Somewhere Over China
By: Jimmy Buffett
1981
For the Crazy Flying Tigers
Just a semi-normal person
Thought he had the future planned
Then he won some silly sweepstakes
Now he had a hundred grand
Never stopped to think of taxes
He was gone before they knew
With a flair for ol' romantics
To the Orient he flew
When they fueled in Papeete
Placed a call to Big Mamou
With an honest explanation
Just to tell the whole damn truth
It's his one chance in a million
Who'd deny the simple fact
'Twas no use to talk it over
He'd be home when he got back
Chorus:
Now he's somewhere over China
Lookin' down on all the trails
On the mountains lookin' back at him
It's a real live fairy tale
Put a little distance
Between causes and effects
Like a day old fortune cookie
Askin' who or what comes next
What the hell did Marco Polo think
When he ran into the wall
Or the crazy Flying Tigers
Doin' spins and loops and stalls
Just a taste for somethin' different
Perking up a borin' day
Now our man from Louisiana
Feels exactly the same way
Chorus:
They're all somewhere over China
Shanghai or old Peking
On a plane or a boat in an envelope
Real adventure has its ring
Just to put a little distance
Between fact and fantasy
Still six thousand miles away from
Where I'd really rather be
How I would love to drive the shuttle
Just to feel the engines roar
And to operate the levers
That control the payload doors
I could buzz the Himalayas
Barrel roll above Hong Kong
Set her down in San Francisco
To the clangin' of a gong
Chorus:
We're all somewhere over China
Headin' east or headin' west
Takin' time to live a little
Flyin' so far from the nest
Just to put a little distance
Between causes and effects
Like an ancient fortune teller
Knowin' who and what comes next