"The Great Filling Station Hold Up" is a song written and performed by American popular music singer-songwriter

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (December 25, 1946 – September 1, 2023) was an American singer-songwriter, author, and businessman. He was known for his tropical rock sound and persona, which often portrayed a lifestyle described as "island escapis ...

. It was first released on his 1973 album ''

A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean ''A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released on June 4, 1973, as his first album for Dunhill. The title of the album is a play on the country song " A White ...

'' and was his first single from that album. The single reached No. 58 on the US Country chart in 1973. The song appears on ''

Live at Fenway Park ''Live at Fenway Park'' is a live album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It is one of a number of Jimmy Buffett sound board live albums recorded directly from the mixing console without further editing, in this sense resembling boot ...

'', a live album that opened with an acoustic set consisting of " Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes", "The Great Filling Station Holdup" and "

Pencil Thin Mustache "Pencil Thin Mustache" is a song written and performed by American popular-music singer and songwriter Jimmy Buffett. It was released as a single (with "Brand New Country Star") on Dunhill D-15011 in August 1974. It was first released on his ...

History

The song is about two robbers holding up a

filling station A filling station (also known as a gas station [] or petrol station []) is a facility that sells fuel and engine lubricants for motor vehicles. The most common fuels sold are gasoline (or petrol) and diesel fuel. Fuel dispensers are used to ...

and the aftermath of getting caught shortly after the robbery in a

honky tonk A honky-tonk (also called honkatonk, honkey-tonk, honky tonk, or tonk) is either a bar that provides country music for the entertainment of its patrons or the style of music played in such establishments. It can also refer to the type of piano ...

, where both robbers are drunk on beer they bought with the cash they stole. Buffett got the idea to write the song after finding amusement in a newspaper article about recovered property from a holdup. Soon after the release of the single, with " Why Don't We Get Drunk" as its

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, it was reported that it had sold over 50,000 copies just to jukebox operators, according to B.J. McElvee, country promotion manager for ABC-Dunhill Records. ''Billboard'' magazine reported that only the A-side was promoted to country radio, because the word "screw" (repeatedly used in "Why Don't We Get Drunk") was not generally acceptable in country radio programming at the time; however, "Why Don't We Get Drunk" was played by some "underground" stations on FM radio. "Why Don't We Get Drunk" was identified by ''Billboard'' as a "jukebox favorite" more than three years after its original release.Jimmy Buffett lives songs he writes
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Chart performance

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit 1973 songs Jimmy Buffett songs Songs written by Jimmy Buffett Dunhill Records singles