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He Went To Paris
Written by: Jimmy Buffett
Performed by: Jimmy Buffett

Originally from the Album: A White Sport Coat & A Pink Crustacean (1973)
Additional Discography:
You Had To Be There (1978)
Songs You Know By Heart (1985)
Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads (1992)
Tales from Margaritavision (2000)
Meet Me In Margaritaville (2003)
Jimmy’s Notes:
Chicago is where I truly cut my teeth as a performer, working as the opening act at the Quiet Knight. I opened for a variety of people from Neil Sedaka to Bob Marley, and when I got frustrated with the crowds, the old one-armed clean-up man with the big German shepherd always consoled me. It took me a few days of asking to find out Eddie was more than a janitor. He was a gifted painter and a wonderful pianist. We would stay up after the club closed, and he would sing me songs from the Spanish Civil War where he had fought as a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade against the Fascists. Eddie Balchowsky was indeed an inspiration. He was larger than life, and as Mark Twain said “he’d gone out into the territory”. This song is a tribute to his spirit.

From the album “Meet Me In Margaritaville”: I never get tired of hearing Mac McAnnaly play acoustic guitar, and I wanted to try this song much simpler than it was originally recorded, and with Jim Mayer playing acoustic bass. Don’t tell anybody, but we are a folk trio for this tune. This is our Kingston Trio version of “He Went To Paris”.
Lyrics:
He went to Paris looking for answers
To questions that bothered him so
He was impressive, young and aggressive
Saving the world on his own.
But the warm Summer breezes
The French wines and cheeses
Put his ambition at bay
And Summers and Winters
Scattered like splinters
And four or five years slipped away.

Then he went to England, played the piano
And married an actress named Kim
They had a fine life, she was a good wife
Bore him a young son named Jim.
And all of the answers and all of the questions
He locked in his attic one day
'Cause he liked the quiet clean country living
And twenty more years slipped away.

Well the war took his baby, the bombs killed his lady
And left him with only on eye
His body was battered, his world was shattered
And all he could do was just cry.
While the tears were falling, he was recalling
The answers he never found
So he hopped on a freighter, skidded the ocean
And left England without a sound.

Now he lives in the islands, fishes the pilin's
And drinks his green label each day
He's writing his memoirs and losing his hearing
But he don't care what most people say.
Through eighty-six years of perpetual motion
If he likes you he'll smile then he'll say
Jimmy, some of it's magic, some of it's tragic
But I had a good life all the way.

And he went to Paris looking for answers
To questions that bother him so.
Shows Played At:
10-19-2019: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV
09-28-2019: La Cigale – Paris,
09-26-2019: La Cigale – Paris,
07-10-2019: MTelus – Montreal,
09-29-2018: La Cigale – Paris,
09-28-2018: La Cigale – Paris,
09-26-2018: La Cigale – Paris,
09-25-2018: La Cigale – Paris,
06-23-2018: Key Arena – Seattle, WA
04-26-2018: Saenger Theater – Hattiesburg, MS
03-31-2018: John Paul Jones Arena – Charlottesville, VA
03-30-2018: Royal Farms Arena – Baltimore, MD
09-23-2017: La Cigale – Paris,
09-21-2017: La Cigale – Paris,
08-11-2017: Budweiser Stage – Toronto,
07-11-2017: DTE Energy Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
10-20-2016: Golden 1 Center – Sacramento, CA
09-24-2016: La Cigale – Paris,
05-26-2016: Ascend Amphitheatre – Nashville, TN
10-22-2015: Hollywood Bowl – Los Angeles, CA
09-27-2015: La Cigale – Paris,
09-26-2015: La Cigale – Paris,
06-06-2015: Sprint Center – Kansas City, MO
04-18-2015: MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre – Tampa Bay, FL
04-16-2015: Amway Arena – Orlando, FL
04-09-2015: Cruzan Amphitheatre – West Palm Beach, FL
04-01-2015: San Carlos Institute Theatre – Key West, FL
10-25-2014: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV
10-23-2014: Greek Theatre – Berkeley, CA
10-21-2014: The Moda Center – Portland, OR
10-18-2014: MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV
10-16-2014: Santa Barbara Bowl – Santa Barbara, CA
08-30-2014: Hersheypark Stadium – Hershey, PA
08-23-2014: Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, WI
08-21-2014: Nikon at Jones Beach Theatre – Wantagh, NY
08-19-2014: Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
08-16-2014: Jiffy Lube Live – Bristow, VA
07-26-2014: Comerica Park – Detroit, MI
07-23-2014: First Niagara Pavilion – Burgettstown, PA
07-21-2014: Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
07-19-2014: Xfinity Center – Mansfield, MA
07-17-2014: Bethel Woods Center For The Arts – Bethel, NY
06-28-2014: First Midwest Bank Amphitheater – Tinley Park, IL
06-26-2014: Klipsch Music Center – Noblesville, IN
06-24-2014: Blossom Music Center – Cuyahoga Falls, OH
06-21-2014: Toyota Stadium – Frisco, TX
05-31-2014: Austin360 Amphitheater – Austin, TX
05-29-2014: Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion – Houston, TX
05-27-2014: Chastain Park Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA
05-24-2014: Farm Bureau Live – Virginia Beach, VA
12-14-2013: Waikiki Shell – Honolulu, HI
09-28-2013: La Cigale – Paris,
06-27-2013: Klipsch Music Center – Noblesville, IN
10-23-2012: Key Arena – Seattle, WA
09-21-2012: Mt Coot-tha Botanic Gardens – Brisbane,
04-14-2012: CenturyLink Center – Omaha, NE
02-02-2012: North Charleston Coliseum – Charleston, SC
10-20-2011: Ashley Furniture Homestore Pavilion – Phoenix, AZ
06-18-2011: Comcast Center – Mansfield, MA
05-26-2011: Farm Bureau Live – Virginia Beach, VA
10-19-2010: Rose Garden – Portland, OR
09-04-2010: Nissan Pavillion – Bristow, VA
08-14-2010: Toyota Park – Bridgeview, IL
05-01-2010: Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
02-23-2010: Colonial Life Arena – Columbia, SC
11-19-2009: Air Canada Center – Toronto,
09-26-2009: La Cigale – Paris,
08-26-2009: Jones Beach Amphitheatre – Wantagh, NY
08-08-2009: Toyota Park – Bridgeview, IL
07-05-2009: Shepherds Bush Empire – London,
06-27-2009: Comcast Center – Mansfield, MA
06-20-2009: Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
05-19-2009: Concord Pavilion – Concord, CA
04-23-2009: Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion – Raleigh, NC
04-21-2009: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Charlotte, NC
04-16-2009: Lakewood Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA
01-13-2009: Anegada Reef Hotel – Anegada,
09-20-2008: New Morning Jazz Club – Paris,
09-19-2008: New Morning Jazz Club – Paris,
06-08-2007: New Morning – Paris,
06-08-2006: Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
04-20-2006: Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – Irvine, CA
06-26-2005: PNC Park – Pittsburgh, PA
06-22-2005: Tweeter Center Boston – Mansfield, MA
04-15-2003: The Woodlands – Houston, TX
02-14-2002: Leon County Civic Center – Tallahassee, FL
08-30-2001: Tweeter Center Boston – Mansfield, MA
06-05-2001: Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
06-02-2001: Alpine Valley Music Theatre – East Troy, WI
08-19-1999: Riverbend Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
07-20-1999: Riverport Amphitheatre – St Louis, MO
07-13-1999: Deer Creek Music Center – Noblesville, IN
07-08-1999: Lakewood Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA
06-15-1999: Walnut Creek Pavilion – Raleigh, NC
06-12-1999: Nissan Pavilion – Bristow, VA
06-10-1999: Nissan Pavilion – Bristow, VA
06-08-1999: Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
06-05-1999: E Center – Camden, NJ
06-03-1999: E Center – Camden, NJ
06-01-1999: Blockbuster Pavilion – Charlotte, NC
05-29-1999: North Charleston Coliseum – Charleston, SC
06-17-1996: Lakewood Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA
06-03-1996: Deer Creek Music Center – Noblesville, IN
05-30-1996: Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
05-29-1996: Molson Amphitheatre – Toronto,
04-20-1996: Kravis Center – West Palm Beach, FL
09-03-1993: Great Woods – Mansfield, MA
08-18-1993: Jones Beach Amphitheatre – Wantagh, NY
07-04-1993: Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
11-15-1992: Unknown – Honolulu, HI
10-03-1992: Margaritaville Cafe – Key West, FL
07-07-1992: Jones Beach Amphitheatre – Wantagh, NY
07-05-1992: Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
07-04-1992: Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
07-03-1992: Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI
05-24-1992: Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
05-21-1992: Classic Amphitheatre – Richmond, VA
07-05-1991: Popular Creek Music Theatre – Hoffman Estates, IL
06-30-1990: New World Music Theatre – Tinley Park, IL
12-10-1989: Beacon Theater – New York, NY
12-05-1989: Riverside Theater – Milwaukee, WI
07-30-1989: Cary Field – Williamsburg, VA
07-16-1989: Jones Beach Amphitheatre – Wantagh, NY
07-15-1989: Lake Compounce – Bristol, CT
06-30-1989: The Palace of Auburn Hills – Auburn Hills, MI
10-12-1988: Sunrise Musical Theatre – Ft Lauderdale, FL
02-11-1988: Leon County Civic Center – Tallahassee, FL
08-08-1987: Southern Star Amphitheatre – Houston, TX
08-12-1986: Six Flags Over Texas – Arlington, TX
08-27-1985: Jones Beach Amphitheatre – Wantagh, NY
07-10-1985: Portland Civic Center – Portland, ME
12-10-1983: Augusta Civic Center – Augusta, GA
11-15-1983: University of Florida Gym – Gainesville, FL
08-27-1983: Sheridan Opera House – Telluride, CO
07-24-1981: Popular Creek Music Theatre – Hoffman Estates, IL
03-29-1978: Summerfest Marcus Amphitheatre – Milwaukee, WI
08-02-1977: Central Park – New York, NY
07-24-1977: Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD
10-23-1976: Lisner Auditorium – Washington, DC
12-08-1975: Constitution Hall – Washington, DC
09-10-1975: The Boarding House – Sausalito, CA
09-03-1975: The Backdoor – San Diego, CA
08-04-1975: Gusman Cultural Center – Miami, FL
Number of Shows: 143