The Coffee Song was written by Bob Hilliard (January 28, 1918 – February 1, 1971), an American lyricist who wrote many other famous songs. For example, In the Wee Small Hours Of the Morning, Any Day Now, Dear Hearts and Kind People, Our Day Will Come, My Little Corner of the World, and Seven Little Girls (Sitting in the Backseat). The Coffee Song is one of the funniest coffee lyric songs recorded in the post-war 1946 era, with a catchy melody and a non-holiday beat.
The coffee song has been covered by many artists and groups. To name a few: Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor. Louis Prima, Sicilian-American singer, actor, songwriter, and trumpeter. Sam Cooke, American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer-songwriter. Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress. Mike Doughty, American indie and alternative rock songwriter. Stan Ridgway, American multi-instrumentalist, baritone, and composer. Bob Dorough, American bebop, genius jazz pianist, songwriter, songwriter, and vocal singer. The Muppets, famous puppet characters created by Jim Henson from 1954-1955.
The Muppets played and sang The Coffee Song as the opening number to a 1997 episode of Muppets Tonight. Each presentation of The Coffee Song is different and reflects the style of each musician or musical group. As a result, the song attracts more and more audiences over time.
Frank Sinatra chose to record this song and helped popularize it at a time when Brazilian coffee consumption was increasing substantially among coffee drinkers in the US. The postwar era was a time when people were optimistic about their future . Families were contributing to a record baby boom that would impact the country for generations. The Coffee Song captures the optimism of the times, the carefree attitude and the anything-goes zeitgeist. Frank Sinatra began his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, which helped him become a successful solo artist and a bobby soxer heartthrob.
Sinatra’s popularity helped promote The Coffee Song as a type of cocktail song and make it part of many personal collections.
The song is quite simple and direct. The lyrics praise the coffee surplus in Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer, a position the country has held for the past 150 years. The song tells the story of a politician’s daughter who was fined $50 for drinking something other than coffee. The song humorously describes the lack of soft drinks, tomato juice, potato juice or any other drink because coffee is what everyone drinks and sells in Brazil. There are many catchy phrases in the song. The song is easy to memorize and sing. One of the most ingenious lyrics according to many is “…they have a lot of coffee in Brazil!…”
Some of the song’s lyrics include: “…You date a girl and then you find out she smells like a percolator. Her perfume was made right on the grill. Hey, they might leak into the ocean in Brazil… Way down among Brazilians “Coffee beans grow by the billions. So they have to find those extra cups to fill. They have a lot of coffee in Brazil…”
If you haven’t heard The Coffee Song in a while, find the music video and take some time to enjoy it. This song is one for your music playlist and one to enjoy with a big cup of gourmet Brazilian Santos Bourbon coffee!