How a Cold Night in Boston Inspired Jimmy Buffett’s ‘Boat Drinks’

At the root of every great song, there is usually a story as compelling as the song itself. That is often the case with tunes penned by the late singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, whose passing in September of 2023 still leaves a gaping hole in the hearts of Parrotheads everywhere.

READ MORE: Jimmy Buffett Draws MA Cheers a Year After His Death

Have you ever heard the one about how Buffett's song "Boat Drinks" came to be?

"Boat Drinks" was the B-side to Buffett's 1979 single "Survivor." Both songs appeared on the MCA album Volcano. While "Boat Drinks" was never released as a single, it appeared on several Buffett albums, and according to Billboard, it is one of "Jimmy Buffett's 20 Best Songs."

"Nothing less than a Buffett mission statement," says Billboard.

"Boat Drinks," according to liner notes in the 1992 box set "Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads," was written in February 1979 while Buffett was "homesick" in Boston.

Buffett wrote, "It was February in Boston, and I was cold and wanted to go home."

"I was in a place owned by Derek Sanderson, who was a very famous player for the Boston Bruins in the '70s," Buffett said. "I came out of the bar and couldn't find a cab except for the one that was running in front of the nearby hotel."

READ MORE: Two Jimmy Buffett Live Albums Were Recorded in MA

Buffett claimed the cab was driverless and that he was "too cold to care about the consequences." What did he do?

"I hopped in and drove back to my hotel. I did leave the fare on the seat," wrote Buffett.

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BuffettNews says Buffett's frequent collaborator, Mac McAnally, told Dillon Weldon's Drifting Cowboy podcast, "Boat Drinks" is about being in cold weather, and Buffett "never wanted to be in cold weather."

McAnally said Buffett was "sitting in the sports bar, and it was freezing, and it was snowing." McAnally said, "An ad came on about cheap flights to the Caribbean, and he's just like, 'I'm going."

And he did!

Buffett had a deeper connection to Massachusetts. "The Captain" recorded two LIVE albums in the Bay State, and in August of 1994, Buffett crash-landed a plane on Nantucket. I guess that makes him a certified "Masshole."

READ MORE: The Day Jimmy Buffett Crashed a Plane on Nantucket