Sugar Man
Rodriguez Lyrics


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Sugar man, won't you hurry?
'Cause I'm tired of these scenes
For a blue coin, won't you bring back
All those colors to my dreams?

Silver magic ships you carry
Jumpers, coke, sweet Mary Jane
Sugar man met a false friend
On a lonely dusty road
Lost my heart when I found it
It had turned to dead black coal

Silver magic ships you carry
Jumpers, coke, sweet Mary Jane

Sugar man, you're the answer
That makes my questions disappear
Sugar man, 'cause I'm weary
Of those double games I hear

Sugar man, sugar man, sugar man, sugar man
Sugar man, sugar man, sugar man

Sugar man, won't you hurry?
'Cause I'm tired of these scenes
For a blue coin, won't you bring back
All those colors to my dreams?

Silver magic ships you carry
Jumpers, coke, sweet Mary Jane

Sugar man met a false friend
On a lonely dusty road
Lost my heart when I found it
It had turned to dead black coal

Silver magic ships you carry
Jumpers, coke, sweet Mary Jane





Sugar man, you're the answer
That makes my questions disappear

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Sugar Man" by Rodriguez suggest a longing for escape from a monochromatic existence into a world of vivid colors and magic. The song begins with an appeal to the titular "Sugar Man" to hurry and bring back the colors to the singer's dreams. The lyrics hint at a world of mind-altering substances such as "sweet Mary Jane" - a colloquial name for marijuana - that have the power to transform the mundane into the magical. The song's tone turns melancholic in the second verse as the singer laments a false friend who has broken their heart, the pain of which has turned their heart to "dead black coal."Despite this disillusionment, the Sugar Man is still held up as the answer that makes the singer's questions disappear.


Overall, the lyrics of "Sugar Man" paint a picture of a world colored by the substances that the Sugar Man provides, and the promise of escape from the difficulties of reality that this escape can provide.


Line by Line Meaning

Sugar man, won't you hurry
Asking the Sugar man to hurry up, because the singer is tired of the dull and mundane scenes that they are trapped in.


Cause I'm tired of these scenes
The singer is expressing their exhaustion towards the situation that they are in.


For a blue coin won't you bring back
The singer is offering the Sugar man a blue coin to retrieve all the magical colors that have vanished from their dreams.


All those colors to my dreams
The artist is asking the Sugar man to bring back all the lively colors that are missing in their dreams.


Silver magic ships you carry
The Sugar man is being described as the bearer of silver magic ships.


Jumpers, coke, sweet Mary Jane
The Sugar man is carrying a range of substances like Jumpers, coke, and sweet Mary Jane.


Sugar man met a false friend
The Sugar man met a deceitful friend while traveling on a lonely and dusty road.


On a lonely dusty road
The false friend ended up tricking Sugar man on a deserted and isolated road.


Lost my heart when i found it
The artist had lost their heart or passion for something they once loved, and found it in a lifeless and unexciting state.


It had turned to dead black coal
The passion that the artist had lost was now a worthless, dead black coal.


Sugar man you're the answer
The singer perceives Sugar man as the solution and answer to their problems.


That makes my questions disappear
The artist's questions and doubts are believed to disappear or diminish by the presence of Sugar man in their life.


Sugar man cause I'm weary
The singer is stating that they are tired, implying that Sugar man should help ease their exhaustion.


Of those double games l hear
The singer has grown tired of the deception and dishonesty around them.


Sugar man
The singer is calling out to the Sugar man.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Sixto Diaz Rodriguez

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@BrianCarnevaleB26

Rodriguez, the child of Mexican immigrant parents, recorded two acclaimed albums, 1970’s Cold Fact and 1971’s Coming From Reality, featuring music existing at the four-corner intersection of folk, soul, funk, and acid rock. After both albums sold poorly, he wound up leaving the music industry, focusing rather on blue-collar work in demolition and auto production.

Meanwhile, during his dormancy, Rodriguez’s music had found a big following in such countries as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. His popularity overseas, where he’d see his songs transform into anti-apartheid protest hymns inside the sowetos of Johannesburg, transformed him into a global star almost overnight. With premature rumors of his death prevalent, Sixto emerged from retirement to embark on a successful tour of South Africa in 1998.

He would eventually find success here in the States when Seattle archival imprint Light in the Attic re-released both Cold Fact and Coming From Reality in 2008 and 2009. Searching for Sugar Man, meanwhile, was a genuine labor of love for its director, Swedish filmmaker Malik Bendjelloul, who quit his job and financed production himself in order to get the doc made. Bendjelloul would pass away in 2014 by suicide a year after winning the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature.

Beneath the announcement of Rodriguez’s death on the official Sugarman website are the words “Maybe today, I’ll slip away…,” lyrics are taken from a bonus track featured on the 2009 edition of Coming to Reality called “I’ll Slip Away.” While his physical vessel might be gone, chances are slim that the memory of this beloved cult hero will ever be forgotten.

RIP!



All comments from YouTube:

@thevibeguide

Rest in peace Sixto! ❤️

@Edwin-pq6dg

He's become immortal in south Africa .

@colombecolombe8869

Un génie a l âme si belle
Merci à L Afrique du Sud de lui avoir donné la gloire qu il meritait❤

@tyn_joueurswitch1505

Toujours un étrange sentiment qui s’échappe de cette musique..

@nuffzed2001

Also Malik bendjelloul 😢

Director of the film searching for sugar man

@MrJucun

@@nuffzed2001 Well, Malik passed away but about 9 years ago. Maybe they have seen each other again...?

7 More Replies...

@Purplefishish

I am 61, grew up in apartheid South Africa, and his album was my anthem, my inspiration, my constant companion. He inspired me to break free from conformity and go against the tide. I owe him so much. When I saw the film and realised he was alive, I had to see him live. I was so lucky to see him in Denmark and I cried from the moment he walked onto the stage. It is not often you get to see your hero come back from the dead. Thank you for everything Mr. Sixto Rodriguez

@robertnewell9238

This is wonderful! Very moving.

@blenzus8059

Truly inspiring !

@jacquelinemiller5823

Also was born and grew up in South Africa and oh the memories of his songs never forgotten

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