Songfacts®:

• Buffett: "I spent a year living on my boat in the British Virgin Islands. One night I was anchored in Jost Van Dyke in front of Foxy's Bar and was staring out at the lights of St. Thomas in the distance. All of a sudden the electricity went out and the stars were the only lights left. I imagined the panic at the power plant while the stars smugly shone on into the dawn, and the song became the chronicle of the things I had done and seen that week. Better than notes on a calendar." >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Ken - LaSalle, Canada
• Manana means "tomorrow" in Spanish. Many Americans use it to indicate a task that's not a top priority:
  
  When are you going to clean the garage?
  Manana
• In the lyrics, Buffett explains how he was hanging out at a marina when he got a call from actor Steve Martin, "Singin' anybody there really want to get small." Martin had just released his hugely popular comedy album Let's Get Small, with the title track using "small" as a euphemism for "high." Right after the reference in Buffett's tune, the singer notes how there's not enough dope around for everyone to get high.
• This also references Cane Garden Bay, a beach on Tortola in the British Virgin Islands. It's also the home of the Callwood Rum Distillery, which is also mentioned in the lyrics.
• The song closes with Buffett stating, "And I hope Anita Bryant never ever does one of my songs." Bryant was a pop singer, known for her 1960 hit "Paper Roses," but it wasn't her music that Buffett opposed - it was her stance as an anti-gay rights activist. In 1977, as Buffett was recording Son Of A Son Of A Sailor, Bryant was running a "Save Our Children" campaign to repeal gay rights legislation in Dade County, Florida.