Tony Tarracino, the former mayor of Key West, Florida, and the owner of Captain Tony’s Saloon there, has passed away at age 92.
Tarracino’s greatest claim to fame may have come from the song “Last Mango In Paris,” composed about him and sung by Jimmy Buffett:
I went down to Captain Tony's
To get out of the heat
When I heard a voice call out to me,
"Son, come have a seat"
I had to search my memory
As I looked into those eyes
Our lives change like the weather
But a legend never dies.
He said, "I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done…
Tarracino’s greatest claim to fame may have come from the song “Last Mango In Paris,” composed about him and sung by Jimmy Buffett:
I went down to Captain Tony's
To get out of the heat
When I heard a voice call out to me,
"Son, come have a seat"
I had to search my memory
As I looked into those eyes
Our lives change like the weather
But a legend never dies.
He said, "I ate the last mango in Paris
Took the last plane out of Saigon
Took the first fast boat to China
And Jimmy, there's still so much to be done…
- KC's View:
- Never met the man, but I loved the bar and the philosophy of the song that captured a spirit of inner restlessness.
