| Volcano | |
| Cover: | Volcano_germ.jpg |
| Caption: | West German single picture sleeve[1] |
| Type: | single |
| Artist: | Jimmy Buffett |
| Album: | Volcano |
| B-Side: | Stranded on a Sandbar |
| Released: | November 1979 |
| Recorded: | May 1979 |
| Length: | 3:37 |
| Label: | MCA |
| Producer: | Norbert Putnam |
| Prev Title: | Dreamsicle |
| Prev Year: | 1979 |
| Next Title: | Survive |
| Next Year: | 1979 |
"Volcano" is a song performed by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. 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 and reached No. 66 on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as peaking at No. 43 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
The song was written in a calypso/reggae style,[2] The song and album are named for the then-dormant Soufrière Hills volcano on the island of Montserrat in the British West Indies where Buffett recorded the album in May 1979 at AIR Studios.[3] The studio was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo 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 before the final chorus mentions a number of place names, some important largely in the context of 1979:
Cash Box said that the song "is flavorful and timely, with lots of offbeat references."[4] Record World said that "The ambience runs from thepervasive percussion to the sparkling bass pipes."[5]
"Volcano" is one of Buffett's more popular songs with fans, and is part of "The Big 8" that he played at almost all of his concerts. Recorded live versions of the song appear on Feeding Frenzy, , and the video Live by the Bay. The placenames in the final bridge were often altered in concert to reflect more recent news. The song was also re-recorded and released for Rock Band 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."
| Chart (1979) | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[6] | 66 | |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[7] | 43 | |
| Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 . Joel Whitburn . 2013 . Record Research . 123.
. Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Joel Whitburn . 2002 . Record Research . 42.