In Ghana in the 1950s, Teddy Osei (saxophone), Sol Amarfio (drums), Mamon Shareef and Farhan Freere (flute) played in a highlife band called The Star Gazers. They left to form The Comets, with Osei's brother Mac Tontoh on trumpet, and scored a hit in West Africa with their 1958 song "Pete Pete." In 1962 Osei moved to London to study music on a scholarship from the Ghanaian government. In 1964 he formed Cat's Paw, an early "world music" band that combined highlife, rock and soul. In 1969 he persuaded Amarfio and Tontoh to join him in London, and Osibisa was born.
The name Osibisa was described by the band members as meaning "criss cross rhythms that explode with happiness" but it actually comes from "osibisaba" the Fante word for highlife. Their style influenced many of the emerging African musicians over the last forty plus years.
The Coffee Song
Osibisa Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So they have to find those extra cups to fill
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
You date a girl and find out later she smells like a perculator
Her perfume was made right on the grill
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
No tea (No tea) or tomato juice (Or tomato juice)
You'll see (You'll see) no potato juice (No potato juice)
A politician's daughter was accused of drinking water and was fineda great big fifty dollar bill
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
A whole lot of coffee in Brazil
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
No tea (No tea) or tomato juice (Or tomato juice)
You'll see (You'll see) no potato juice (No potato juice)
All the farmers in Africa say, "Hey, hey"
And when their ham and eggs need saving, coffee ketchup gives 'em flavour
Coffee pickles way outsell the pill
They put coffee in the coffee in Brazil
A whole lot of coffee in Brazil
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
In Brazil
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
A whole lot of coffee in Brazil
A whole lot of coffee in Brazil
The Coffee Song by Osibisa is a fun and quirky tribute to Brazil's coffee culture. The song highlights the overwhelming amount of coffee in Brazil, showcasing how integral coffee is to the country's way of life. The lyrics talk about how coffee is so plentiful in Brazil that they have to find "extra cups to fill" and refer to the billions of coffee beans sold in the country. The song also talks about how the smell of coffee is almost unavoidable, with one of the verses describing how even a girl's perfume can smell like a percolator.
The song is also filled with several tongue-in-cheek references to other beverages or food items that don't compare to the popularity of coffee in Brazil. For instance, the lyrics state that there is, "no tea or tomato juice" sold in Brazil, and that "all the farmers in Africa say hey hey." One verse even talks about coffee being added to other condiments like ketchup and pickles, indicating just how much the citizens of Brazil love their coffee.
Line by Line Meaning
Way down among the Brazillians, coffee beans sell by the billions
In Brazil, coffee is a huge industry and they sell an incredible amount of coffee beans there
So they have to find those extra cups to fill
They have so many beans that they need to find extra cups to fill in order to accommodate all the coffee they produce
They've got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
This line is repeated throughout the song to emphasize just how much coffee is produced in Brazil and its importance to the country's economy
You date a girl and find out later she smells like a perculator
The smell of coffee is so pervasive that it can even be found in a person's scent, like that of a coffee perculator
Her perfume was made right on the grill
The scent of coffee is so intertwined with daily life in Brazil that even perfumes are made with a distinct coffee aroma
No tea (No tea) or tomato juice (Or tomato juice)/You'll see (You'll see) no potato juice (No potato juice)/All the farmers in Africa say, "Hey, hey"
This verse is a playful way of highlighting how coffee is the preferred drink in Brazil and a big part of the country's culture, so even farmers in Africa have heard about it
A politician's daughter was accused of drinking water and was fined a great big fifty dollar bill
This humorous line shows just how seriously coffee is taken in Brazil, to the point where even drinking water instead of coffee can be seen as an offense
And when their ham and eggs need saving, coffee ketchup gives 'em flavour
Coffee is not only a drink in Brazil, but it is also used in other food products like coffee ketchup, showing how deeply ingrained in the culture coffee is
Coffee pickles way outsell the pill/They put coffee in the coffee in Brazil
This line shows just how much coffee is loved and consumed in Brazil, to the point where even coffee pickles are a popular item and coffee is added to coffee to make it even more flavorful
In Brazil
This line is a simple way of reminding listeners that all of these descriptions and quirks are unique to Brazil and the intricate role coffee has in the country's culture and economy
Contributed by Audrey T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@josephopoku2302
The passion and energy combined with elite instrumentation is awesome. They made Ghana and Africa proud
@brindacockburn4033
And Trinidad - there was a trinidadian in the band
@chukwuemekaokolo7296
Very, very.
@Word-Smithy
This played on the radio often when I was a little girl, drinking tea, getting ready for school. I remember them being a sound like no other at the time. Happy, happy Memories.
@user-ru2xv8nx4c
Cofee in Brazil całe ciało się rusza😊🎉
@davidoyedele32
The best ensemble of African personalities with skills to produce a classic
@kpete9219
Kind of. According to what I have read they are from all over the world including England. Accra, Ghana and South America.
@mkaysarpong787
The lead singer's voice is pleasantly dulcet. The rest of the band have the energy
@jeroenwarner4834
Long live Wendell Richardson!
@jvybe8440
Wowwww I'm proud to be Ghanaian