Brendan Benson is a Detroit, Michigan born musician and singer-songwriter. … Read Full Bio ↴Brendan Benson is a Detroit, Michigan born musician and singer-songwriter. He plays guitar, bass guitar, keyboard and drums. He has released eight solo albums and is a member of the band The Raconteurs.

His music is typically labeled as power pop, though he doesn't completely agree. His major musical influences include The Cars, David Bowie, Electric Light Orchestra, Elvis Costello, The Kinks, Robyn Hitchcock, Paul McCartney, and Todd Rundgren.

His debut album, One Mississippi, was released in 1996 on Virgin Records. The album featured several contributions with Jason Falkner and gained many favourable reviews in the music press but failed to sell in sufficient numbers and Benson was dropped by Virgin.

It would be another six years until Benson issued the follow-up, Lapalco. Again the critical plaudits poured in but this time the record enjoyed a certain degree of commercial success.

While touring this record Benson played the Reading and Leeds Festivals and finished his Leeds set with a performance of the track "Jet Lag" featuring guest appearances from Meg White of The White Stripes along with members of The Datsuns and Soledad Brothers.

In 2003 Benson re-released his debut album along with bonus tracks including the unreleased six track extended player, Welfed Boy EP, featuring songs from a demo session with Falkner.

Also in 2003, Benson released an EP, Metarie, with his then band, The Wellfed Boys. The EP featured a cover of Paul McCartney's "Let Me Roll It". This was the first song written completely by another artist to be featured on a Benson release. Another cover, this time "Strong Boy", from Gram Parsons International Submarine Band's 1968 album, Safe at Home, was released as a b-side in 2005.

In 2005, Benson released his third album, The Alternative to Love, and toured extensively in the US, UK and Europe with his new touring band, The Stiff Tissues.

Benson is also a member of The Raconteurs, a collaboration with Jack White of The White Stripes and two members of The Greenhornes, Jack Lawrence and Patrick Keeler. The group's debut album, Broken Boy Soldiers, was released in the US on May 16th, 2006, with "Steady, As She Goes" the first single.

Brendan currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

He has also worked as a producer for The Greenhornes, The Nice Device, The Mood Elevator (a permutation of The Welfed Boys), and Stiff Tissues member Dean Fertita's former band, The Waxwings.

In 2008, his song "What I'm Looking For" was used in an Apple iPod Touch television ad, propelling sales of that particular song on iTunes and other online music retailers.

Benson's fourth full-length record, My Old, Familiar Friend, was released on August 18, 2009. This was followed by What Kind of World (2012), and You Were Right (2013).

tea
Brendan Benson Lyrics

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I'm drinkin' tea
If it's good enough for me
Then it's good enough for you
We can have tea for two
How do you do?
But if you have to leave
Then please leave,
Don't let me keep you

We can have tea another day
Please come back and see me sometime
But if you can't sleep
And you have bad dreams
And if you're bored and not feeling quite right
Head is kind of heavy

Tummy's kind of funny
We can have tea tonight

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Brendan Benson's song "Tea" evoke a sense of comfort and invitation for the listener to join him in a quiet moment of tea drinking. Benson opens the song with the lines "I'm drinkin' tea, if it's good enough for me, then it's good enough for you." This simple statement sets the tone for the rest of the song, suggesting that he finds peace in the simple act of drinking tea and invites others to share that peace with him.

Benson continues in the chorus, stating "we can have tea for two, how do you do? But if you have to leave, then please leave, don't let me keep you." The invitation is open and friendly, but not forceful. He acknowledges that sometimes people need to leave, and he encourages them to do so if that's what they need. However, he also invites them to return for more tea at a later date.

The second verse suggests that Benson is offering tea as a solution to a variety of problems. He sings, "But if you can't sleep, and you have bad dreams, and if you're bored and not feeling quite right, head is kind of heavy, tummy's kind of funny, we can have tea tonight." Here, Benson positions tea as a kind of balm for whatever ails you. It's a simple, calming solution to a range of common issues.

Overall, "Tea" is a song about finding comfort and solace in simple pleasures like drinking tea. It's an invitation to take a break from the chaos of life and enjoy a moment of tranquility in the company of others.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm drinkin' tea
I am having a cup of tea

If it's good enough for me
Tea is good for me

Then it's good enough for you
Tea is good for you too

We can have tea for two
We can enjoy tea together

How do you do?
A polite question asking how the other person is doing

But if you have to leave
If you need to go

Then please leave,
Please don't stay

Don't let me keep you
I don't want to keep you from leaving

We can have tea another day
We can enjoy tea together on another day

Please come back and see me sometime
Come visit me again sometime

But if you can't sleep
If you cannot fall asleep