Today is a trundle of a lifetime with echoes of Ecclesiastes found in a contemporary song by Jimmy Buffet. It is a long one. 700 words.
Jimmy Buffet’s song “He Went To Paris” has stayed with me from the first time I heard it. Some songwriters, like Jimmie and Joni Mitchell in “Both Sides Now”, capture profound truths in their music – reflecting on life with the wisdom beyond their years.
“I do not expect old heads on young shoulders.” C. S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters.
As I’ve spent more time in the Bible, I’ve come to see Jimmie’s song as a modern echo of Ecclesiastes—a meditation on the fleeting nature of life. I suspect many other songs share this parallel, though I hadn’t noticed before. Looking back, I realize I was drawn more to the melody than the meaning. Now, I hear it differently.
The Hevel of It All: Life, Loss, and the Kingdom to Come
Jimmy Buffett’s “He Went to Paris” tells the story of a man who lived fully—dreaming, loving, suffering, and reflecting.
His journey echoes Ecclesiastes, where Solomon wrestles with the fleeting nature of life.
The Hebrew word “hevel”—meaning vapor, breath, or meaningless—runs through the book like a refrain.
Life is short.
Plans fade.
Pain comes.
Yet, in the end, something more significant remains.
The Call of Youth: Seeking and Dreaming
He went to Paris
Looking for answers
To questions that bothered him so
He was impressive
Young and aggressive
Saving the world on his own
Warm summer breezes
And French wines and cheeses
Put his ambitions at bay
Like many, the man in Buffett’s song begins his journey in search of meaning.
He is filled with hope, curiosity, and an appetite for adventure.
Solomon, too, sought fulfillment:
“I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 1:13, NIV)
But human striving leads to the same conclusion: hevel—a chasing after the wind (Ecclesiastes 1:14).
The Hevel of It All: Life, Loss, and the Kingdom to Come
Life
He went to England
Played the piano
And married an actress named Kim
They had a fine life
She was a good wife
And bore him a young son named Jim
And all of the answers
To all of the questions
Locked in his attic one day
He liked the quiet
Clean country living
And twenty more years slipped away
Loss and the Breaking of the Heart
Well, the war took his baby
Bombs killed his lady
And left him with only one eye
His body was battered
His whole world was shattered
And all he could do was just cry
The song’s protagonist finds love, marriage, and the richness of human connection. These are good gifts, but they, too, are fleeting.
Ecclesiastes reminds us:
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, NIV)
Love and relationships shape us, but even the best moments slip through our hands like mist.
Tragedy shifts the man’s course, much as Ecclesiastes warns:
“The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong… but time and chance happen to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11, NIV)
Life is unpredictable.
While the tears were a’ fallin’
He was recallin’
The answers he never found
So he hopped on a freighter
Skidded the ocean
And left England without a sound
Those who have seen sorrow know that suffering does not always have answers.
But wisdom is found in facing hardship rather than running from it.
Ironically, the loss of his eye becomes the beginning of true vision—he now sees life for what it is.
The Quiet Reckoning: Reflection and Acceptance
Now he lives in the islands
Fishes the pylons
And drinks his green label each day
He’s writing his memoirs
And losing his hearing
But he don’t care what most people say
In old age, the man embraces simplicity.
Like Solomon, he sees the vanity of striving and chooses contentment.
“So I commend the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a person under the sun than to eat and drink and be glad.” (Ecclesiastes 8:15, NIV)
True peace is found not in chasing more but in gratitude for what remains.
Final Wisdom – “Some of it’s Magic, Some of it’s Tragic
Through eighty six years
Of perpetual motion,”
If he likes you, he’ll smile and he’ll say
“Jim, some of it’s magic
And some of it’s tragic
But I had a good life all the way
“Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13, NIV)
A life well lived is one that recognizes both the magic and the tragedy, seeing God’s hand in each.
Call to Action: Beyond Hevel—The Kingdom to Come
He went to Paris
Looking for answers
To questions that bothered him so
The man in Buffett’s song finds contentment, but did he find true contentment, peace, and acceptance?
Ecclesiastes reminds us that life does not end in a mist.
Christ gives meaning where hevel leaves us empty.
Through Jesus’ death on the cross, death itself was undone.
A new kingdom awaits all who believe. This truth was written from the beginning:
“He has also set eternity in the human heart.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, NIV)
So live wisely.
Love deeply.
Trust in God’s timing.
And when the final chapter closes, may we, too, say—it was a good life all the way.
- John 3:16 (NIV)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” - Romans 6:23 (NIV)
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” - 1 John 5:11-12 (NIV)
“And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” - John 11:25-26 (NIV)
“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?’” - Titus 1:2 (NIV)
“In the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time.”