Buffett began playing guitar during his first year at Auburn University before continuing his college years at Pearl River Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi. He began his musical career in Nashville, Tennessee, during the late 1960s as a country artist and recorded his first album, the country-tinged folk rock record "Down to Earth" in 1970.
Moving to FLorida, Buffett's second release was 1973's A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean. Albums Living & Dying in 3/4 Time and A1A both followed in 1974, Havana Daydreamin' appeared in 1976, and Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes followed in 1977, which featured the breakthrough hit song "Margaritaville".
Buffett's album License to Chill, released on July 13, 2004, topped the U.S. pop albums chart for the first time in his career.
Buffett continued to tour regularly until shortly before his death, although later in his career, he shifted to a more relaxed schedule of around 20–30 dates, with infrequent back-to-back nights, preferring to play only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. This schedule provided the title of his 1999 live album.
In August 2006, he released the album Take the Weather with You.
On April 20, 2010, a double CD of performances recorded during the 2008 and 2009 tours, called Encores, was released.
In 2020, Buffett released Songs You Don't Know by Heart, a fan-curated collection of his lesser-known songs rerecorded on his collection of notable guitars.
Illness and death:
In May 2023, Buffett was hospitalized to "address some issues that needed immediate attention" and rescheduled tour dates. In late August, he entered hospice care and had a final meeting with family and friends, in which his last words to his sister were "have fun". Buffett died on September 1, 2023, age 76, at his home in Sag Harbor, New York, due to complications from Merkel-cell carcinoma, a rare and aggressive skin cancer, with which he had been diagnosed four years earlier. He was surrounded by his family, friends, music, and dogs at the time of his death.
Ace
Jimmy Buffett Lyrics
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1971
Hardly seems a long time
Just a minute of the day
But the man who stood beside me
More than gave himself away
The food stain on his spotted shirt
A gray beard on his face
So I just called him ace
Chorus:
But ace can't read and ace can't write
And he sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain't bitter, he ain't sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowing what he's gonna find
Born in mississippi
Picking cotton as a child
Left soon for the city
Where he heard that life was wild
That was fifty years ago
When nothing's really strange
>from a poor dirt farm to dirty streets
Is really not much change
Chorus:
And ace can't read and ace can't write
And he sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain't bitter, he ain't sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowing what he's gonna find
Go back to the country
No he really can't do that
Wasted years have left him
Nothing but an old straw hat
So he puts it on his head
And waves a last good-bye
No time left to turn around
And no time to ask why
Chorus:
Ace can't read and ace can't write
And he sleeps on a bench at night
A little man the world has left behind
He ain't bitter, he ain't sweet
Makes his living on the street
Never knowing what he's gonna find
And this old world has left poor ace behind
The lyrics of Jimmy Buffett's "Ace" tell the story of a man, simply known as Ace, who has been left behind by the world. The singer of the song meets Ace, who is a man composed of many names, while the two are standing together. Even though the meeting was just a minute of the day, the singer manages to notice Ace's struggles. Ace is a man with a food stain on his spotted shirt, a gray beard on his face, and living on the streets.
Ace makes his living on the street, not knowing what he's going to find, but he is neither bitter nor sweet. He lives his life one day at a time, surviving each day as it comes. The chorus of the song repeats the fact that Ace can't read, and he can't write, sleeping on a bench at night. He is a little man the world has left behind, but he never loses hope.
The final lines reveal that Ace was born in Mississippi and he picked cotton as a child. Though he tried to leave the countryside for the city, Ace has been left behind by the world. He wears an old straw hat and waves a goodbye with no time left to turn around or ask why. The song is a poignant expression of a man’s struggle to survive in a world that has left him behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Hardly seems a long time
It feels like it was just a moment ago
Just a minute of the day
A small portion of time
But the man who stood beside me
The person next to me
More than gave himself away
Revealed a lot about himself unknowingly
The food stain on his spotted shirt
A noticeable spot on his shirt from food
A gray beard on his face
Facial hair that is gray in color
A man composed of many names
A person with many aliases
So I just called him ace
I gave him a nickname 'Ace'
Chorus:
Refrain
But ace can't read and ace can't write
Ace is illiterate
And he sleeps on a bench at night
He has no permanent home and sleeps in public spaces
A little man the world has left behind
A small person who has been disregarded by society
He ain't bitter, he ain't sweet
He is neither pessimistic nor optimistic
Makes his living on the street
He earns money by begging or performing on the street
Never knowing what he's gonna find
Living unpredictably with no certainty about the future
Born in mississippi
Ace's birthplace is Mississippi
Picking cotton as a child
As a kid, he worked on a cotton farm
Left soon for the city
He moved to the city not long after
Where he heard that life was wild
He went to the city because he heard it was exciting
That was fifty years ago
Half a century has passed since then
When nothing's really strange
When things were not particularly unusual
From a poor dirt farm to dirty streets
From a rural farm to urban streets
Is really not much change
There hasn't been much difference in his standard of living
Go back to the country
Return to living in the countryside
No he really can't do that
It is not possible for him to go back
Wasted years have left him
Years spent without purpose have made him unable to change his situation
Nothing but an old straw hat
His only possession is an old hat
So he puts it on his head
He wears the hat
And waves a last good-bye
He says goodbye for the final time
No time left to turn around
There is no opportunity to change his path
And no time to ask why
No time to inquire about the reasons behind his plight
And this old world has left poor ace behind
Ace has been abandoned by the harsh realities of the world
Lyrics © HIPGNOSIS SONGS GROUP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind