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Remittance Man Lyrics
Sinner on the mainland
He's a sinner on the sea
He looks for absolution
Not accountability
How many destinations
Oh God he's seen them all
He collects his precious pittance
Never a port of call
Remittance Man
Blacksheep of the family clan
Broke too many rules along the way
Remittance Man
So far away from home
No they'll never understand
The Remittance Man
A man of empty pockets
From jingling his change
The idleness and grieving
For all that he retains
By the harbour lights of Sydney
Or the Bora Bora moon
He recites his sad confession
To the seagulls and the loons
Remittance Man
Blacksheep of the family clan
Broke too many rules along the way
Remittance Man
So far away from home
No they'll never understand
The Remittance Man
Well you can claim that you were born a prince
But you're the only one you can convince
Survivor with no livelihood
That you could ever make it good
But still you dream of what you can pretend
An unexpected passenger
Boarded in Marseilles
An angel full of tenderness
She gave her heart away
She was but a gypsy
He was just a stray
They almost made a miracle but it slowly slipped away
So he follows the equator
With a wish to run aground
It's a very vicious circle
Goin' round and round and round
And he watches from the fantail
As the mainland disappears
Just like the Flying Dutchman
He's a prisoner of his fears
Remittance Man
Blacksheep of the family clan
Broke too many rules along the way
Remittance Man
So far away from home
No they'll never understand
No they'll never understand
No they'll never understand
The Remittance Man
He's a sinner on the sea
He looks for absolution
Not accountability
How many destinations
Oh God he's seen them all
He collects his precious pittance
Never a port of call
Blacksheep of the family clan
Broke too many rules along the way
Remittance Man
So far away from home
No they'll never understand
The Remittance Man
From jingling his change
The idleness and grieving
For all that he retains
By the harbour lights of Sydney
Or the Bora Bora moon
He recites his sad confession
To the seagulls and the loons
Blacksheep of the family clan
Broke too many rules along the way
Remittance Man
So far away from home
No they'll never understand
The Remittance Man
But you're the only one you can convince
Survivor with no livelihood
That you could ever make it good
But still you dream of what you can pretend
Boarded in Marseilles
An angel full of tenderness
She gave her heart away
She was but a gypsy
He was just a stray
They almost made a miracle but it slowly slipped away
So he follows the equator
With a wish to run aground
It's a very vicious circle
Goin' round and round and round
And he watches from the fantail
As the mainland disappears
Just like the Flying Dutchman
He's a prisoner of his fears
Blacksheep of the family clan
Broke too many rules along the way
Remittance Man
So far away from home
No they'll never understand
No they'll never understand
No they'll never understand
The Remittance Man
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I'm gonna put this in my interpretation but simple, it's about a person who doesn't feel he belongs, reminiscing about his life. Every one of Jimmy's songs tell a story, it's a shame more people don't listen to his music. Also, I think because of how true this song is, many people can relate to it probably everyone in fact. Parrothead for life!
I think this song is a straight forward riff on Jimmy reading Mark Twain's "Following the Equator". There are several references in the book and I don't think Jimmy is making any deep philosophical statement here. I think he is simply doing what he does best. Weaving a great tale! I love it! FINS UP!
I can tell you what it was about because I'm the granddaughter of the man whose story he's telling. It's definitely dramatized a bit, but to be frank, it's the fictionalized retelling of the drunken rants of a tragic gay man. My grandfather was conceived out of wedlock by a young college student, put up for adoption, and raised in an orphanage until he was 7. At age 7, a wealthy family from Michigan adopted him to replace a son that had drowned. They renamed the young boy, despite him growing up with his name, and abused him when he didn't live up to expectations. He was always an odd young man. To escape his family, he joined the Navy, but was soon dishonorably discharged after being caught with another sailor. This part of his life is a bit unclear to me, but after this he went home, he married my grandmother, moved to Florida, and had my mother. He struggled with alcoholism and when my mother was 4, he came out of the closet to his family and moved to Key West to live openly as a gay man. Here, his alcoholism and tendency to tell amazing stories about his life and wealthy adoptive family, made him quite well known in the Key West bar scene where he met Jimmy during his earliest days preforming in bars.
My grandfather, Howard Paul, can be briefly read about in the discography for Barometer Soup. Though the detail about him being gay was left out due to it not being acceptable at the time it was written.
@Skwurlluvr This is the last thing i expected to find when i looked up the lyrics to Remittance Man. I'd lately been identifying with some aspects of the character in the song, and the gay thing makes it one more i didn't even know about. Thank you for sharing that and here's to your grandfather :)
@Skwurlluvr This is the last thing i expected to find when i looked up the lyrics to Remittance Man. I'd lately been identifying with some aspects of the character in the song, and the gay thing makes it one more i didn't even know about. Thank you for sharing that and here's to your grandfather :)