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I know he was was raised Catholic and talks about catholics in his songs but I was wondering if he still ever goes to church or still follows, its not a bad thing or anything, i was just wondering?

Religion's in the hands of some crazy-a$$ people...




Besides, honestly? Beyond the few public comments Jimmy's made on the subject ("It's been 45 years since my last confession", etc) I think that's a really personal topic, IMHO.... I wouldn't want my religious beliefs discussed on a public board.....

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:Religion's in the hands of some crazy-a$$ people...




Besides, honestly? Beyond the few public comments Jimmy's made on the subject ("It's been 45 years since my last confession", etc) I think that's a really personal topic, IMHO.... I wouldn't want my religious beliefs discussed on a public board.....

well there is COBO

ragtopW wrote:

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:Religion's in the hands of some crazy-a$$ people...




Besides, honestly? Beyond the few public comments Jimmy's made on the subject ("It's been 45 years since my last confession", etc) I think that's a really personal topic, IMHO.... I wouldn't want my religious beliefs discussed on a public board.....

well there is COBO

Yeah, but that's religion practicing Buffett, as opposed to Buffett practicing religion...

I wouldn't want my religious beliefs discussed on a public board.....

nudge, nudge ... of course you wouldn't???

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:

ragtopW wrote:

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:Religion's in the hands of some crazy-a$$ people...




Besides, honestly? Beyond the few public comments Jimmy's made on the subject ("It's been 45 years since my last confession", etc) I think that's a really personal topic, IMHO.... I wouldn't want my religious beliefs discussed on a public board.....

well there is COBO

Yeah, but that's religion practicing Buffett, as opposed to Buffett practicing religion...

probably not, since hes still got coastal confessions to make.

I'm sure there are some folks who could answer this better, but I do know that he said he does go to mass at St Charles Cathedral in New Orleans at times.

From the lyrics of Coastal Confessions he also says he has not gone to confession in 42 years. Of course, we all know Jimmy's lyrics are usually "Semi-true Stories."

This story, by the editor of Cocotel, says a lot to me about what kind of person Jimmy is. Whether he practices a formal religion or not, every once in a while we get a glimpse of his spirituality and benevolence.

Story from the 2006 Summer Coconut Telegraph...

The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival was envisioned as a cultural event thatwould have popular appeal in and out of The Crescent City. It called for a large daytime fairwith multiple performers from varied musical backgrounds, food booths of Louisiana cuisine, and arts and crafts booths, along with an evening concert series. Less than 400 people attended the first Jazz Fest in April of 1970, and theywere entertained by Mahalia
Jackson, Duke Ellington, Pete Fountain, Al Hirt,The Preservation Hall Band, and many others.

Jazz impresario George Wein opened the festival noting that, “The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival represents a new and exciting idea in festival presentation.This festival could only be held in New Orleans because
here and here alone is the richest musical heritage in America.” In 2001, the Festival celebrated Louis Armstrong’s centennial, and the total attendance eclipsed 650,000, shattering records for virtually every day
of the Heritage Fair, including the all-time single-day attendance record of 160,000.Wein’s prediction that New Orleans would become the first city of jazz festivals had clearly come true.

Jimmy has appeared at Jazz Festmany times over the years, joining Zachary Richard, Lenny Kravitz, the Neville Brothers, Lyle Lovett and countless others in scheduled and impromptu appearances. In an A&E In
Concert Series,Jimmy noted that, “I came here in 1966 the first time and have continued to play music here ever since. But a lot of people don't know that I spent about four years working around here on Bourbon Street
- everything from a barker to a musician. Most of the people I knew went to Memphis, or Atlanta, or NewYork, got straight jobs. But I never had any doubt in my mind that I wanted to run away to New Orleans and do
something weird.”

The Margaritaville Store and Café are in the same neighborhood where he spent these formative four years, and I can not imagine howJimmy, a right-brained balladeer, must feel prowling his old haunts; hazy days and
misty nights long before he blew out his flip flop.And while New Orleans is a sprawling metropolitan area, many equate it only with the French Quarter, and it is the Quarter that holds the magic, the history, la joi de vie,
that capture your heart and soul. A weekend spent wandering the streets, exploring the history at Jackson Square, virtually absorbing the sights, smells and sounds will demonstrate its ethnic and cultural diversity.
Spanish and French influences, the colorful mélange of food, music, climate and character all combine to create the obligatory gumbo reference.

But would there be a Jazz Fest in 2006? A festival after one of the worst weather catastrophes on U.S. soil? A celebration amidst all the ruin?

Jimmy told Keith Spera,Music Writer for the Times Picayune, “Quint said whether it works or not,we need to step up here. Everybody is looking for something that's the first step back." Quint is Quint Davis, president of Festival Productions Inc.–New Orleans and the producer and director of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

“The first time I talked about it was at the "From the Big Apple to the Big Easy" benefit in NewYork in September. It came out of the emotions stirred up by that concert. Little things like going to rehearse with Allen Toussaint's band and the guitar player didn't have a guitar, because it gotwashed away. The emotional level was,"Of course I'll do it. "The concern was more on a practical level of someone who does shows for a living.”


I put out a newsletter for a living, and it was an excellent opportunity to visit NOLA, spend some time at Margaritaville and witness the rebirth and revival of this historically rich city.To my great pleasure, Judith Ranger-Smith, Executive Director of Singing For Change was there as well. We caught up over an Italian dinner and a liter of house red on Friday night prior to Sonny Landreth’s performance at the café.

My employer called way too early on Saturday morning to “request”my presence at a sit down with Sisters Jane Remson and Blaise Fernando. Sister Jane heads the New Orleans Artists Against Hunger and Homelessness, NOAAHH, and is a fixture in the beleaguered borough’s charitable community. We accompanied these lovely, spiritual ladies on a
personal tour through the devastated areas in and around New Orleans to visit beneficiaries of and witness the good that comes from SFC contributions. (See Judith’s report on her visit under SFC).

On our return trip Sister Jane reminisced about an appearance with Jimmy and Rita Coolidge at an early NOAAHH Concert. “I haven’t seen Jimmy in a while, please give him my best.” Now I’m not a big believer in divine
intervention, and I know that if a higher power exists he/she would have something more pressing to attend to than a conversation in the back of a compact, yet comfortable Honda. But what are the odds of us pulling up
to the hotel to find Jimmy propped beside a shiny SUV? “Here’s your chance Sister,” I said. “Tell him yourself.”

Jimmy spoke briefly with the soft spoken postulants as we parted ways. Jimmy was headed for lunch with old NOLA pals and we went to Margaritaville for an employee discount lunch. The filet gumbo and salmon were terrific, and the New Orleans Café crew were relishing in a rare busy weekend. Margaritaville was one of the first businesses to reopen after Hurricane Katrina serving mainly relief workers and others tackling the
cleanup in and around New Orleans. Jimmy told the Times Picayune.

“I thought it was our contribution to the city to come back and get that restaurant open. People that work at other locations did an incredible job of
helping out their fellow workers in New Orleans. They put together a rescue and support system that I had very little to do with, other than endorsing it and saying how proud I was of them. We paid everybody, and took a big loss. But we're in for the long haul. We do very well everywhere else, and it was the leastwe could do.”

The Fairgrounds are a short cab ride from the French Quarter and the streets were lined with poncho and umbrella salesman riding the retail wave of impending thunderstorms. We made our way toward the Acura
Stage after several stops at the legendary Jazz Fest food booths. Oyster Artichoke Soup, Crawfish Etouffée, Creole Sweet Potato Pone, Crawfish Strudel, and of course some BBQ Pork Ribs…a true gastronomical experience.

There was a scurry of activity as Jimmy and the Coral Reefers, along with several Little Feat band members, arrived in their unmarked white vans. After an interview with budding radio personality, Savannah Jane
Buffett on Radio Margaritaville, Jimmy ran up the backstage ramp to face the 70,000 people waiting for this performance. Jazz Fest officials claim nearly 350,000 people attended this year. Bruce Springsteen gave a
memorable performance the firstweekend, adapting his Asbury, NJ anthem “My City of Ruins” to New Orleans’ plight. James Taylor,Dave Mathews, Paul Simon, and an apologetic Fats Domino were there as well.

But Saturday afternoon belonged to Jimmy.

Flashback to Sunday, September 4. Jimmy is in Chicago for one of the biggest shows of his life, the first concert ever held at Wrigley Field. New Orleans is underwater. One of Jimmy’s dearest friends was Chicago native Steve Goodman, and one of Steve Goodman’s best known songs is “City of New Orleans.

”The record setting show at Wrigley Field opened with a 1983 video of mustachioed Jimmy Buffett singing the national anthem, dedicating
it through an emotionally broken voice to Steve Goodman. Jimmy’s 2005 appearance on this same field also began with a dedication, “To my friends and family along the Gulf Coast.”

The irony was missed by no one. After the second encore, Jimmy appeared deep in the right field bleachers, just he and Mac McAnally, illuminated by
a single spotlight, and performed City of New Orleans. A private, poignant moment shared with 40,000 fans.

Saturday May 6, 2006. A lightning and hailstorm bearing down on New Orleans from the west split around the city. Jimmy appears on stage and, recalling his earlier conversation with Sister Jane, thanks her for whatever
influence she had in changing the weather. He then opened the show with… City of New Orleans.

I could swear I heard his voice break a bit.

conched wrote:I'm sure there are some folks who could answer this better, but I do know that he said he does go to mass at St Charles Cathedral in New Orleans at times.

<i>I don't go to church, and I don't cut my hair.</i>

Does Jimmy still follow christianty?

Whether he knows it or not, I think Jimmy's made it his life's ambition to emulate Jesus Christ, and here's why I think that.

• He's totally non-judgmental of others
  He hangs out exclusively with the sinners
  He's been in trouble with the law (although only somewhat)
  He's travels around spreading his message of goodness and hope
  He inspires millions of people across the world
  He knows the pope
  His followers wear feathers and funny clothes (oh wait... no that's not like Jesus)

Well, everything except that last one there...

This is a topic Jimmy's addressed several times in many ways over the years...in songs and stories (as many have already noted), etc.

Some other observations:

In a CNN interview on the release of ASPOL, the interviewer asked "Is there a spiritual side to Jimmy Buffett?" And he replied: "yeah, it's called the ocean."

In APLA50 he mentions he's no longer a practicing Catholic (and not wanting to unravel that "ball of snakes" in the book) but goes to mass once a year at the New Orleans cathedral...considering that his church.

At the end of Tales from Margaritaville, he tells a wonderful sailing story and then of learning about the death of a good friend. He writes:

"My old pirate buddies are disappearing like members of an endangered species, and as they go, our names move one more notch up the list.
...
I found an isolated spot out of the wind and set the plane down and paddled up to the beach. I just sat there for a while in the shadow of the big sand dunes and said a prayer for Joe."

At the end of many shows, I've noticed he'll say "God bless".

My conclusion, Jimmy's a spiritual person but doesn't practice organized, formal religion.

HAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAAHAHAAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAAHAHAAHA

THAT'S THE BEST LAUGH I HAD IN A WHILE

SchoolGirlHeart wrote:Religion's in the hands of some crazy-a$$ people...




Besides, honestly? Beyond the few public comments Jimmy's made on the subject ("It's been 45 years since my last confession", etc) I think that's a really personal topic, IMHO.... I wouldn't want my religious beliefs discussed on a public board.....

MrTwain wrote:

Does Jimmy still follow christianty?

Whether he knows it or not, I think Jimmy's made it his life's ambition to emulate Jesus Christ, and here's why I think that.

• He's totally non-judgmental of others
  He hangs out exclusively with the sinners
  He's been in trouble with the law (although only somewhat)
  He's travels around spreading his message of goodness and hope
  He inspires millions of people across the world
  He knows the pope
  His followers wear feathers and funny clothes (oh wait... no that's not like Jesus)

Well, everything except that last one there...

UpstateNYPH wrote:probably not, since hes still got coastal confessions to make.

chuck wagon wrote:

I wouldn't want my religious beliefs discussed on a public board.....

nudge, nudge ... of course you wouldn't???

Burgerflickle wrote:I know he was was raised Catholic and talks about catholics in his songs but I was wondering if he still ever goes to church or still follows, its not a bad thing or anything, i was just wondering?

Well, I don't care if he does, is, isn't or doesn't. It means nothing to me. And from the sounds of it it doesn't mean much or anything at all to Jimmy.

Well, I don't care if he does, is, isn't or doesn't. It means nothing to me. And from the sounds of it it doesn't mean much or anything at all to Jimmy.

Well, now.... there was that release on PopeBoat Records.....