Lyrics:

That's What Living is to Me

By: Jimmy Buffett

1988

I would like to thank J.D. Souther for the book, Harry Belafonte for the early inspiration and Mark Twain for taking the trip long ago.

-- Spoken:

'Back toward the turn of the century, you know, Mark Twain took a trip around the world on a steamship and he wrote a book called 'Following the Equator'. And the opening page has a dedication that says, 'Be good, and you will be lonesome,' which for me, still seems to work in the fabulous eighties.'



Jason Mason hears the sound

The whistle blows in Congo town

And the mail boat's in, mail boat's in

Brings him things from oh so far

Old magazines and Snicker bars

A simple man, a simple plan

The world's too big to understand



Chorus:

Be good and you will be lonesome

Be lonesome and you will be free

Live a lie and you will live to regret it

That's what livin' is to me

That's what livin' is to me



On a timeless beach in Hispaniola

Young girl sips a diet cola

She's worlds apart, worlds apart

Spirit of the black king still

Reverberates through Haitian hills

He rules the sea and all the fish

What if he had a TV dish?



Chorus:

Be good and you will be lonesome

Be lonesome and you will be free

Live a lie and you will live to regret it

That's what livin' is to me

That's what livin' is to me



Now in the far off regions the foreign legion

Keep the thieves and the predators at bay

While closer to home some bad boys still roam

The streets aren't safe so give it one more day

One more day

One more day



Stories from my favorite books

Still take on many different looks

And I'm gone again, home again

The time has come the walrus said

And little oysters hide their head

My Twain of thought is loosely bound

I guess it's time to Mark this down



Chorus:

Be good and you will be lonesome

Be lonesome and you will be free

Live a lie and you will live to regret it

That's what livin' is to me

That's what livin' is to me

That's what livin' is to me

That's what livin' is to me



-- Spoken:

'Thank you, Mark.'