“The Last Mango in Paris:” Buffett strikes again

“Riddles in the Sand” turned out fine for Jimmy Buffett, some of he lovely songs were right up the country genre’s alley, but we should now by now that Buffett wasn’t meant for the radio. What a shame. Regardless of that, Buffett did what he did best, he made more music. So, without further ado, I present “The Last Mango in Paris.”.

Well starting off, I will get the heart break love song out of the way with “If the Phone Doesn’t Ring, It’s Me.”. Buffett describes how things feel between him and his wife at this point, saying, “there are oceans of feelings between us, currents that take us and sweep us away.” These lyrics are a somber admission of how they are apart due to how they wanted different things in their lives at this point, especially pertaining to all the partying and drinking. The part of the song I like the most is from the outro, because when you know things can’t go back to how they were, the line, “if it takes all the future, we’ll live through the past” rings true.

Following his “intuition into that boarder town”, Buffett describes a mysterious All Hallows Eve in Tijuana in “Desperation Samba.” This song opens with the sound of a whip cracking, done by Harrison Ford of all people. The storyline is simple and just discusses Buffett going into Tijuana and regretfully partaking in the festivities, regretfully because he knows that there may be no exit in sight once he enters. The highlights of the song are truly just the whole composition of it, with the instrumentals, lead vocals and the backing vocals all combining for a delightfully haunting tune that will prepare you for October.

In “Frank and Lola,”a, we follow the second honeymoon of the fictional Frank and Lola, as they try to rekindle the magic of their relationship in Pensacola, Florida. Their date together is interesting to say the least, they go to the movies, go to the beach, drink a lot, eat a lot of popcorn, fall asleep on the beach, and almost get run over by the Ccoast Gguard’s jeep. I think we can say after that, their relationship is solid once more.

Now, for the next song, I must issue a disclaimer. In the title and main chorus of the next song, Buffett uses a word that is now outdated and seen as derogatory, which is used in reference to the Romani people, and while the word is not used in a negative connotation in this piece, it is still important to note the term’s derogatory context. I wanted to address that, and I will not be using the word when describing this song. Now, the song “‘——–’ in the Palace” is the brainchild of Jimmy Buffett and Glenn Frey of the Eagles, in which they describe the mishaps of two men who are housesitting for a musician. This song is based on the people Buffett hired to watch his place while he toured; the songs details how things quickly devolve into an extravagant party. Now personally, this is one of my favorite songs off the album, it. It has such a fun vibe to it especially concerning the instrumentals, and it is one of the most entertaining live songs to listen to from Buffett.

Now, we’ve all heard of mythical figures such as Leprechauns, Cupid, however I must introduce you to the Jolly Mon of “Jolly Mon Sing.” Story goes that the Jolly Mon sailed to the islands near and far, singing to all of the island people, who loved him so. However, sailing one stormy night, the Jolly Mon found himself threatened by pirates, who tossed him overboard saying, “Jolly Mon, it’s over, sing your last song very well.” Right at this time of peril, a dolphin came along who said, “Jolly Mon hello! I’ve always loved your singing, climb aboard, don’t let go.” With the night full of magic, they bid the sea goodbye and swam into the heavens,
leaving their imprint on sky. Now whenever the island people wish upon a star, they “see the dolphin and the
Jolly Mon who tell them where they are.” Though from what I researched the story is loosely based on oceanic folklore and Buffett’s Caribbean adventures, you can’t make this stuff up, the song is just pure fun, and I love it so much.

A beautiful piano brings us to the time Buffett went to Captain Tony’s Saloon to escape the heat in the title
track “Last Mango in Paris.”. There, an old man called him over and detailed his life of exploration. He describes everything from his days dominating Wallstreet to the time he woke up alone under the Africa sky, “just me and my Swiss army knife.” They shot the breeze for hours before the figure disappeared before Buffett’s eyes, however the most important words he spoke remain imprinted on his mind, the words, “there’s still so much to be done.” The line highlights how there are always new adventures to be undertaken in a world full of wonders. Lastly, the song ends with the line, “That’s why we wander and follow la vie dansante.” For the keen readers out there, you may recall that line from the last album, where we learned about the dancing life that la vie dansante represents.

Some other songs on the album include “Everybody’s on the Run,” a song I can’t put my finger on it, but
something about its instrumentals has a very electric and 80s sound to it and is slowly growing on me. “Please Bypass this Heart” is another country sounding sad love song, but nothing too special. “Beyond the End” sounds pretty dramatic, and it discusses from what I can gather, a mystical evening under the “Mayan moon.” All in all, this was quite a nice album, it performed fine, and country radio really ate up “If the Phone Doesn’t Ring.” Time seems to keep going on for Buffett, so we’ll just have to keep moving on with him toward what looks like better days, possibly even “Floridays?”