This track on Beach House on the Moon made a special connection with me as I was a lion tamer with Barnum & Bailey for 10 years.
Seriously, there's something magical and majestical about Jimmy's cover of this Bruce Cockburn tune. With a surname like that you know the guy (a Canadian mind you) has to be good.
I don't think there's another JB tune where his performance rivals this. It sounds so personal despite it being a cover. I feel it's the appropriate final/finale song in that it is reflective and simmers the crowd down. I believe I first heard JB do it live at the Today Show circa 2000.
I'm very interested in what my "friends n neighbor"s think and where they rate this in the "serious" section of the canon.
I know Jimmy Buffett, Jimmy Buffett is a friend of mine. Son, you're no Jimmy Buffett!
As quoted by Marvin Gardens 4/1/89
It's one of my favorites.....most days I can't listen to it without tearing up a bit. I love to READ the words, too.....this is what convinced me to use it at my Mom's funeral:
"Sometimes the best map will not guide you
You can’t see what’s round the bend
Sometimes the road leads through dark places
Sometimes the darkness is your friend
Today these eyes scan bleached-out land
For the coming of the outbound stage"
This is, far and away, my favorite cover.....and top three favorite "serious" songs...
Paige in Utah
"Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on"
I liked it when I bought the album, but loved it when he sang it in concert. It was the night that JFK jr was missing, before we all knew what had happened, and Jimmy dedicated it to him, wishing him a safe passage home. I think of that everytime I hear it. Such beautiful lyrics.
"There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday mornin'!"
This is probably one of my favorite Jimmy Buffett songs. I hope he does it as a final encore when he comes to Toronto. I also have the Bruce Cockburn version and they both sound very similar.
Can you guess that Pacin the Cage is my most favorite cover song of all?!!! It is a song that actually grabs my attention every single time I hear it. It is poignant and beautiful every time I listen to it.
I, too, have teared up on many occasion hearing it.
Have a great day y'all!
Craiger wrote:Me too- I think it's absolutely the best track on BHoTM. I'd love to hear the original version someday.
If you get Bruce Cockburn's greatest hits, it's on there along with Anything, Anytime, Anywhere. Two of the four BC songs that Jimmy has done are on it. All the Ways I Want You and Someone I Used to Love are missing. His version of Pacing the Cage and Jimmy's version are almost identical. His came out 3 years before on his Charity of Night album in 1996.
What a great, great song. It really gets me, too. I think it also might be one of Jimmy's best vocal performances...he just nails it in a very special way. I still don't know that I understand the song entirely, but that's okay...that's probably part of what makes it so haunting.
"Reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I've been"
Quiet and Shy wrote:What a great, great song. It really gets me, too. I think it also might be one of Jimmy's best vocal performances...he just nails it in a very special way. I still don't know that I understand the song entirely, but that's okay...that's probably part of what makes it so haunting.
I'm confused as to what pacing the cage actually means. But that certainly doesn't take away from the song's greatness.
"I never knew what you all wanted
So I gave you everything.
All that I could pillage
All the spells that I could sing"
It sounds like these words were written for Jimmy. Before I knew it was a cover, I did think he wrote them about himself. Heard him sing this as a final encore in Pittsburgh and it was magical.
One of my favorite songs! I first heard it at a point in my life when I was not sure what I wanted and I felt caged in. It just hits home with me each time I hear it.
Quiet and Shy wrote:What a great, great song. It really gets me, too. I think it also might be one of Jimmy's best vocal performances...he just nails it in a very special way. I still don't know that I understand the song entirely, but that's okay...that's probably part of what makes it so haunting.
I'm confused as to what pacing the cage actually means. But that certainly doesn't take away from the song's greatness.
I think I can explain pacing the cage...think about your trips to the zoo...there's this illness that animals get when they're trapped in a space that's too small for them...they pace back and forth in the exact same pattern over and over again. They don't get anywhere, but keep doing the same things, because they're stuck someplace they don't really belong. Deep, huh?
"There's a thin line between Saturday night and Sunday mornin'!"
When I first heard it had me thinking that he was reflecting and contemplating retirement
"I've proved who I am so many times
The magnetic strip's wore thin
And each time I was someone else
and everyone was taken in"
Before I knew it was a cover I though it was written by Jimmy.
Nevertheless it applies perfectly
"It's crazy and it's different, but it's really bein' free"
Quiet and Shy wrote:What a great, great song. It really gets me, too. I think it also might be one of Jimmy's best vocal performances...he just nails it in a very special way. I still don't know that I understand the song entirely, but that's okay...that's probably part of what makes it so haunting.
I'm confused as to what pacing the cage actually means. But that certainly doesn't take away from the song's greatness.
I think I can explain pacing the cage...think about your trips to the zoo...there's this illness that animals get when they're trapped in a space that's too small for them...they pace back and forth in the exact same pattern over and over again. They don't get anywhere, but keep doing the same things, because they're stuck someplace they don't really belong. Deep, huh?
Very deep.....and I think very accurate.
When my Mom was in the last days of her illness, that's all I could think of. She was stuck in a body that no longer served her needs, she was anxious to move on and very "stuck" here.....I still like to think about her catching the 'outbound stage'.....
Great discussion....it's really the reason I love JB music...
Paige in Utah
"Don't try to shake it, just nod your head
Breathe in, breathe out, move on"
Goodman wrote:Seriously, there's something magical and majestical about Jimmy's cover of this Bruce Cockburn tune.
I don't think there's another JB tune where his performance rivals this. It sounds so personal despite it being a cover. I feel it's the appropriate final/finale song in that it is reflective and simmers the crowd down. I believe I first heard JB do it live at the Today Show circa 2000.
I totally agree, PTC is one of my absolute fav's, and Jimmy seems to take this one personally.
Jimmy recorded this at the time when his father was in his later stages of
Alzheimer’s, PTC seems to fit. I've always wondered if the song struck a
chord with Jimmy.
Anyway, I love Jimmy's version, and give it a listen regularly.
Count All Your Blessings and Remember Your Dreams!
Quiet and Shy wrote:What a great, great song. It really gets me, too. I think it also might be one of Jimmy's best vocal performances...he just nails it in a very special way. I still don't know that I understand the song entirely, but that's okay...that's probably part of what makes it so haunting.
I'm confused as to what pacing the cage actually means. But that certainly doesn't take away from the song's greatness.
I think I can explain pacing the cage...think about your trips to the zoo...there's this illness that animals get when they're trapped in a space that's too small for them...they pace back and forth in the exact same pattern over and over again. They don't get anywhere, but keep doing the same things, because they're stuck someplace they don't really belong. Deep, huh?
Hmmmm...pretty much explains that last job....
"Reading departure signs in some big airport reminds me of the places I've been"
Goodman wrote:Seriously, there's something magical and majestical about Jimmy's cover of this Bruce Cockburn tune.
I don't think there's another JB tune where his performance rivals this. It sounds so personal despite it being a cover. I feel it's the appropriate final/finale song in that it is reflective and simmers the crowd down. I believe I first heard JB do it live at the Today Show circa 2000.
I totally agree, PTC is one of my absolute fav's, and Jimmy seems to take this one personally.
Jimmy recorded this at the time when his father was in his later stages of
Alzheimer’s, PTC seems to fit. I've always wondered if the song struck a
chord with Jimmy.
Anyway, I love Jimmy's version, and give it a listen regularly.
aPHiDenver . .
I think you've made the perfect point . .
all of us have Jimmy songs that help us put words to a place/ a time/ a person . . songs that turn feelings into words . . . .
I think this song did that for him . . .
and anyone who has faced the wait of losing a parent can relate . .it's a very sad, lonely time of pacing the cage . .
I just finished listening to a CD of the Nashville 04/03 show . .that was his closing song . . I was there . . . it made me " tender " ( cry ) . .then and it did today . .
. . " and I finally disappear . . . . BUT NOT YET ! ! "
Goodman wrote:Seriously, there's something magical and majestical about Jimmy's cover of this Bruce Cockburn tune.
I don't think there's another JB tune where his performance rivals this. It sounds so personal despite it being a cover. I feel it's the appropriate final/finale song in that it is reflective and simmers the crowd down. I believe I first heard JB do it live at the Today Show circa 2000.
I totally agree, PTC is one of my absolute fav's, and Jimmy seems to take this one personally.
Jimmy recorded this at the time when his father was in his later stages of
Alzheimer’s, PTC seems to fit. I've always wondered if the song struck a
chord with Jimmy.
Anyway, I love Jimmy's version, and give it a listen regularly.
aPHiDenver . .
I think you've made the perfect point . .
all of us have Jimmy songs that help us put words to a place/ a time/ a person . . songs that turn feelings into words . . . .
I think this song did that for him . . .
and anyone who has faced the wait of losing a parent can relate . .it's a very sad, lonely time of pacing the cage . .
I just finished listening to a CD of the Nashville 04/03 show . .that was his closing song . . I was there . . . it made me " tender " ( cry ) . .then and it did today . .
It always puts a lump in my throat!
I've just always had this feeling, Jimmy had his Dad in mind with this song.
Count All Your Blessings and Remember Your Dreams!
But that certainly doesn't take away from the song's greatness.
