A lot of people think that the Jimmy Buffett song, “A Pirate Looks At 40,” is about himself, but it’s not. He wrote the lyrics based on conversations with a drug smuggler named Phil Clark whom Buffett met when he moved from Alabama to Key West, Florida. Buffett was only 27-years-old when he wrote the song and Clark was pushing 40 and was wondering what his future would be.
The song was a single from his fifth studio album, "A1A" that came out in 1974. He’s played it at almost every concert since it came out and it’s one of his signature songs.
In 1982, Bob Dylan and Joan Baez had a reunion concert and they performed a version of the song at that show.
