Story Behind The Song
Beach Music
The genesis of Beach Music came about over the course of ten years. JD wrote a song in 1983 that he played around the SF Bay Area called "She's The One," which featured some interesting guitar work (on the demo) by Randy Jones, who Pederson played with in a band called Pilot. There was a Caribbean vibe to another Pederson tune entitled "Trinidad" that stuck in the songwriters head, and eventually manifested itself into the music for "Beach Music." It was kind of a "Neville Brothers meets Jimmy Buffet meets Tower of Power feel," recalls JD.
"Beach Music" was really a rhythm and blues art form in the Southeast. The shagging and strolling done in out-of-the-way beach joints made the texture of that sound and the accompanying lyrics a lifestyle.
If you listen to music coming out of that period in the early sixties in the Carolina's you understand why someone like Jimmy Buffet is as popular as he is today. Oh, to live vicariously through that sound and those images.
Hopefully, what comes through in the lyric is a celebration of sorts, and a reminiscing of less conflicting and stressful times. Perhaps that's why the song evokes fond memories to anyone who remembers a place where "she smiles and lights dance in the streets."
| Song Length |
4:03 |
Genre |
Pop - Rock |
| Tempo |
Medium (111 - 130) |
Lead Vocal |
Male Vocal |
| Mood |
In High Spirits |
Subject |
General, Hope |
| Similar Artists |
Jimmy Buffett |
Language |
English |
Lyrics
Beach Music
She smiles and the lights dance in the streets
You know this girl knows just what to do
And there's something so special about these times
For me and you
And I can still hear the music they played uptown
I can still smell the perfume
And the laughter of all those friends we made
In every room
Maybe I'm older, and maybe it's colder
It's hard to believe it's true
But there's something so special about
This time with you
And it's Beach Music, you know that it's Beach Music
It's the life and the sand and sound of the bands we love
Some folks like to rock, some folks like to roll
Some know how to shag, in South Carolina they stroll
And you know how to dance
And you know how to go all night
Running out of time, and running half blind
Hoping that your dreams will come true
When you need a place to go
It's here for you
Chorus
Maybe I'm crazy but let's pull up stakes
Move to the sun and away from these heartaches
Chorus