Jimmy Buffett - Death Of An Unpopular Poet lyrics

By: Jimmy Buffett

1973

I once knew a poet

Who lived before his time

He and his dog Spooner

Would listen while he'd rhyme

Words to make ya happy

Words to make you cry

Then one day the poet suddenly did die

But he left behind a closet

Filled with verse and rhyme

And through some strange transaction

One was printed in the Times

And everybody's searchin'

For the king of undergound

Well they found him down in Florida

With a tombstone for a crown

Everybody knows a line

From his book that cost four ninety-nine

I wonder if he knows he's doin'

Quite this fine

'Cause his books are all best sellers

And his poems were turned to song

Had his brother on a talk show

Though they never got along

And now he's called immortal

Yes he's even taught in school

They say he used his talents

A most proficient tool

But he left all of his royalties

To Spooner his ol' hound

Growin' old on steak and bacon

In a doghouse ten feet 'round

And everybody wonders

Did he really lose his mind

No he was just a poet who lived before his time

He was just a poet who lived before his time