Jimmy Buffett Song & Lyrics Database

All Songs | Cover Songs | Not Released | Songs Played the Most

Twelve Volt Man
Written by: Jimmy Buffett
Performed by: Jimmy Buffett

Originally from the Album: One Particular Harbour (1983)
Additional Discography:
Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads (1992)
Songs You Don’t Know By Heart (2020)

Jimmy’s Notes:
Michael Nesmith once told me a story about a man he ran into down in Baja who is the unknown inspiration for this song. During the Baja race, Michael had broken down somewhere near East Jesus and went to a small village to wait for his repair team. He ran into an American, a fisherman who lived in a small hut with what he called his “essentials”. He had a collection of my albums, packaged margarita mix from America, an old Waring blender, and a tape player hooked up to a peculiar power system made out of a Honda generator and a Sears Die Hard battery. It seems he would fish all week, and on Friday night, he and his friends would hook up the blender and tape player and make margaritas while they sang along to my songs. This ceremony would last until the gas for the generator dried up. I got the inspiration to write this when I was in Isla Mujeres, a small island near Cancun, where life had escaped most of the twentieth century. The tough part was rhyming Die Hard, but with a few inspiring margaritas, the word came. This is one of my favorite songs.

Lyrics:
I never got a grip in penmanship
Could never make those small l's flow
Seldom found the trick to arithmetic
Three plus two be faux pas
But ask for some palm trees
Or tales from the South Seas
And I just might turn your head

I never had the clout to knock one out
But hitting was the name of my game
Standing on third as the coaches conferred
So close to my first claim to fame

Just give me the steal sign
And I'll make home plate mine
And I just might turn some heads

Sometimes I may get a little drastic
Sometimes I just let my feelings show
Sometimes I may be a bit sarcastic
Most times that's the way the story goes

Now I know this Joe down in Mexico
He went there to work on his tan
For years he's been plugged into blenders and songs
They call him the Twelve Volt Man

He don't need no charge card
Just give him a die-hard
And he'll make sparks fly round your head
Or just ask for some palm trees
Or tales from the South Seas
And I'll make sparks fly round your head
Round your head
In your head
In your head

Shows Played At:

10-13-2001: Guild Hall – East Hampton, NY

11-20-1999: Bay Street Theater – East Hampton, NY

12-10-1998: Ice Palace – Tampa, FL

11-25-1998: Stephen Talkhouse – Amagansett, NY

08-20-1995: The Meadows – Hartford, CT

08-19-1995: E Center – Camden, NJ

08-14-1995: Pine Knob Music Theatre – Clarkston, MI

08-07-1995: Lakewood Amphitheatre – Atlanta, GA

08-04-1995: Popular Creek Music Theatre – Hoffman Estates, IL

06-14-1995: Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD

06-13-1995: Merriweather Post Pavilion – Columbia, MD