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Jimmy Buffett Speaks Out on COVID-19 Quarantine, Revisiting His Old Songs

Jimmy Buffett’s popular songs inspire breezy beach dreams and anything but the reality of the Covid-19 quarantine.

Ask any “Parrot Head,” the first few notes of a Buffett hit will prompt you to kick off your good shoes. You’ll want to take a walk through the sand. Chill out. Grab a beer or mix a margarita.

Yet Buffett recently said the quiet time during the Covid-19 quarantine has allowed him to linger over his lesser known songs. Mainstream listeners think of “Margaritaville” and “Come Monday.” Meanwhile, Buffett wants to play “Little Miss Magic.” That’s a song inspired by his daughter’s early childhood.

“The interesting thing about being quarantined and not being out there running at full speed is to do this and look back on these songs. Because I forget I’ve been doing this for 45 years,” says Buffett, who will be 74 on Christmas Day. “I’ve written a lot of songs. And it’s kind of having a little vacation with my former self to play these songs.”

So next month, Buffett will re-release 15 of his lesser known tracks. The collection is called “Songs You Don’t Know By Heart.” Buffett and his daughter, Delaney, already have released videos of Buffett playing the songs and telling the stories that inspired him.

Jimmy Buffett Asks for Songs During COVID-19 Quarantine

The collection idea was generated by a tweet. Buffett asked his fans to suggest their favorite songs. As a result, Buffett had near instantaneous reaction.

And the memories made the Covid-19 quarantine less anxious.

“The concept was to film dad and give intimate looks into songs and go down memory lane,” Delaney Buffett said. “I sit down one-on-one with him and get an unplugged version of these songs. Not only to jog his memory, but also mine to remember the stories he would tell. Some songs he knew off cuff, and others it took some time for him to remember.””