We Learned To Be Cool From You

by Jimmy Buffett

Amazon.com Widgets

Lyrics

Friend friend
We are at it again
Blastin’ off to Timbuktu
I said it before I’ll say it again
We learned to be cool from you

Hey lady in the Mermaid Cafe
Bathed in a spotlight of blue
Singing those Sarah Vaughan songs until dawn
We learned to be cool from you

Maybe I can parlez a little Francais
Maybe I can even write a whole page a day
Do a crossword puzzle in a minute or two
But I learned to be cool from you

Hey Mr. Moustache look what we’ve done
Lived longer than they thought we could do
Through all of the games and all of our fame
We learned to stay cool from you

Hey there Leonard and Willie on the stage
Still singing your songs pure and true
Who would have thought that time could be bought
We learned to stay cool from you

Maybe I can parlez a little Francais
Maybe I can even write a whole page a day
Do a crossword puzzle in a minute or two
But I learned to be cool from you

You said it’s more about music
And less about fame
You taught us it’s okay
To play without shame
It’s more about life
And the right thing to do
Hang on to the hullabaloo

Hey Captain Walter steering for the stars
Always knowing that your vision was true
It was your sign off note that kept us afloat
We learned to be cool from you

Maybe I can parlez a little Francais
Maybe I can still write a whole page a day
Do a crossword puzzle in a second or two
But I learned to be cool from you
I learned to be cool from you

Jimmy’s Note:

I don’t know about many of you, but when being cool suddenly became very important in my daily life I was far from it. I guess my first role model in attempting to be cool was Maynard G. Krebs, the beatnik friend of Dobie Gillis, from the now-ancient TV show that was so popular in the 60’s.

As I found out very early, attempting to be cool had nothing to do with aftershave or first impressions. The aftershave was English Leather; the first impressions didn’t really work for me in those days and when it comes down to it, I am still basically a shy altar boy, but unlike the TV character of my adolescence who I thought was cool, my fellow travelers to Timbuktu were cool. They had to be, for who else would have ever conceived and actually carried out such a harebrained scheme and, along the way, make friends for life and spread some infectious joy around.

So to my fellow travelers and some others you will probably figure out, here are a few people I have hopefully learned to be cool from.