to see all of Jimmy's musical ability compacted into a single song. The rock and folk, the way of life, the storytelling, the childlike wonder and joie de vivre.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I will be intending to perform this set this following weekend, and the eve of his passing 3 years ago. Hopefully I can do these songs justice, honor the legend that inspired so many of us, and pass on some of the joy and comfort his music has given to me all these many years to a new audience. Either way, it's been a fun challenge and I thank you all for participating in its inception. Fins up.
