Music Monday: Jimmy Buffett and “Saxophones”

Posted By on November 24, 2025

Living and Dying in 3/4 Time - albumIt is odd just how the human mind works when connecting a couple of entirely different names?

Last week, in a discussion on X.com, an automotive journalist, CarGuyTom, toss out the celebrity name, Ema Thompson, after a poll he was running. Knowing Tom was a fan of jazz music, the name for some strange reason triggered a line from a Jimmy Buffett song from back in the 1970s: “Sweet Irma Thomas and Frogman Henry ..” from his song.
 

  Jimmy Buffett
  “Saxophones”
| 1974

So for this Music Monday, the Jimmy Buffett song is “Saxophones” from his 1974 album, Living and Dying in 3/4 Time.

Saxophones
By: Jimmy Buffett

I cut my teeth on Gumbo rock, Benny Stillman and Dr. John
Sweet Erma Thomas and Frogman Henry
Used to boogie woogie all night long
Though I love rock n′ roll the acoustic guitar
Was the only way I had of becomin’ a star
I′m doin’ really nice and travellin’ around
But they won′t play my record in my old home town

Chorus:
But if I had saxophones
Yeah, big baritone cleanin′ up the muddy breaks
If I had saxophones
I could get some recognition from that Mobile, Alabama D.J.

Livin’ by the ocean, sometimes I get the notion
To take my Janey downtown
We hang out in a funky little bar
They call it the “Shipwreck Lounge”
Well we get kind of drunk and we play rock n′ roll
Grabbin’ everybody right down in his soul
When we get to cookin′ somethin’s still wrong
There′s still somethin’ missin’ from them good ole songs

Chorus:
But if we had saxophones
Big baritone cleanin′ up the muddy breaks
If we had saxophones
I could make that joint shimmy like a big California earthquake

Yeah if we had saxophones
Yeah, big baritone cleanin′ up the muddy breaks
If we had saxophones
I could get some recognition from that Mobile, Alabama D.J.

Comments

Desultory - des-uhl-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee

  1. lacking in consistency, constancy, or visible order, disconnected; fitful: desultory conversation.
  2. digressing from or unconnected with the main subject; random: a desultory remark.
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