One of my favorite songs is Jimmy Buffett’s “Pirate Looks At Forty”. I’ve often joked that it will be a bit surreal the day I turn 40 and then find myself singing the song (still have a long way to go before that happens). What I really love about the song is I think it really sums up what life is like for most of us in the Navy, especially those of us working on ships. Long gone are the days of Leyte Gulf and fighting the Japanese fleet over the horizon. Even though we’ve moved on to more peaceful times, many Naval Officers still live in that romantic World War 2 era and fantasize about big guns and sailing their ships into harms way. “Cannons don’t thunder, there’s nothing to plunder, I’m an over-forty victim of fate.”
Hopefully you’ve gotten the chance to see me perform this song live, because I do it at almost every bar I play at. Take a look at the lyrics, it’s a beautiful song.
Mother, mother ocean, I have heard you call
Wanted to sail upon your waters since I was three feet tall
You’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all
Watched the men who rode you switch from sails to steam
And in your belly you hold the treasures few have ever seen
Most of ‘em dream, most of ‘em dream
Yes I am a pirate, two hundred years too late
The cannons don’t thunder, there’s nothin’ to plunder
I’m an over-forty victim of fate
Arriving too late, arriving too late
I’ve done a bit of smugglin’, I’ve run my share of grass
I made enough money to buy Miami, but I pissed it away so fast
Never meant to last, never meant to last
And I have been drunk now for over two weeks
I passed out and I rallied and I sprung a few leaks
But I got stop wishin’, got to go fishin’
Down to rock bottom again
Just a few friends, just a few friends
I go for younger women, lived with several awhile
Though I ran ‘em away, they’d come back one day
Still could manage to smile
Just takes a while, just takes a while
Mother, mother ocean, after all the years I’ve found
My occupational hazard being my occupation’s just not around
I feel like I’ve drowned, gonna head uptown
I feel like I’ve drowned, gonna go downtown
