From Holler Country: The Emotional Conversation that Inspired Zac Brown Band and Mac McAnally’s Heartfelt Jimmy Buffett Tribute, ‘Pirates & Parrots’
As Parrotheads around the world celebrated what would’ve been Jimmy Buffett’s 79th birthday on Christmas Day, we have no doubt that – alongside a tinsel-tinged array of festive classics – Zac Brown Band and Mac McAnally’s moving 2023 tribute to Jimmy, ‘Pirates & Parrots’, will have also been ringing out in many households.
It’s a bittersweet yet joyful reflection on grief, with Zac and Mac trading lines as they imagine the shimmering blue waters and pristine white sand Jimmy is enjoying in Heaven.
Speaking to Holler, Mac explains how that touching ode to their good friend came about, with the long-time member of Jimmy’s Coral Reefer Band sharing that it originated from a heartfelt conversation he had with Zac shortly after Jimmy had died.
“Zac actually called me the day that Jimmy passed”, the ‘Down the Road’ crooner recalls, “He was just talking from his heart, and he said several of the lines that are prominent lines in that song during our phone conversation. I told him that was beautiful”.
Mac expands, “I am not a writer on that song. I just bragged on [Zac] for expressing himself. I said, ‘You need to run with that’. And he did, and he recorded it, and I guess, because it was somewhat born out of our conversation – I didn’t make any contribution other than tell him it was really good – but when he finished it, he called and asked if I would sing a verse and join them on it”.
Mac has always spoken fondly about his friendship with Jimmy, with the duo famously meeting after Jimmy bought a copy of Mac’s self-titled 1977 album, and subsequently decided to write the musician a note, declaring, “We’re going to be friends”.
Ultimately, Jimmy was right, and the two hit it off immediately, with Mac becoming the most prominent member of the ‘Margaritaville’ icon’s Coral Reefer Band, and co-writing a host of beloved tracks in Jimmy’s discography, including ‘Changing Channels’, ’Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move Out’ and, latterly, ‘Bubbles Up’.
Similarly, Zac became good buddies with Jimmy after they joined forces for CMT Crossroads, and released the sun-soaked, island-inspired anthem, ’Knee Deep’, the following year. Since that point, Zac regularly spoke about how he felt as though Jimmy had passed the ‘tiki torch’ of his uplifting, tropically-minded music to him and his band, with the duo combining once more in 2022 on ‘Same Boat’.
Mac confirms, “Zac and I shared a love for Jimmy – as does almost everybody I know, they love Jimmy Buffett. He was a hard guy not to love. But Zac and I were particularly close to him, and it was an honor for me. He certainly didn’t need me to be a singer on [‘Pirates & Parrots’], but it is a bond that we will always have, I believe”.
He concludes by stressing how Jimmy created a uniquely close-knit and positivity-fuelled family of like-minded Parrotheads, “It’s a high point in my solo show…It makes people cry, but not necessarily in a bad way. It helps folks put a band-aid on something that’s an open wound. Losing Jimmy is like losing a family member to millions of people, and he turned millions of folks into a family of his fans”.
Such was the impact Jimmy and his glass-half-full, it’s-always-five-o-clock-somewhere approach to life, there are even Latitude retirement communities in the US that pivot around Jimmy’s philosophy, as well as various Margaritaville hubs globally.
Jimmy’s spirit transcended his music, and ‘Pirates & Parrots’ captures this with a level of poeticism worthy of Jimmy himself, and a clear sincerity from both Zac and Mac. As well as serving as a poignant homage to the ‘Come Monday’ singer-songwriter, ‘Pirates & Parrots’ is a rallying battle-cry and a rousing cri-de-coeur for anyone that considers themselves a Parrothead, encouraging you to keep living every day as if it’s your last, to keep being kind to one another, to keep pouring those drinks tall and strong – and, most importantly of all, to keep the party going.