Coconut Telegraph

By: jimmy buffett, deborah mccoll, m.l. benoit
1980
For the duke and travis mcgee
Travis mcgee's still in cedar key
That's what ol' john macdonald said
My rendezvous's so long overdue
With all of the things i've sung and i've read
They still apply to me
They all make sense in time

Chorus:
But now i'm incommunicado
Drivin' by myself down the road with a hole in it
Songs with no vibrato
Takin' the long way home

Now on the day that john wayne died
I found myself on the continental divide
Tell me where do i go from here
Think i'll ride into leadville and have a few beers
I think of "red river" or "liberty valance"
Can't believe the old man's gone

Chorus:
But now he's incommunicado
Leavin' such a hole in a world that believed
That a life with such bravado
Was takin' the right way home

So when i finished that last line
I put the book by itself on the shelf with my heart in it
Never wastin' time takin' the right way home
I know i'm never wastin' time findin' the right way home

Chorus:
Still i am incommunicado
Livin' next door to a leg with a pin in it
Life with such bravado
Is takin' the right way home

Tryin' to make it
Tryin' to fake it
Tryin' to take it home

Tryin' to make it
Tryin' to fake it
Tryin' to take it home

I know i'm...
Tryin' to make it
Sometimes i fake it
Tryin' to take it home

All i'm doing is...
Tryin' to make it
Tryin' to fake it
Tryin' to take it home

But now i'm incommunicado...

By: mac mcanally
1970
For mac who reminds me of me seven years ago
In the middle of late last night i was sittin' on a curb
I didn't know what about, but i was feelin' quite disturbed
A street sweeper came whistlin' by, he was bouncin' every step
It seemed strange how good he felt, so i asked him while he swept

Chorus:
He said, "it's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes a day for me."

I got an uncle who owns a bank, he's a self-made millionaire
He never had anyone to love, never had no one to care
He always seemed kinda sad to me and i asked him why that was
And he told me it's because in my contract there's this clause

Chorus:
That says, "it's my job to be worried half to death
And that's the thing people respect in me
It's my job but without it i'd be less
Than what i expect from me."

Now i've been lazy most all my life writin' songs and sleepin' late
And any manual labor i've done was purely by mistake
If street sweepers can smile then i've got no right to feel upset
But sometimes i still forget
'til the lights go on and the stage is set
And the song hits home and you feel that sweat

Chorus:
It's my job to be different than the rest
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that's a rough break for me

Chorus:
It's my job to be cleaning up this mess
And that's enough reason to go for me
It's my job to be better than the rest
And that makes the day for me

- notes:
Background vocals: mac mcanally, j.d. souther

By: jimmy buffett
1980
For the gang at the fish house
Tuesday on the island
Not much goin' on
The parties are all over
They ended just past dawn

The jungle drums are beating
With the tales from late last night
'cause stories bear repeating
For everyone's delight

Chorus:
You can hear 'em on the coconut telegraph (telegraph)
Can't keep nothin' under their hat
You can hear 'em on the coconut telegraph (telegraph)
Sayin' who did dis and dat
Dis and dat, dis and dat

Now i'm not one to deal in gossip
But was he that big a fool
To do a belly-buster high dive
And miss the entire pool

And what became of sweet melissa
And the boy nobody knew
Did ricardo ever find her
I swear it's just between me and you

Chorus:
But you can hear it on the coconut telegraph (telegraph)
By now everybody knows
You can hear it on the coconut telegraph (telegraph)
Just who comes and goes
Comes and goes, comes and goes

La, la la la, la la la
La, la la la, la la la
La, la la la, (la la la la la la la)
La, la la la, (la la la la la la oooooh)
Ah!

It's hump day on the island
The lines have all gone dead
All the juicy news is history
I guess everything's been said

But when the eagle flies on friday
And the boys break out the rum
And the joint begins to jumpin'
And you'll hear those hot lines hum

Chorus:
Ah, put it on the coconut telegraph (telegraph)
All the celebration and the stress
Baby put it on the coconut telegraph (telegraph)
In twenty-five words or less

I want to hear it on the coconut telgraph (telegraph)
All the celebration and the stress
Baby put it on the coconut telegraph (telegraph)
In twenty-five words or less
Dis and dat, comes and goes
Dis and dat, comes and goes

By: jimmy buffett
1980
This song is for billy clyde tuggel. i hope you make it to tahiti one day.
-- spoken:
"play ball!! (one, two, three, four)"
"where's my per diem? (ladies and gentlemen, the carl reiner band)"
"hey bobby, where's the keys to the rent-a-car?"
"jimmy, jimmy, can i open the show in atlanta please?"
"warning! don't ever start a band!"

He worked hard all year, just wanted a few weeks alone
But his old lady's into modelin', she can't get away from a phone
Besides she bitches about the mosquitoes
She says, "down there there is nothing to do"
Her goddamn phone never stops ringin'
He'll try the service in a day maybe two

Well he's on his third drink before the wheels of the plane leave the ground
Makin' points with the stewardess high over long island sound
She's also spending some time on the island
Too much city madness gives her the blues
They make a date to go dancin' and dinin'
It seems neither has that much to lose

Chorus:
The weather is here i wish you were beautiful
My thoughts aren't too clear but don't run away
My girlfriend's a bore, my job is too dutiful
Hell nobody's perfect would you like to play?
I feel together today

Well now that's just the start of a well-deserved overdue binge
Meanwhile back in the city certain people are starting to cringe
His lawyers are calling his parents
His girlfriend doesn't know what to think
His partners are studying their options
He's just singin' and orderin' drinks

Chorus:
The weather is here i wish you were beautiful
The skies are too clear life's so easy today
The beer is too cold, the daiquiri's too fruitiful
No place like home when you're this far away
I don't care what they say (i don't care)

He's goin' back to new york pack it up and let everyone know
It was something that he should have done such a long time ago
Still time to start a new life in the palm trees
Ah, billy clyde wasn't insane
And if it doesn't work out there'll never be any doubt
That the pleasure was worth all the pain

Chorus:
The weather is here i wish you were beautiful
The skies are too clear life's so easy today
The beer is too cold, the daiquiri's too fruitiful
No place like home when you're this far away
Time for to play
I need time for to play
Time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play
I need time for to play

- notes:
Billy clyde tuggel was a character in the soap opera "all my children".
(see album dedication)