15 Cuban Minutes chords by Jimmy Buffett

Tuning: Standard (E A D G B E)


Chorus:
C       G    G       C
Fifteen Cuban minutes, fairly safe to say,
  C       G    G        C
can feel more like an hour  or the entire day.

Bridge:
    E7                 Am
In the land where time means nothing, not hard to slip away,
   D7             G
El Diablo baila sábado, y los curas on Sunday.

Chorus:
C       G      G       C
Fifteen Cuban minutes, the end is out of sight;
    C        G         G      C
so I'll meet you by the cannon on the the  Malecón tonight.

Verse 1:
  G      C    G        C
It started in Havana in nineteen-twenty-one,
    G       C      G      C
on the schooner Chiquimula where a party had begun.
G      C      G      C
Primer cumpleaños, for a tiny lad at sea,
  G       C        G     C
and in my heart is still that faded photo of JD.

Verse 2:
G         C    G       C
Signal flags were flying atop the entire fleet,
         G       C       G        C
while the rhumba band from Santiago played the birthday boy to sleep.
G          C       G       C
That's the tale was told to me, a seadog nursery rhyme,
    G       C         G       C
and the music that was handed down from a long forgotten time.

Chorus:
C       G    G        C
Fifteen Cuban minutes get lost in the fog,
C          G          G       C
life's a test, just do your best, like a  three-legged dog.

Bridge:
    E7                   Am
In the land where time means nothing, you can often lose your mind;
  D7                  G
now place your bets, or better yet, just join a conga line.

Chorus:
C       G      G        C
Fifteen Cuban minutes can turn night into day;
    C       G   G        C
they're dancing on the tables  down at El Frente.

Verse 3:
 G      C       G       C
Another entry in the log, my mind put to a test,
   G         C        G         C
when we sailed with the Hemmingways on a schooner from Key West.
    G       C      G       C
They'd come to make a movie about long forgotten times;
G        C         G      C
see old friends, drink some rum and visit family shrines.

Verse 4:
  G        C        G       C
So, how the hell did we wind up, just tagging right along?
     G       C       G        C
They were looking for a soundtrack and heard one of my songs.
   G      C         G      C
So, I sang Havana Daydreamin', just me and my guitar,
    G      C         G        C
to some very stern KGB-guys, trying to blend in at the bar.

Chorus:
    C       G       G     C
So for fifteen Cuban minutes, la bodega did ignite;
  C     G   G        C
bongos y tumbadoras  kept us up all night.

Bridge:
 E7            Am
Mojitos by the minute, the crowd stacked at the door;
D7            G
niños, dogs, and roosters frolicked on the floor.

Chorus:
C       G    G         C
Fifteen Cuban minutes,  lots of give and take;
C        G        G        C
birthdays always come and go but  not a birthday cake.

Interlude 1:
Am   E    Am   E
Am   E    Am   E
Am   E    Am   E
Am   E    Dm7/9  G

Interlude 2: (Steel Drums)
Am   E    Am   E
Am   E    Am   E
Am   E    Am   E
Am   E    Dm7/9  G

Chorus:
C       G      G     C
Fifteen Cuban minutes are easy to embrace,
  C      G         G      C
no calendars or watch to wind, no schedules to chase.

Bridge:
    E7                 Am
In the land where time means nothing this phrase it cries, "Delay!"
D7            G
Put it on a tee shirt and everyone will pay.

Chorus:
    C     G   G     C
You say minutos Cubanos, dejace la drama;
 C      G G     C
aqui no hay AC solo la ventana.

Verse 5:
N.C.
Music makes use happy, it's in our chromosomes;
  N.C.
no matter where we wander, music takes us home.
  N.C.
It started on the island, disbursed by sweet songbirds
  N.C.
who flew north 'cross the Gulf Stream and everybody heard.

Verse 6:
    N.C.
Now the clock just keeps on ticking, I hear it everywhere I go,
   N.C.
and I sing along in cars and bars along Calle Ocho.
  N.C.
God bless Ricky Ricardo and Little Ricky, too,
   N.C.
they set my mind on island time. How about you?

Verse 7:
  G      C      G        C
The Greeks and Egyptians had sundials in the sand,
G      C         G        C
now we have atomic clocks that measure the Big Bang.
   G      C         G       C
Still I prefer the simple way, let's take it to the street;
   G        C    G         C
more walking and less talking, tap time with your feet.

Chorus:
C       G       G         C
Fifteen Cuban minutes still stands the test of time,
C      G       G         C
like a Salas photograph or  Kenneth Patchen rhyme.

Bridge:
     E7            Am
If you're looking for a launchpad, no news, just hearsay,
   D7             G
don't bother with the WiFi, fuck Siri, ask Jose!

End-Chorus:
C       G    G         C
Fifteen Cuban minutes, there's no end in sight;
   C        G         G      C
I'll meet you by the cannon on the the  Malecón tonight.