"Volcano" is a song performed by American popular music singer-songwriter

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

. It was written by Jimmy Buffett, Keith Sykes, and Harry Dailey and released as a single (b/w "Stranded on a Sandbar") on MCA 41161 in November 1979. The song was first released on his 1979 album ''

Volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

'' and reached No. 66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as peaking at No. 43 on the

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

chart.

Background

The song was written in a calypso/

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

style, The song and album are named for the then-dormant

Soufrière Hills The Soufrière Hills are an active, complex stratovolcano with many lava domes forming its summit on the Caribbean island of Montserrat. After a long period of dormancy, the Soufrière Hills volcano became active in 1995 and has continued to ...

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

on the island of

Montserrat Montserrat ( ) is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is part of the Leeward Islands, the northern portion of the Lesser Antilles chain of the West Indies. Montserrat is about long and wide, with r ...

in the

British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were colonized British territories in the West Indies: Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grena ...

where Buffett recorded the album in May 1979 at

AIR The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

Studios. The studio was destroyed by

Hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peop ...

in 1989 and Soufrière Hills erupted again in 1995. The lyrics describe the narrator's anxiety about his possible whereabouts following the impending eruption of a volcano. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

before the final

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

mentions a number of placenames, some important largely in the context of 1979: ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that the song "is flavorful and timely, with lots of offbeat references." "Volcano" is one of Buffett's more popular songs with fans, and is part of " The Big 8" that he has played at almost all of his concerts. Recorded live versions of the song appear on ''

Feeding Frenzy In ecology, a feeding frenzy occurs when predators are overwhelmed by the amount of prey available. The term is also used as an idiom in the English language. Examples in nature For example, a large school of fish can cause nearby sharks, such a ...

'', '' Buffett Live: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays'', and the video ''

Live by the Bay ''Live by the Bay'' is a 1986 direct-to-video concert film of American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band. It was released in 1986 by MCA Entertainment. The 87-minute film was recorded from back to back conce ...

''. The placenames in the final bridge are often altered in concert to reflect more recent news. The song was also re-recorded and released for ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

'' on June 3, 2008, with the last two lines listed above changed to, "I want to be a couch potato / Just play ''Rock Band'' everyday."

Popular culture

*Volcano was recorded at AIR Studios in Montserrat and was played at the London benefit concert "Music for Montserrat", arranged by

Sir George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the Bea ...

to support the island after the twin disasters of

hurricane Hugo Hurricane Hugo was a powerful Cape Verde tropical cyclone that inflicted widespread damage across the northeastern Caribbean and the Southeastern United States in September 1989. Across its track, Hugo affected approximately 2 million peop ...

and the eruptions of the

. The lyrics were changed to fit the context. For example, the phrase "We've got to help our friends in Montserrat" appeared in the song. When performed at concerts, a video of the song on ''Rock Band'' is shown.

Chart performance

References

External links

Volcano by Jimmy Buffett, Keith Sykes, and Harry Dailey
{{Jimmy Buffett 1979 singles Jimmy Buffett songs Songs written by Jimmy Buffett MCA Records singles