Almost See Jamaica

Words and music by Jerry Diaz © 2026 

CHORUS:

I can almost taste the islands

From this barstool

I can almost feel that warm Montego breeze

I can almost smell the ocean

And hear the steel drums near

I can almost see Jamaica

From right here

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Its so easy to lose yourself

When you’re living it day to day

Chasing that American dream

Just to watch it slip away

I’ve seen a lot of people try

To make up for lost time

Till one day they just come undone

And leave it all behind

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CHORUS

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There’s a place I like to go

When I need to get away

A short journey from my home

But it takes me to a place

Where I can let my worries go

And my tensions turn to sand

Palapa bar on a riverbank

With a rum drink in my hand

Listen to that Radio 

Words and music by Jerry Diaz (C) 2026 

Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve heard music in my head

It’s always been there with me, just like a trusted friend

And sometimes it drives me crazy, like a constant serenade

But other times it gets me through my day

Well I guess what I’m really tryin’ to say…

CHORUS:

When I listen to that radio that’s playin’ in my head

I tune in a world of melodies that no one else’s heard yet

Well it just might be a hit song, or a song I should forget

When I listen to the radio that’s playin’ in my head

By the time I got to high school, I was singing in a band

Playing all your favorite hit songs, and turning on the fans

But I never was quite satisfied, playing someone else’s songs

So I decided I should write my own

Now I thank God that radio is on…

CHORUS

BRIDGE:

And now you’re singing with me, like a song you’ve heard before

I guess that I should listen to that radio some more

CHORUS

I Found the Key

Words and music by Jerry Diaz (C) 2026

INTRO:  D – G – A - D

CHORUS    * “IT WAS WELL WORTH THE QUEST”

SOLO

REPEAT CHORUS

Made in the Shade

words and music by Jerry Diaz © 2026

CHORUS

I G know what I want I B9 know what I need

C My toes in the sand and a E7 tropical breeze

A Made in the shade

D7 Rockin just my baby and G me D

I G know what I want I B9 know what I need

C Three little birds and a E7 bottom-less drink

A Made in the shade

D7 Rockin just my baby and G me

VERSE 1:

B9 I don’t need a big fine mansion

C Or a 10 carat diamond ring G

B9 I just need a beach vacation C

And my baby laying next to me D

CHORUS (first half)

SOLO (over 2^nd half)

VERSE 2:

I’ll bring all the cold libations

If you’ll bring your sweet sunshine

We’ll rendezvous at my location

And have ourselves a real good time

CHORUS

The World is My Oyster

Words and music by Jerry Diaz (c) 2026

                          E                                       D                 E

CHORUS: The world is my oyster, and my mind is a sail

  A                 E                  B

Every time I hoist her she billows up with tales

            E                                 D                E

Like an ancient seafarer, with a ship at my command

   A                      E                    B                      D       E

I cast away on a summer’s day, searching for new lands

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  A               B                       E

I hear the drums from out of Africa roar

  A                  B                  E

Their rhythm beats inside of me

     A                                    C#m

And I see the ruins on the Mexican shore

  F#m                           B

The Mayan stamp on history

And I’ve traced the steps of the Iditarod

From Anchorage up to Nome

Lived these adventures from the depths of my mind

All from the comfort of my home

CHORUS

I’ve crossed the deserts and the desolate plains

And forded rivers of the world

Been through the jungles and the tropical rains

And watched tsunamis start to swirl

Ran with the bulls in Spain and never got caught

One step ahead of misery

Stared down the British where the Highlanders fought

Travelled the world through what I read

CHORUS

BRIDGE: F#m Dancin round in the E stars tonight

F#m Surrounded by the Milky E Way

F#m In the distance I can E see the light

D I know that I’ll be there A someday

D I know that I’ll be there A someday

D I know that I’ll be there A someday B

CHORUS

That Summer

Words and music by Jerry Diaz (c) 2026

CHORUS:
Do you remember that summer?

Thought it’d never end

Getting tanned in the sand on the beach

With my best friends

I remember that summer

We were full of dreams

Yeah we didn’t have a care in the world

We were young and free

I remember that summer

V1: Looking back it seems like it was only yesterday

Those memories still feel fresh to me

And they’re with me still today

I remember that summer

I remember that summer

V2: It’s funny how your life goes by just like a train running down the track

Sometimes I wish that I could find a way

To get those good times back

I remember that summer

I remember that summer

SOLO

I remember that summer

I remember that summer

Do you remember that summer?

Thought it’d never end

Getting tanned in the sand on the beach

With my best friends

I remember that summer

We were full of dreams

Yeah we didn’t have a care in the world

We were young and free

I remember that summer

Lyrics from the album, "Deja View"

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Rum in Pensacola

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

Touching down in Atlanta, Georgia

Dixieland looks like a long lost friend

My destination is Pensacola

Back to the place where the gypsy life began

Looking back at our sun-tanned innocence

The two of us walking hand in hand

I close my eyes and I dream that I could feel

That way again

‘Cause there was a time when I

Had to spread my wings and fly

Out to the Great Beyond, to get over you

But when I think about, all the love I’ve lived without

I can’t wait to get back home, I’ve been such a fool

Now I wish I was back in the Florida sun

Holding you, and drinking rum in Pensacola

I know I walked away from true love

But I was young and the walls were closing in

I blamed it all on blind ambition

But now those empty dreams are wearing thin

Lonely nights got me longing for home again

And the girl that I left behind

I’m on a plane back to Northern Florida

With her on my mind

REPEAT CHORUS TWICE, then FADE

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Tropical Girl

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

Looking back at childhood memories

I couldn’t wait to sail the seven seas

I joined the Navy when I turned 18

And put my sail in the breeze

We’d search the coastline for the contraband

From Key West down to the Yucatan

Then one night, while in a foreign land

I met a beautiful girl

It was there that she caught my eye

Underneath the Caribbean sky

And as I watched her walking by the bay

I swore that I would have that girl someday

Standing there in the cool night air

Moonlight dancing off her long dark hair

I’ve got to get back to her, that tropical girl

Who waits for me there

We took up while I was stationed there

Every waking moment we did share

Day and night we were a constant pair

We were falling in love

We were happy, didn’t have a care

Nothing could end this island love affair

Till one day my ship was called to sea

And I had to leave my baby there

We were young when we said goodbye

Underneath the Caribbean sky

And just before I turned and walked away

I told her I’d be coming back someday

Standing there in the cool night air

Moonlight dancing off her long dark hair

I’ve got to get back to her, that tropical girl

Who waits for me there

The years have passed and I have wandered far

Through tours of duty and foreign wars

Still think about the girl with long dark hair

Can’t get her out of my heart

Since fate has brought me to this port again

My mind goes drifting to the days back then

And standing here in the cool moonlight

I swear I feel her in the wind

It was there that she caught my eye

Underneath the Caribbean sky

And as I watched her walk across the bay

I swore that I would have that girl someday

Standing there in the cool night air

Moonlight dancing off her long dark hair

I’ve got to get back to her, that tropical girl

Who waits for me there

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Beer Drinkers & Sail Raisers

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

We’re all for one, one for all

Bound for another port o’ call

Doing everything I said I would

Life is good

It started way back when, I was a boy

Watching Gilligan, and eating those Chips Ahoy

Standing on the seawall then

I watch the mighty ships roll in

And I’d dream about a day, I’d sail away

CHORUS:

We’re beer drinkers, and sail raisers

Smiles way from the ol’ rat racers

Three sheets to the wind, and going strong

We’re all for one, one for all

Bound for another port o’ call

Doing everything I said I would

Life is good

I’m much older now,but not grown up

Living on the land, but it gets kind of tough

The ocean air is calling me, to

The only place where I’ll be free

With a cold one in my hand, I’ll sail away

CHORUS

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King of the Island

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

Victor was King of the Island

Everyone knew that he was

Drinking and dancing and dining

All of the very best clubs

He owned the cops on the beat, and all the girls on the street

He dealt out all of the cards on the Boulevard

But no one there was put out by Victor’s obvious clout

He brought in money, and that’s all that counts

Johnny was Prince of Chicago

Capone kept him right by his side

When Johnny told Al of this island

The news shattered his gangster pride

Soon he was soon sent away, to look for some clever way

To take a piece of the pie from those Texas guys

With a gun in his hand, he made his way to the Strand

But he found Victor had much different plans

Johnny left town in a hurry

But as he was saying "goodbye"

Victor said "Son, don’t you worry

You’re not the first one who’s tried

To come a very long way, with plans of taking away

My little place in the sun we call Galveston

But just like all of the rest, I think you’ll find that it’s best

To get yourself back to the Midwest

Get yourself back to the Midwest

Yeah get your ass back to the Midwest".

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Island Time

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

Neon pagers, on teenagers, make me want to laugh

Laser beams and fax machines, the world is moving much too fast

With digital this and cellular that, it’s a crazy, crazy race

I run against these high-tech rats

With a lost look on my face

Chorus:

I’m living on island time

I may be late, but you know I’m trying

To make the best of an uphill climb

There’s just so much I can do

I’m living on island time

Being laid-back is my only crime

Just trying to find a little peace and mind

Living on island time

Frequent flyers, speed re-dialers, instant millionaires

Satellites and megabytes got me pulling out my hair

So I’ll just take an early break, and play some golf down at "The Patch"

Leave a message on my voicemail, but don’t hold your breath

Till I get back

CHORUS

Microwaves and rollerblades are improvements on the past

But these new drive-thru cheeseburgers, are food that’s just a bit too fast

Fiber optic, arthro-scopic things come in to view

I think I’ll stay at home and watch a baseball game

Before someone speeds that up too

CHORUS

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Bitter Winds

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

There was a pirate, they say

Plundered the waters off the USA

Sank some ships, and drank some rum, along the way

But he grew restless one day

Buried his gold in Barrataria Bay

Swore that one day, he’d return to stake his claim

But he never did go back for it

He blamed the bitter winds

That kept him from his pot of gold

And wondering, what might have been?

There was a dancer, they say

Lighter than air when music started to play

Talk of the town, spinning around, in her younger days

But she grew anxious one day

Married too young and cast her dreams away

Swore that one day she’d return to stake her claim

But she never did go back for it

She cursed the bitter winds

That kept her from her pot of gold

And wondering, what might have been?

I saw my future, one day

Old and bitter, bent and gray

Regretting all those things I never had a chance to say

And I grew restless that day

Saw all my chances slowly slipping away

Swore that day I’d begin to stake my claim

So I finally reached for the pen and ink

Observed the friendly winds

That could take me to my pot of gold

Never wondering, what might have been?

There is a pirate, they say

Inside each of us, locked away

But we grow old, longing for gold, till our dying day

So don’t watch as life goes passing by

Or let those bitter winds

Keep you from your pot of gold

And wondering, what might have been?

There is a pirate, they say….

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Livin’ Well

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz/ © 2004

I drink Puerto Rican rum, smoke Cuban cigars

Got a closet full of Gibson electric guitars

Yeah my credit card accounts are all maxed to the limit

But my wallet’s still got some $100 bills in it

I’ve been known to buy drinks for the whole damn bar

And at night I drive home in a fancy sports car

When they ask me how I do it, I smile and I say

"I just emptied out my 401-K"

CHORUS:

Livin’ well...well, there ain’t nothin’ to it

What the hell…hell, somebody’s gotta do it

Livin’ well…well it ain’t all that it seems

I’m living well beyond my means

Down at the local marina, I keep a 40 foot yacht

I can’t afford the gas, so it stays at the dock

But I throw some great parties there, I’ve got one tonight

You bring some Dom Perignon and I’ll put it on ice

Got a vial full of talcum, people think it’s cocaine

And a little silver spoon I wear on a chain

Well my mama used to tell me "son you’ve got to look good"

So I got myself an agent out in Hollywood

CHORUS

I’ve got a Silver Eagle bus parked behind the stage

Inside, some fallen angels, who are all under-age

Now I know just what you’re thinking, so I’ll go ahead and say it

When I get that bill, man, I damn sure pay it

CHORUS

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Jamaica Me Smile

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

CHORUS:

Jamaica me smile, Jamaica me feel alright

Jamaica me smile, Jamaica me feel alright

When I’m feeling down, clouds are hanging over me

You always seem to come around

And set my worries free

There’s something that I want to tell you

It’s hard for me to let it show

I can’t live my life without you

And I just want you to know…

CHORUS

Before you came along, nothing seemed to work out right

But now those days are gone

‘Cause you helped me see the light

I’ve got to have you in my life, I never want to let you go

You take away the stress and strife

And I just want you to know….

CHORUS

Who’s there to see me through?

Who lets their loving flow?

It’s no one else but you

And I just want you to know….

CHORUS

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Have You Seen Your Rita?

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

Rita came from Northern Spain, a Barcelona gal

She lived for fun, she lived for games, yes, Rita loved the "now"

Her daddy moved the family brood, to Florida one day

Hoping to begin anew, in Southern F-L-A

She’d hang out at the local mall, when she got out of school

And when her boyfriends came to call, Rita called them fools

CHORUS

So have you seen your Rita, have you seen your girl?

A lovely mamacita, from halfway ‘round the world

Having fun, with everyone, she likes to dance and whirl

So have you seen your Rita, have you seen your girl?

Rita claims, there is a flame, that she’s devoted to

Jason is the young man’s name, he’s thrown a pass or two

A footbal star who drives a car, a poor boy can’t afford

But he became a "Hurricane" and he knows how to score

He didn’t see through her diguise, till she had reeld him in

And now he finds, to his surprise, she’s run off again

CHORUS

She’s moved on to bigger things, she makes the Dolphins cry

She’s got her eye on J.J.’s "Rings", so Hootie dry your eyes

CHORUS

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Local Knowledge

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

As a child, I dreamed of isles of gold, and pirate ships

Mango trees and hula girls, with ruby colored lips

I’d wait for my father to return home from the sea

Bringing gifts, and local knowledge, that he passed on to me

Can’t you see, this fantasy, is not all in my head?

I raise the sails, and hit the trail, just like my daddy did

And I chase the stars, close the bars, I’m out here having fun

Getting by on local knowledge, a smile, and borrowed rum

Now I wander on the coast, making music I enjoy

Like a tropical St. Nicholas, leaving songs, instead of toys

But I’d have to say, that along the way, I’ve learned my lesson well

From the people, and the places, and the stories that they tell

Anchor down, we’ll hit the town, without a single dime

We’ll hang out with the locals and, we’ll have a real good time

And we’ll chase the stars, close the bars, we’re out here having fun

Getting by on local knowledge, a smile, and borrowed rum

And I’ll chase the stars, close the bars, I’m out here having fun

Getting by on local knowledge, a smile, and borrowed rum

Yeah, getting by on local knowledge, a smile, and borrowed rum

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Sail Away

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

Sail away, hop on a boat and just sail away

Down to the tropics where people say

Life is happy always

I’m gonna sail away, find me a boat and just sail away

Down to the islands where people play

And life is happy always

I don’t know what tomorrow brings, but

I know yesterday

Ain’t got no gold, or diamond rings, but I

Won’t need ‘em anyway

CHORUS

I’ve been down for so long now

Too many dues to pay

I’m gonna kick these blues somehow, and

I’ll be on my way

CHORUS

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Makin’ Waves

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

Judith left home on a one-way plane

New England weather drove her insane

Made her way south, down to New Orleans

She’d tired of that same old routine

Yeah she split that Rhode island scene

She made her getaway clean

Sarge put his boat in at Whiskey Bay

Steered a course east to the Vieux-Carre

Standing on Bourbon by a hot dog stand

Saw Judith and he had a plan

Take that Yukon Jack from her hand

They’re gonna make some waves while they can

Alicia hangs out down at Crystal Beach

Silky blonde hair, she’s a Texas peach

Drives from San Marcos every chance she can

Got a college degree in her hand

Yeah her life is perfectly planned

But she wants to make some waves while she can

Everybody’s gotta make their own rules

And follow their own way

But we’re swimming in a gene pool

So be careful how you play

Cause it just might be, "non-conformity"

Is exactly what you crave

So why waste your time, inside the lines

When you could be, makin’, makin’ waves?

Wes is at home when the tugboat’s gone

Two weeks off, and two weeks on

Pushes thoise barges for a living, and

He’s finally become a free man

Yeah he lost that gold wedding band

He wants to make some waves while he can

"Ronnie-World" is closed for the season when

Ronnie starts losing that shit-eating grin

The counselor is forced to rest his case

But he’s ready to slow down the pace

Sail away to some sunny place

Making waves puts a smile on his face

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Fun in the Sun

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

CHORUS

We’re having fun in the sun, everybody

Having fun in the sun

Singing our songs

We’re having fun in the sun

All summer long

Don’t you love it, don’t you really love it

Summer is our time of year

We’re loading up the woody, and heading for the coast

We’re gonna meet some honeys there

CHORUS

Yeah I love, yeah I really love it

Summer is my time of year

We’re waxing down the surfboards, heading for the coast

We’re gonna catch some waves down there

CHORUS

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Everything’s Gonna Be Alright

Lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz / © 2004

CHORUS:

Everything’s gonna be alright, everything’s gonna work out fine

Everything’s gonna be alright, so ease your worried mind

Another sunny day, on the mountaintop

My cares are far away, and I worry not

‘Cause down below me there, beside the blue lagoon

My baby waits for me, and I will be there soon

CHORUS

The tide is rolling out, to the deep blue sea

The fish, they jump about, as if to beckon me

And I would like to go, and live among them too

But I must stay behind, there’s so much to do

CHORUS

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Chords to a few songs:

Sail Away

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Have You Seen Your Rita?

lyrics and music by Jerry Diaz, (C) 2004

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Lyrics for the album, "Reef Madness" coming soon!