"The Great Filling Station Hold Up" is a song written and performed by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was first released on his 1973 album ''

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean ''A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released on June 4, 1973, as his first album for Dunhill. It was the first album to feature Buffett's trademark mustache. ...

'' and was his first single from that album. The single reached No. 58 on the US Country chart in 1973. The song appears on '' Live at Fenway Park'', a live album that opened with an acoustic set consisting of "

Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes ''Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes'' is the seventh studio album by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. This is his breakthrough 1977 album, which remains the best-selling studio album of Buffett's career, and con ...

", "The Great Filling Station Holdup" and "

Pencil Thin Mustache "Pencil Thin Mustache" is a song written and performed by American popular-music singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released as a single (with "Brand New Country Star") on Dunhill D-15011 in August 1974. It was first released on his a ...

". The album also includes all songs from '' Songs You Know By Heart'', except " He Went to Paris".

History

The song is about two robbers holding up a

filling station A filling station, also known as a gas station () or petrol station (), is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold in the 2010s were gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Ga ...

and the aftermath of getting caught shortly after the robbery in a

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, or tonk) is both a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons and the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ( tack piano) ...

, where both robbers are drunk on beer they bought with the cash they stole. Buffett got the idea to write the song after finding amusement in a newspaper article about recovered property from a holdup. Soon after the release of the single, with "

Why Don't We Get Drunk "Why Don't We Get Drunk" is a novelty song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was a B-side to "The Great Filling Station Holdup", the first single from his 1973 album ''A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean ...

" as its B-side, it was reported that it had sold over 50,000 copies just to jukebox operators, according to B.J. McElvee, country promotion manager for ABC-Dunhill Records. ''Billboard'' magazine reported that only the A-side was promoted to country radio, because the word "screw" (repeatedly used in "Why Don't We Get Drunk") was not generally acceptable in country radio programming at the time; however, "Why Don't We Get Drunk" was played by some "underground" stations on FM radio. "Why Don't We Get Drunk" was identified by ''Billboard'' as a "jukebox favorite" more than three years after its original release.Jimmy Buffett lives songs he writes
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Chart performance

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit 1973 songs Jimmy Buffett songs Songs written by Jimmy Buffett Dunhill Records singles