Quietly Making Noise
By: Jimmy Buffett, Michael Tschudin
1993
Oscar Wilde died in bed
Several floors above my head
Living well beyond his means
In that crazy Paris scene
Rain falls down in sheets so clear
And no one ever calls me hear
Travelin' by myself these days
I'm into jazz and felt berets
Far from that old Eastern shore
Searchin' for strange metaphors

I don't want to be another victim of fashion
No I don't want to see my name in the paper each day
Hey you can leave that to the young Turks
They're handsome and dashing
Posing for paparazzi's down laguna way

Now down in the metro I feel the world start to multiply
Bastille, rubber wheels, spiked heels
Subterranean lullaby
Met an African prancer, a hemisphere dancer
Spied the ghost of Brassens
We smiled at the secret we shared
And I hid it like contraband

Quietly making noise (quietly making noise)
Starts with kindergarten toys
Not too soft, not too loud
Just enough to draw a crowd
Quietly, quietly, quietly making noise

Followed the beat
Hey I found myself in this patois spot
Outside a blizzard was blowin'
But inside the joint was hot
Zouk songs, rubber thongs, sing-a-longs
The words flew right by my face
You know rhythm and motion's a blamma jamma potion
You cannot erase

Quietly making noise (quietly making noise)
Pissin' off the old kill-joys
Glasspacks on an hot Mustang
A telecaster with a twang
Quietly, quietly, quietly making noise
Yes

Singers and writers and poets
Have flocked here for centuries
The city of light is built upon mountains of memories
Baritone saxophones, monotones
Speak with a voice I've heard before
It's a lasting impression
A gypsy expression you cannot ignore

We're quietly making noise (quietly making noise)
Starts with kindergarten toys
Not too soft, not too loud
Just enough to draw a crowd
Quietly, quietly, quietly making noise

Yeah, we're quietly making noise (quietly making noise)
Pissin' off the old kill-joys
Not too soft, not too loud
Just enough to draw a crowd
We're quietly, quietly, quietly
Quietly, quietly, quietly
Quietly, quietly, quietly making noise
That's right, ooh yeah
A whole lot of beautiful noise

--Spoken:
"Oh come on children, play those, play those kindergarten toys.
Everybody's a drummer tonight. All right. Let it ring now, let
it ring."