HOME NEWS TOUR SET LISTS FORUM ABOUT CONTACT

The Great Filling Station Holdup

by Jimmy Buffett

from the album A White Sport Coat and A Pink Crustacean

Lyrics

I pulled into the regular pump
I was feelin’ quite at ease
I rolled down my window and told the man
“Fifty cents worth, please”
Then out jumped my partner
With his trusty pellet gun
He said, “Boy, this is a holdup
Keep pumpin’ and don’t run”

And now I wish I was somewhere other than here
Down in some honky tonk, sippin’ on a beer
Yes I wish I was somewhere other than here
Cause that great fillin’ station holdup
Cost me two good years

We got fifteen dollars and a can of STP
A big ole jar of cashew nuts and a Japanese TV
Feelin’ we had pulled the biggest heist of our career
We’re wanted men-we’ll strike again!
But first let’s have a beer

And now I wish I was somewhere other than here
Down in some honky tonk, sippin’ on a beer
Yes I wish I was somewhere other than here
Cause that great fillin’ station holdup
Cost me two good years

We were sittin’ in the Krystal
About as drunk as we could be
In walked the deputy sheriff
He was holding our TV
He roughed us, then he cuffed us
And he took us off to jail
No picture on a poster, no reward, and no bail

And now I wish I was somewhere other than here
Down in some honky tonk, sippin’ on a beer
Yes I wish I was somewhere other than here
Cause that great fillin’ station holdup
Cost me two good years

Yeah that great fillin’ station holdup
Cost me two good years

Jimmy’s Note:

Before convenience stores and crack cocaine became popular, filling station holdups were the big crimes in much of the rural South. I got the idea for this song from an actual newspaper article that described the recovered property from one such holdup. For some reason it just struck me as funny.