Somewhere Over China

Jan 01, 1982

I Heard I Was in Town

Lyrics

I HEARD I WAS IN TOWN
Jimmy Buffett & Michael Utley
Came to see friends
Walk old streets again
Grab a bite and beer by the sea
It caught my attention
The old town has grown
That's why I came alone

But I've been treated well
I raised all kinds of hell
When a full tank was only a fin
Ain't it quite funny how things turn around
I heard I was in town

I was a madman in a pickup truck
So many years ago
Changes have come like the storms of the season
But time here still moves slow
Passed the old joints
My favorite haunts
Where we'd stay for twelve or ten
Ain't it quite funny word gets around
I heard I was in town

I was a madman in a pickup truck
So many years ago
Changes have come like the storms of the season
But time here still moves slow

Came to see friends
Walk old streets again
Maybe strike up a tune with the moon
Don't it seem funny
Word gets around
I heard I was in town
Somewhere over China

Lyrics

SOMEWHERE OVER CHINA
Jimmy Buffett
Just a semi normal person
Thought he had the future planned
Then he won some silly sweepstakes
Now he had a hundred grand
Never stopped to think of taxes
He was gone before they knew
With a flair for old romantics
To the Orient he flew

When they fueled in Papeete
Place a call to Big Mamou
With an honest explanation
Just to tell the whole damn truth
It's his one chance in a million
Who'd deny the simple fact
Twas no use to talk it over
He'd be home when he got back

Chorus
Now he's somewhere over China
Lookin' down on all the trails
On the mountains lookin' back at him
It's a real live fairy tale
Put a little distance
Between causes and effects
Like a day old fortune cookie
Askin' who or what comes next

What the hell did Marco Polo think
When he ran into the wall
Or the crazy flying tigers
Doin' spins and loops and stalls
Just a taste for something different
Perking up a boring day
Now our man from Louisiana
Feels exactly the same way

They're all somewhere over China
Shanghai or old Peking
On a plane or a boat in an envelope
Real adventure has it's ring
Just to put a little distance
Between fact and fantasy
Still six thousand miles away from
where I really want to be
How I would love to drive the shuttle
Just to feel the engines roar
And to operate the levers
That control the payload doors
I could buzz the Himalayas
Barrel roll above Hong Kong
Set her down in San Francisco
To the clanging of the gong

We're all somewhere over China
Headin' east of headin' west
Takin' time to live a little
Flying so far from the nest
Just to put a little distance
Between causes and effects
Like an ancient fortune teller
Knowin' who and what comes next
When Salome Plays the Drum

Lyrics

WHEN SALOME PLAYS THE DRUM
Jimmy Buffett
When Salome plays the drum
The crowd goes deaf and dumb
Swept up by dark sensations

Partially the heat
More so it's the beat
She moves in syncopation

Gazelle on the run
Skirts slit past her thigh
The boys let out a sigh
The beat begins to quicken
Crowd ascends the stairs
Climbin' on the chairs
The plot begins to thicken
Phasers on stun

CHORUS

Take them to the carnival
Let them hear the conga
Tonight the tempo feels so right
Tomorrow may be wronga

INSTRUMENATAL

Gendarme close her down
Make her leave the town
She caught the flight to Rio
With nothin' to say

Wavin' from the plane
Pours pink champagne
She toasts her loyal trio
It was a lucrative stay

Oh won't you take them to the carnival
Let them hear the conga
Tonight the tempo feels right
Tomorrow may be wronga

Oh won't your take them to the carnival
Let them play for hours
Tonight the weather feels so right
Tomorrow may be showers
Lip Service

Lyrics

LIP SERVICE
Jimmy Buffett & Mike Utley
Talk, talk, talk til your jowls turn blue
But you never really tell me what you're gonna do
You seem to keep it all locked up inside
I can't help but start to thinkin'
You've got something to hide
Why the pain
What's your game
You're drivin' this boy insane
Oooh what a voodoo nobody can do like you do

You bitchin' and your cryin' finally got to me
So I thought I'd take you, baby, on a shopping spree
You bought a space age watch and an antique hat
Hell, now it's digital this and digital that
What a pain
Silly games
Still drivin' your man insane
Oooh what a voodoo nobody can do like you do

CHORUS

Oh darlin', oh darlin'
All I ever get is lip service from you
Oh darlin' oh darlin' (I'm through)
'Cause all I ever get is lip service from you

INSTRUMENTAL

So listen to me baby
'gotta change your ways
Or I'm off to Pascagoula ina few more days
I'll leave you and your poodle and all the mess he makes
Find some other fool to man your shovel and your take
No more pain
End of game
If I Could Just Get It on Paper

Lyrics

IF I COULD JUST GET IT ON PAPER
Jimmy Buffett
If I could just get it on paper
The things that have happened tonight
But that seems to me to be the big key
I'm havin' too good a time to ever turn
Out the lights.

Go to bed wake up with a clear head
Recalling what made it a ball
If I could just get it on paper
I might make some sense of it all

If I could tell half of the stories
The funny way most things begin
Figure ways to disguise all the half truths and lies
Find the heart of my song with the point of a pen
Simple words can be come clever phrases
And chapters could turn into books
Yes if I could just get it on paper
But it's harder than it ever looks.

INSTRUMENTAL

All alone in the edge of the water
Hidin' out by the Sea of Cortez
With my sketch pads and Flairs
Tapes and battery spares

It's just no comprehendo to what everyone says

Time alone seemed to work well for Faulkner
Time away seems to work for the kid
Life and ink they run out at the same time
Or so said my old friend the squid

Yes if I could just get it on paper tonight
I could tell you what I think I did.
Steamer

Lyrics

STEAMER
John Scott Sherrill
I remember that steamer
The time you set sail
The crowd was steamin', streamin' and leanin' on the rail
Then the big whistle blew
And I lost my place
Next thing I knew
I could not find your face

I can see myself dreamin'
The time you came home
Your face was beamin', seemin'
To stand out alone

The dinner bell chimed
And I found my seat
When your eyes met mine
Your smile was so sweet

INSTRUMENTAL

I remember that river
First time we made love
Oh I still kinda shiver a little
At what I'm thinkin' of
How your dress it just floated
All down around your knees
And I held my breath my God, my girl

INSTRUMENTAL

But most of all it's that steamer
The time you set sail
And the crowds always steamin', streamin' and
Leanin' on the rail
Then the big whistle blows
And I always lose my place
Next thing I know
I cannot find your face
Where's the Party

Lyrics

WHERE'S THE PARTY
Jimmy Buffett, Steve Goodman, B.LaBounty
Every night the stars come out to light another town
Just because I'm lonely doesn't mean that gets me down
I cruise the local drive-in watching lovers holding hands
Like movie stills of Coupe de Villes and Japanese sedans
Chorus
Where's the party?
Where's the party?
Everybody I know say they expect me to go to the party
Sometimes I wish the radio would learn another song
I'd stay at home and watch TV if there was something on
But why should I get all dressed up when there's no place
to go
Still everybody looks at me as if they think I know
Chorus
Everybody I see say they expect to see me at the party
I could stay here all night long
Wait for her to call
Or I could put my walkman on
And never care at all
Still every night the stars come out to light
another town
Just because I'm lonely doesn't mean that gets me down
Chorus
Everybody I know say they expect her to show at the party
It's Midnight and I'm Not Famous Yet

Lyrics

IT'S MIDNIGHT AND I'M NOT FAMOUS YET
Jimmy Buffett & Steve Goodman
Catch the elevator from the penthouse suite
And take it down to the casino
The God almighty sound of money movin' round
Can be heard all the way to Reno
Chorus
Well it's midnight and I'm not famous yet
Tryin' to win it all with one more bet
Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
Or my ten dollar yo-yo-yo
It's midnight and I'm just gettin' ready to go
Lester Polyester signs another marker
Like the high rollers do
Seven come eleven
His brand new baby needs Gucci shoes
Well it's midnight and she's not famous yet
Tryin' to break the bank with one more bet
Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
Or my ten dollar yo-yo-yo
It's midnight and Lester's gettin' ready to roll
Instrumental
They're pagin' someone we know
Lester hits a Keno
he's not leavin' yet
Vacuum cleaners hummin'lounge act still is strummin'
It's their twenty fourth set
Well it's midnight and they're not famous yet
Tryin' to win with one last bet
Nothin' can stop my thirty-two hop
Or my ten dollar yo-yo-yo
It's midnight got nowhere to go
On a Slow Boat to China

Lyrics

ON A SLOW BOAT TO CHINA
Frank Loesser
I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All to myself alone
Get you and keep you
In my arms ever more
Leave all your lovers
Weepin' on a far away shore
Out on the briny
With the moon big and shiny
Melting your heart of stone
Honey I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All by myself alone
INSTRUMENTAL
I'd love to get ya
On a slow boat to China
All to myself alone
A twist in the rudder
And a rip in the sails
Drifting and dreamin'
Honey throw the compass over the rail
Out on the ocean
Far from all the commotion
Melting your heart of stone
Honey I'd love to get you
On a slow boat to China
All to myself alone.

Somewhere Over China

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