These are a few of my favourite things: Jimmy Buffet, New Orleans, and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. And now the three of them have amazingly come together with the unexpected new video of a song recorded in 2023 just before the late singer’s untimely death.

Celebrating the city that deeply influenced Buffet’s music and joyful outlook on life, the release of the music video for “University of Bourbon Street” displays Jimmy Buffett’s love affair with New Orleans. A standout track from his final album, ‘Equal Strain On All Parts,’ features the legendary Preservation Hall Jazz Band and encapsulates the spirit of the city that left an indelible impact on Buffett.

The song is an autobiographical anthem where Buffett reminisces about his transformative years in New Orleans, his lyrics narrating his journey from Mississippi to New Orleans, where he claims to have been educated not in classrooms but through the city’s vibrant street life, its music, and its culture.

The music video is a time capsule, featuring clips of the “Margaritaville” singer in New Orleans from the 1970s to recent days, alongside studio footage of the recording session with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band – the longstanding Dixieland-style house band for the iconic Preservation Hall venue in the French Quarter.

From his early experiences in the city that served as his “museum” to his declaration of the ‘University of Bourbon Street’ as his alma mater, Buffett’s journey is a testament to the profound influence New Orleans had on his music and life. The video invites fans to follow in Buffett’s dancing footsteps, exploring the city’s rich tapestry of life.

Reflecting on the significance of New Orleans to his life and career, Buffett once responded to a question from CBS Reporter Tracy Smith (“Do you think there would be a Jimmy Buffett if there wasn’t a New Orleans?”) by laughing and saying, “That’s a very interesting question! I don’t think there ever would have been!”

Lyrics

I guess the point of goin’ to college
Was to acquire myself a little knowledge
And help me figure out
What life was really all about

It made Peets and J.D. happy
And set me wild and free
Then I danced out of Mississippi
To the University of Bourbon Street

I sang, “Hey Pocky A-way”
Hey
On the streetcar headed uptown
I went to class every day
Sure did
And never wore a frown

I was taught by the Neville Brothers
Benny Spellman, and a whole lotta others
That brass brand blew my mind
When I joined in the second line

I felt the power of the gris-gris
Got my soul saved by the backbeat
I was branded by Jean Lafitte
At the University of Bourbon Street

I sang on a paddlewheel boat
Floated down the Mississippi
Helped build a Mardi Gras float
And smoked a joint with a beautiful hippie

I heard a church choir sing
“Change my guitar strings”
Thought things just couldn’t get better
‘Til I walked to the Central Grocery
And had myself a muffaletta

I took my lunchbox to the streetcar
That Tennessee named, “Desire”
Then I followed my dancin’ feet
To the University of Bourbon Street

Yeah, we got high-class, low-rent Voodoo information
Pat O’Brien’s hurricane accreditation
Old-school sex education
And I learned how to eat

From the music and the people
To the cookin’ and the joy
It really ain’t a mystery
I just followed my dancin’ feet
To the University of Bourbon Street

I got my Lucky Dog Ph.D.
At the University of Bourbon Street
Yeah, I just followed my dancin’ feet
To the University of Bourbon Street
And a Po’ Boy Master’s Degree
At the University of Bourbon Street

It’s all sweet, darling
University of Bourbon Street
Hand me that umbrella
Follow me to school
University of Bourbon Street