Blah Blah
Kate Miller‐Heidke Lyrics

It always happens in coffee shops
The singer frequently gets stuck in situations where someone wants to talk to her in coffee shops.

And I'm always hungover when someone wants to talk
The singer is often hungover when someone tries to initiate a conversation with her in a coffee shop.

And don't get me wrong, I like talking
The singer likes engaging in meaningful conversations with people in coffee shops.

When it's a healthy back-and-forth exchange
The artist enjoys engaging in a conversation that involves giving and taking and respects differing opinions.

But some people always wanna lecture me
Some people try to lecture the artist during a conversation instead of engaging in a back-and-forth exchange.

And try to make me change
Those people try to make the singer change her opinion or behavior through their lecture.

He says 'You are a mystery, aren't you'
The person the singer is conversing with comments that the singer is hard to understand or read.

And considering he hasn't shut up long enough for me to string two words together
The person the artist is conversing with talks a lot and doesn't pause long enough for the artist to contribute to the conversation.

Yes that's me, Miss Mystery
The artist agrees that she is hard to understand due to her silence during the current conversation.

And he's quiet for a time
The person the artist is conversing with pauses after the artist acknowledges her silence.

And I think that might be a good sign
The singer thinks that the pause is a good sign that the other person will stop talking and they can have a meaningful exchange.

Til there's a glint in his eye and I realize
The person the artist is conversing with has something else to say and the artist notices the 'glint' in the other person's eye that signals it.

He's just making more sentences in his mind
The other person is planning and formulating what to say next instead of giving the singer a chance to speak.

And here it comes, and there's nothing I can do
The singer realizes that the other person is about to start talking again and she cannot avoid being in the conversation.

I take a sip, I take a breath
The singer takes a break to collect herself before continuing the conversation.

He licks his lips and he's opening his mouth, and it's:
The other person prepares to speak and the artist knows what is coming next.

Like a steam train
The other person's words come quickly and forcefully like a steam train.

Like an onslaught
The other person's words feel like an attack or assault on the singer's ability to contribute to the conversation.

Like a machine gun loaded with your opinions
The other person seems to be firing off opinions rapid-fire and without pause.

But it's incoherent ammunition
The other person's opinions are not well-formed or cohesive and come across as random or unhelpful.

And your words aren't very wounding weapons
The other person's words are not actually damaging to the artist but they can still be annoying or frustrating to listen to.

When they're inflicted on me
Even if the other person's words aren't actually harmful, they can still hurt or annoy the artist.

And I know you mean well
The singer acknowledges that the other person is trying to be helpful or show concern.

With your deep wells of advice
The other person seems to have a lot of advice or wisdom to offer.

And your buckets of swelled self-righteousness
Despite trying to be helpful, the other person is a bit self-important or smug in how they present their advice.

Hell, you're just trying to be nice
The singer recognizes that the other person's intentions are good even if their execution is frustrating.

And you're nice, but you state your views like they are facts of life
The other person has a habit of presenting their opinions as the only valid perspective and as incontrovertible facts.

And I hate that, and I tell you
The artist doesn't appreciate the other person's approach to giving advice and lets them know.

And I brace myself for the reply, it's gonna be
The artist expects that the other person will continue to give unsolicited advice even after being told how it is received.

He says, "You never were much of a talker"
The other person is frustrated that the singer isn't contributing to the conversation, despite the fact that they themselves haven't given her the opportunity.

Well this isn't talking
The singer doesn't consider what has been happening as a conversation or speaking since they were being lectured to.

This is being cornered
The artist feels trapped and unable to escape from the conversation since their opinions are not being taken into account.

I'm being cornered by you
The artist feels that the other person is responsible for making them feel trapped and unable to contribute in the conversation.

And I can't get away
The artist cannot leave the situation due to being situated in a corner and feels anxious about their inability to escape from the conversation.

From this table for two
The singer and other person are positioned at a table specifically designed for two people to have a conversation, further inducing the feelings the singer has of not being able to escape the conversation.

In the corner of this bright corner cafe
The artist and other person are talking in a small cafe in a corner away from the noise which adds to the frustration the artist is feeling at the situation.

And didn't we have this same conversation last week?
This is not the first time that the singer has had an unwanted conversation with the other person.

It's not that I don't like you - I just wish you wouldn't speak
The singer does not dislike the other person but they are uncomfortable with how they are delivering their advice and wishes they would not continue to try to lecture them and present their advice as god-given facts.

I see he's made a list
The singer sees that the other person has a list of topics that they want to discuss.

Of pressing topics of discussion
The other person considers the topics on their list to be important and wants to discuss them with the artist.

Competing with the clanking coffee cup percussion
The noise of the clanking coffee cups and the list of topics from the other person are competing for the artist's attention.

And I guess we'll start with number one
The other person is preemptively choosing the first topic they want to discuss to start the conversation.

On the first A4 page
The other person's list of topics is several pages long with multiple A4 pages, leaving the singer anxious about how long the conversation will take.

Past the setting of the sun
The conversation has been happening for so long that the sun has set, making the time of the conversation even more bothersome to the artist.

And the pouring of the lattes
The conversation has been happening for so long that the artist has taken a sip of their latte, yet the conversation continues.

And here it comes, it's coming and there's nothing anyone can do
The other person is preparing to speak again, and even though the artist and everyone else knows what is coming, there is nothing anyone can do.

I take a sip
The singer takes a moment to drink some of their latte before the conversation continues.

I grip the chair
The artist grabs onto the arms of the chair as a way of coping with the incoming conversation.

He opens his big, wet slippery mouth
The other person speaks again, and the singer describes their mouth as 'big' and 'slippery', indicating their aversion to the person and their inability to stop talking even when someone wants to leave the conversation.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
The other person continues to speak, but the singer is no longer listening or engaged and hears it as nonsense or noise.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
The other person continues to speak without giving the singer time to respond or contribute to the conversation.

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah
The artist is now just hearing noise from the conversation and is disengaging from it.

Blah blah dog diggity blah
The artist stops listening to the other person and just hears random noises and 'dog diggity', indicating their complete disinterest in continuing the conversation with the other person.