In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I went down to Captain Tony's to get out of the heat
Then I heard a voice call out to me, "Son, come have a seat"
I had to search my memory as I looked into those eyes
Our lives change like the weather, but a legend never dies
He said, "I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
"I had a third-world girl in Búzios with a pistol in each hand
She always kept me covered as we moved from land to land
I had a damn good run on Wall Street with my high fashion model wife
I woke up dry beneath the African sky, just me and my Swiss Army knife
"I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
We shot the breeze for hours as the sun fell from the skies
And like the sun, he disappeared before my very eyes
It was somewhere past dark-thirty and I went back to the head
I read upon the dingy wall, the words the old man said
"I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
"I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
That's why we wander and follow la vie dansante
Then I heard a voice call out to me, "Son, come have a seat"
I had to search my memory as I looked into those eyes
Our lives change like the weather, but a legend never dies
He said, "I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
"I had a third-world girl in Búzios with a pistol in each hand
She always kept me covered as we moved from land to land
I had a damn good run on Wall Street with my high fashion model wife
I woke up dry beneath the African sky, just me and my Swiss Army knife
"I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
We shot the breeze for hours as the sun fell from the skies
And like the sun, he disappeared before my very eyes
It was somewhere past dark-thirty and I went back to the head
I read upon the dingy wall, the words the old man said
"I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
"I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done"
That's why we wander and follow la vie dansante
Lyrics submitted by EnjOy IncUbus
Last Mango In Paris Lyrics as written by Will Jennings Marshall Chapman
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Every time I hear this song, I think back to drinking pirates punch and thinking about Papa at Capt'n Tony's! Those were the days!
i have been a little parrot head since i was first able to walk and i used to go to Jimmy Buffett concerts on my daddys shoulders with mi grass skirt and i bet you anything i new the words to more songs at age 5 then most of the adults at the concert, and i was not shy about singing along:] at 15 now, i am happy to say that i still have every song by Jimmy on my iPod and im going to my 12th concert next month. this song has always been one of my faves, its sad that it has kinda slid under the deck, cuz its a greaaat song. its a true buffet anthem just chillin and goin where the wind takes you. xox
This song alway makes me really sad though lucky. I was raised in the keys and I can see the type of guy he is talking about. Be it the Mayor, The Wizard or another. There were so many people that passed through our lives with tall tales. All of them had lessons for a youngster and the crazy part was most of them were true.
I think the song is exactly about what it says. An old dog in the corner, callin the youth over for some conversation. Telling stories and sharing the evening and at the end of it all. You take so much away from the table. I have been there, with my grandfathers friends, I have had evenings with the Mayor when I was much younger. And all of it, I could never replace or be more greatful for.
Those figures in my life will always be legends. Grab for the impossible and it still will never be over.