Escape - a Jimmy Buffett-esque song with a sailboat, a girl, and an ill-fated adventure

I'm not so much a parrothead as much as beach adjacent

I’m on a bit of a song bender. Actually, I did this live recording a few months ago. I posted it to YouTube but realized the other day I had messed with the volume in DaVinci Resolve (my video editor) and the video was TOO quiet.

I deleted it from YouTube, fixed the volume, and re-uploaded it to YouTube.

I had never posted it here on Substack or on my website, so here we go.

Jimmy Buffett Inspired or Tribute?

I like Jimmy Buffett. I like his performance attitude and life perspective. I’ve read a couple of his books and watched countless performances. I’ll even break the cardinal rule of live performance cover songs and play Margaritaville from time to time. That is a billion dollar, three chord song. Whatever else can be said about it, it captured the psyche of a beach, flip-flop, and drink worshipping generation.

Though, when I want to represent Buffett live, songs like, Come Monday, Chanson Pour Let Petits Enfant, and He Went to Paris are, in my mind, better songs to perform. But, for cheap applause and sing-along, Margaritaville works pretty well.

I used to say that my song, Escape, was a Jimmy Buffett tribute. Its not. I didn’t write it with any intention to make it that.

However, if you write a song about

• marijuana

• a sailboat

• an ill-fated island adventure
  
  involving…

• too much to drink

• an island woman

• and a bar-fight gone wrong

There is a good chance that a type of Buffett-esque feel makes its way into the tune.

I’m cool with that.

About My Sailing and My Dream

I learned to sail on Lake Erie. My uncle Al and Aunt Cheryl had a cottage in Rondeau Park (Ontario, Canada). I spent many summers there where they had a “yacht club”. My cousins and I got sailing lessons and a chance to tool around the bay.

I believe this sailboat is a Laser. That’s me, looking at the camera. I assume with one of my cousins, though I cannot tell who.

Then, out in front of the cottage, we swam and sailed in Lake Erie. We also listened to a LOT of Beatles songs (thanks Aunt Cheryl), played guitar, and generally got to run around the woods. If it sounds idyllic, it was that and more.

Soon after, my father bought a Sabot (tiny sailboat). He would take me to Channel Islands Harbor, help me set up the boat, and launch me on my own to sail around the harbor. He would sit on the beach reading.

That boat was eventually replaced with a Hobie Cat 16. We raced in a few regattas - were never very good - and eventually, I began taking the boat out on my own and with my friends.

My uncle Al’s Hobie 16. In front of the cottage on Lake Erie. My Uncle, my brother Will, and I preparing to launch.

Sailing - just me and whatever wind was available - was a great way to spend time. I loved sailing around LA Harbor and out in the open sea.

I capsized our Hobie numerous times. A couple times out at the Oil Derrick’s off Carpentaria Beach. It is a great way to scare your friends who are afraid of deep water.

About the dream and the song

For years I’ve fantasized about sailing from Mallory Square, the Southern-most tip of the US (Florida Keys), down to the Caribbean and other islands.

I envision a 35 foot sailboat and my dog and I. I would be happy to take Deb along too but she has promised me that she would spend most of the time with her head hung over the side of the boat emptying her stomach. And while that sounds like a good time, it could get old quick.

With that dream as the backdrop, I was playing with the descending opening chord riff and the first line of the song dropped into my mind.

“I’ve got this old duffle bag full of Colombian stash
Made a trip to the bank, turned my bonds into cash”

I knew I had something interesting. The rest of the song came in a mad rush. I probably completed the entire thing in under two hours. It has one of the favorite lyrics I’ve written.

From the last verse:

Now my pockets are empty, my stash blown to the wind
Like a sail through the storm my dreams are tattered and thin

Now you know the story and my dream. If you have a seaworthy 35 foot sailboat that you are interested in giving to me, let me know. I will even name the boat after you… cuz I’m a giver!

I hope you enjoy the song. If so, please like the video on YouTube and leave a comment. Also, consider sharing it with a few thousand of your closest friends.

And/or, share this post.

Escape Video

Escape Lyrics

© 2010 - Matthew Moran

VERSE:
I've got this old duffle bag full of Colombian stash
Made a trip to the bank, I turned my bonds into cash
I got me a Captain, he got him a boat
Gonna make our escape and keep my dreams afloat
keep my dreams afloat

Cuz this man's gotta be what this man's always been
I'm a dreamer of dreams, I'm a lover, a friend
And I make no excuses, so excuse me my faults
It's safer asking forgiveness than permission I'm told
permission I'm told

CHORUS:
Am I losing ground or winning it back
Have I lost my way or am I on the right track
I've taken some falls. Imagine that
Been handed some bruises now I'm giving ‘em back

VERSE:
The bartender he told me, her name was Belize
The way she swayed to the music it was easy to see
She was promise and danger, Salvation and sin.
A whirlpool’s pull and I was falling right in
falling right in

I'd like to tell you about passion. Love to tell you about love
But past our 2nd dance you know I don't recall much
Three local boys darkened the door to that bar
I should’ve stopped dancing, would have been the wise call
been the wise call

VERSE:
I woke up on the beach to the sounds of the sea
It seems Belize and the boys they got the better of me
My head it aches from the rum, my body aches from the fight
From the what I can't recall it was one hell of a night
one hell of a night

Now my pockets are empty, my stash blown to the wind
Like a sail through the storm my dreams are tattered and thin
But I got me a captain, in need of a crew
So when you make your escape I might be shuttling you
might be shuttling you