Lyrics to
Fins

This version of Fins was released by Jimmy Buffett in 1979.

Our About Jimmy Buffett page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for Fins from 1979 as well as all of the other lyrics from Jimmy Buffett that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Jimmy Buffett or about the 1970s in general.

She came down from Cincinnati.
It took her three days on a train.
Lookin’ for some peace and quiet;
hoped to see the sun again.
But now she lives down by the ocean.
She’s takin’ care to look for sharks.
They hang out in the local bars,
And they feed right after dark.

Can’t you feel ’em circlin’ honey?
Can’t you feel ’em swimmin’ around?
You got fins to the left, fins to the right,
and you’re the only bait in town.
You got fins to the left, fins to the right,
and you’re the only girl in town.

She’s savin’ up all of her money.
Wants to head south in May;
Maybe roll in the sand with a rock’n’roll man,
Somewhere down Montserrat way.
But the money’s good in the season;
Helps to lighten her load.
Boys keep her high as the months go by.
She’s gettin’ postcards from the road.

Sailed off to Antigua.
It took her three days on a boat.
Lookin’ for some peace and quiet;
Maybe keep her dreams afloat.
But now she feels like a remora,
’cause the school’s still close at hand.
Just behind the reef are the big white teeth
of the sharks that can swim on the land.

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Jimmy Buffett has released many songs over the years besides Fins. Jimmy Buffett released songs from 1970 to 2004 spanning across albums like Down To Earth, High Cumberland Jubilee, A White Sport Coat And A Pink Crustacean, A1A, Living And Dying In 3/4 Time, Havana Daydreamin', Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes, Son Of A Son Of A Sailor, Volcano, Coconut Telegraph, Somewhere Over China, One Particular Harbour, Riddles In The Sand, Last Mango In Paris, Floridays, Hot Water, Off To See The Lizard, Boats, Beaches, Bars & Ballads, Fruitcakes, Barometer Soup, Christmas Island, Banana Wind, Beach House On The Moon, Far Side Of The World, and License To Chill. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Jimmy Buffett.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1979 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Fins by Jimmy Buffett

The lyrics to Fins are just the words, phrases, verses and chorus that Jimmy Buffett used when the song was created in 1979. The lyrics to Fins have both easy-to-spot meanings and hidden metaphors that have been discussed by the music press and fans, but only Jimmy Buffett and any collaborators know all of the inspirations for the song.

If you like etymology or breaking apart phrases and words, it is easy to understand the lyrics to Fins by Jimmy Buffett. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Fins" means the words set to the music of Fins, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Jimmy Buffett. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Fins and the lyrics to Fins are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Jimmy Buffett who came here looking just for the lyrics to Fins, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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