Paolo Giovanni Nutini (b. 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. His infl… Read Full Bio ↴Paolo Giovanni Nutini (b. 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. His influences include David Bowie, Damien Rice, Oasis, The Beatles, U2, Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac.

Born on born 9th January 1987 in Paisley, Scotland, his father is of Italian descent and his mother Glaswegian, although his father's family have been in Scotland for four generations. Nutini had no formal music training, and was expecting to follow his father into the family fish and chip shop business. He was first encouraged to sing by his music-loving grandfather and a teacher at his school who recognised his talent. He left school to work as a roadie and to sell T-shirts for Speedway and spent three years learning the music business, performing live, alone and with a band, and working as a studio hand at Glasgow's Park Lane Studio.

His big chance came when he attended a concert for David Sneddon's return to his home town of Paisley at the beginning of 2003. Sneddon was delayed, and as the winner of an impromptu pop quiz, Nutini was given the chance to perform a couple of songs on stage during the wait. The favourable reaction of the crowd impressed another member of the audience, who offered to become his manager.

A Daily Record journalist, John Dingwall, saw him performing at the Queen Margaret Union, and invited him to appear live on Radio Scotland. Still only seventeen, he moved to London, and performed regularly at the Bedford pub in Balham whilst still legally too young to drink alcohol himself. Other radio and live appearances followed, including two live acoustic spots on Radio London, The Hard Rock Cafe, and support slots for Amy Winehouse and KT Tunstall.

His debut album, These Streets, produced by Ken Nelson (Coldplay/Gomez), was released on 17th July 2006, and immediately entered the U.K. album charts at number three. Many of the songs on the album, including "Last Request" and "Rewind", were inspired by a turbulent relationship with a girlfriend, and "Jenny Don't Be Hasty" is a true story about encounters with an older woman.

On 29th May 2009 Nutini released his second studio album, Sunny Side Up, after the first single from that album, "Candy", was released on 18th May. In July, he appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, performing "Coming Up Easy". This was released as the second single from the album on 10th August.

Smokey Joe's Cafe
Paolo Nutini Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

One day while I was eating beans at Smokey Joe's Cafe
Just sitting, reading all the scene at Smokey Joe's Cafe
A chicken walked in through the door
That I had never seen before
At least I never saw her down at Smokey Joe's Cafe
And I started shaking when she sat right down next to me

Her knees were almost touching mine at Smokey Joe's Cafe

A chill was running down my spine at Smokey Joe's Cafe
And I could smell her sweet perfume
She smiled and made my heart way boom
And everybody in the room at Smokey Joe's Cafe
Said, "Man, be careful, that chick belongs to Smokey Joe"

And from behind the counter I saw a man
A chef's hat on his head and a knife in his hand
He grabbed me by the collar and began to shout
He said "You better eat up all your beans, boy, then clear right out!"

Oh, I know I'll never eat again at Smokey Joe's Cafe
And so we'll never meet again at Smokey Joe's Cafe
And I'd rather eat my chili beans at Jim's or Jack's or John's or Gene's

Than take my chances eating down at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I risked my life when that Smokey Joe's a crazy fool

Overall Meaning

Paolo Nutini's Smokey Joe's Cafe is a story of a chance encounter with a woman at a cafe. The singer describes himself sitting at the cafe, just minding his own business, eating beans and reading the scene. Then, the woman appears and sits right next to him, and he starts shaking. He senses some danger when he smells her sweet perfume because everybody in the room says that she belongs to Smokey Joe. The singer is smitten with the woman, but things get complicated when Smokey Joe shows up.

The chorus reveals that Smokey Joe's Cafe is not a safe place to be. The chef who runs the place is crazy, and he demands that the singer eat all his beans before he leaves. The singer decides that he will never return to Smokey Joe's Cafe, and he is happy to get his beans elsewhere.

Paolo Nutini's lyrics are quite poetic, but they convey a simple idea: sometimes, we make bad decisions even when we should know better. The singer describes himself as risking his life in Smokey Joe's Cafe, all for the sake of meeting a woman. He got caught up in the moment, and he paid the price for it. The song's message is clear: sometimes, it's best to trust our instincts and walk away from situations that are not safe.

Line by Line Meaning

One day while I was eating beans at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I was at Smokey Joe's Cafe, eating beans, minding my own business

Just sitting, reading all the scene at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I was observing the atmosphere of the cafe while sitting and reading

A chicken walked in through the door
A woman, whom I have never seen before, walked into the cafe

That I had never seen before
I have never seen her before

At least I never saw her down at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I have never seen her at this particular cafe before

And I started shaking when she sat right down next to me
I became nervous and anxious when she sat next to me

Her knees were almost touching mine at Smokey Joe's Cafe
She was sitting so close to me that our knees were almost touching

A chill was running down my spine at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I was feeling an intense sense of fear or excitement at the moment

And I could smell her sweet perfume
She was wearing a pleasant smelling perfume and I could smell it

She smiled and made my heart way boom
Her smile made my heart beat fast and loud

And everybody in the room at Smokey Joe's Cafe
All the people in the cafe

Said, "Man, be careful, that chick belongs to Smokey Joe"
People warned me about getting involved with the woman, as she was supposedly in a relationship with Smokey Joe

And from behind the counter I saw a man
I noticed a man behind the counter

A chef's hat on his head and a knife in his hand
The man was wearing a chef's hat and holding a knife

He grabbed me by the collar and began to shout
He forcefully grabbed me by the collar and started yelling

He said "You better eat up all your beans, boy, then clear right out!"
He warned me to finish my food and leave immediately

Oh, I know I'll never eat again at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I have decided to never return to Smokey Joe's Cafe

And so we'll never meet again at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I know I will never see the woman I met again at this cafe

And I'd rather eat my chili beans at Jim's or Jack's or John's or Gene's
I would rather eat beans at any other place than Smokey Joe's Cafe

Than take my chances eating down at Smokey Joe's Cafe
I'd rather not take the risk of going back to Smokey Joe's Cafe

I risked my life when that Smokey Joe's a crazy fool
I feel like I narrowly escaped danger or danger was present when I encountered Smokey Joe

Writer(s): JERRY LEIBER, MIKE STOLLER

Contributed by Tristan R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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