The "Cheeseburger In Paradise" Story

It was an ordinary day. We were listening to Jimmy Buffet's "Cheeseburger in Paradise" on our CD player in the car and trying to remember the many restaurants by that name that all claimed to be the spot where he wrote the song. We were pretty sure that it wasn't the place in York, PA along Rt. 30E by that name. The restaurant was really neat inside with the Caribbean theme and the really neat drinks, but I'm almost positive that Jimmy would have no idea how to even get to the restaurant. Not only that, the place only stayed open two years before closing for lack of Parrot Heads to eat in the place. I do remember the very first restaurant we visited in Maui, Hawaii which carried the title of "Cheeseburger in Paradise." Now that really was in paradise, but again, he may have visited the place, but certainly didn't write the song there. They didn't even claim that he did. In St. Croix there is another cheeseburger restaurant, but because of problems with copyright and the name "Cheeseburger in Paradise," they changed their name to "Cheeseburger in America's Paradise." They specialized in real American food. We visited the island two times and both times were in the fall. One time I had turkey and all the trimmings. Nah, can't be a place that Jimmy would visit. Now, we have visited many Margaritaville stores and restaurants throughout the islands of the Caribbean, but none claim that he composed any songs at their establishments. The story goes, whether it is true or not, that he actually composed the song on the island of St. Barth's at a snack bar in the harbor town of Gustavia. Neat little town with multi-million dollar yachts moored to the dock. A neat little outdoor snack bar called "Le Select" seems to have the distinction as being where he wrote probably his most famous song. Who knows? I guess Jimmy! It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Pixs from top are: Maui's famous "Cheeseburger In Paradise" restaurant in Lahaina, "Cheeseburger in America's Paradise in St. Croix, and Le Select in St. Barths.