Cheeseburger In Paradise - Live/1990

Buffett said of this song: "The myth of the cheeseburger in paradise goes back to a long trip on my first boat, the Euphoria. We had run into some very rough weather crossing the Mona Passage between Hispanola and Puerto Rico, and broke our new bowsprit. The ice in our box had melted, and we were doing the canned-food-and-peanut-butter diet. The vision of a piping hot cheeseburger kept popping into my mind. We limped up the Sir Francis Drake Channel and into Roadtown on the island of Tortola, where a brand new marina and bar sat on the end of the dock like a mirage. We secured the boat, kissed the ground, and headed for the restaurant. To our amazement, we were offered a menu that featured an American cheeseburger and piña coladas. Now, these were the days when supplies were scarce - when horsemeat was more plentiful than ground beef in the tiny stores of the Third World. Anyway, we gave particular instructions to the waiter on how we wanted them cooked, and what we wanted on them - to which very little attention was paid. It didn't matter. The overdone burgers on the burned, toast buns tasted like manna from Heaven, for, they were the realization of my fantasy burgers on the trip. That's the true story. I've heard other people and places claim that I stopped or cooked in their restaurants, but that is the way it happened."

"Cheeseburger In Paradise" is one of Jimmy Buffett's most popular and enduring songs; it remained a staple of his setlists. It was released in 1978 as the first single from his eighth album, Son Of A Son Of A Sailor. By this time, he was pretty well known thanks to "Margaritaville," released the previous year. Most of his songs, including "Cheeseburger," weren't big hits when they were released, but years later when Buffett's empire expanded, everyone knew them. These songs became part of a lifestyle held dear by his fans that celebrates the joys and adventures in life.

In this song, Buffett wants his burger "medium rare with muenster," meaning he likes muenster cheese on his burger. The line is often misheard as "medium rare with mustard be nice," and that's how it was published and how it was printed on the Son Of A Son Of A Sailor album and subsequent releases. It was published that way on Buffett's official site until 2007, when an intrepid reporter asked Jimmy why he put mustard on his burger. After all, it already had Heinz 57 - a ketchup-like steak sauce. Buffett explained that he was singing "muenster'd be nice," as in muenster cheese, which makes since because he doesn't mention the cheese anywhere else in the song. Apparently, Buffett had no idea his lyric was printed incorrectly all these years. The reporter got in touch with his webmaster, who confirmed with Buffett and corrected it on margaritaville.com, but the officially published lyrics still say "mustard," which is how they read on most websites (but not Songfacts - we know better).