A-side "He Went to Paris" Format 7" | Released 1973 Recorded 1973 | |
B-side "The Great Peanut Butter Conspiracy" Genre Country, Gulf and Western | ||
"He Went to Paris" is a song written and performed by American popular music singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was first released on his 1973 album A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean and was his fourth and final single from that album. Although it never placed on the charts, it's become one of his most popular songs, having appeared on several of his greatest hits compilations.
Buffett wrote the song about Eddie Balchowsky, a one-armed Spanish Civil War veteran he met while playing in Chicago. On the live album You Had to Be There, Buffett mentions this as a favorite song he wrote.
The song appears on Songs You Know By Heart, a greatest hits compilation that includes Buffett's concert favorites ranging from 1973 to 1979. However, "He Went to Paris" was the only song off that album that Buffett rarely played live, until he found out that Bob Dylan likes the song and decided to start playing it on a more frequent basis.
Outlaw country singer Waylon Jennings covered the song on his 1980 album Music Man.