Black Coffee
Vaughan Sarah Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Haven't slept a wink
I walk the floor and watch the door
And in between I drink
Black coffee
Love's a hand-me-down brew
I'll never know a Sunday
I'm talking to the shadows
One o'clock to four
And Lord, how slow the moments go
When all I do is pour
Black coffee
Since the blues caught my eye
I'm hanging out on Monday
My Sunday dream's too dry
Now, a man is born to go a-loving
A woman's born to weep and fret
And stay at home and tend her oven
And drown her past regrets
In coffee and cigarettes
I'm moody all the morning
Mourning all the night
And in between, it's nicotine
And not much hard to fight
Coffee
Feeling low as the ground
It's driving me crazy
This waiting for my baby
To maybe come around
Mmh, mmh, mmh
The lyrics of Black Coffee is a portrayal of a person's deep sense of loneliness and heartache. The singer is experiencing sleepless nights in the midst of waiting for someone who may or may not come. As the singer went on with the sleepless nights, they have found solace in drinking black coffee which has become their constant companion. The singer appears to be stuck in a weekday room and even the comforts of a Sunday dream seemed too far-fetched. Instead of sleeping, the singer talks to shadows, smokes incessantly and drinks black coffee all day long. The deep sense of hopelessness can be clearly seen in the last four lines, where the singer assumes that men and women are born for certain roles, and they should stick to it, even if it means drowning your past regrets in cigarettes and coffee.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm feeling mighty lonesome
I am extremely lonely
Haven't slept a wink
I haven't slept at all
I walk the floor and watch the door
I pace around the room and keep an eye on the door
And in between I drink
To pass the time, I drink
Black coffee
I drink coffee without cream or sugar
Love's a hand-me-down brew
Love is like a recycled and less than perfect beverage
I'll never know a Sunday
I will never experience a carefree Sunday
In this weekday room
The room feels like it's stuck in the monotony of a workday
I'm talking to the shadows
I am speaking to the imaginary figures cast by the light
One o'clock to four
The time period from one to four in the morning
And Lord, how slow the moments go
Time passes incredibly slowly
When all I do is pour
When all I do is pour myself a cup of coffee
Black coffee
I drink coffee without cream or sugar
Since the blues caught my eye
Ever since I became sad and depressed
I'm hanging out on Monday
Monday has become my day of lingering sadness
My Sunday dream's too dry
My ideal Sunday does not compare to my depressing reality
Now, a man is born to go a-loving
Men naturally crave romantic love
A woman's born to weep and fret
Women are naturally emotional and prone to worry
And stay at home and tend her oven
Stereotypically, women are expected to stay home and cook
And drown her past regrets
She uses coffee and cigarettes to forget about past mistakes
In coffee and cigarettes
She uses coffee and cigarettes to forget about past mistakes
I'm moody all the morning
I feel irritable and gloomy in the morning
Mourning all the night
I grieve all night long
And in between, it's nicotine
To distract myself, I smoke cigarettes
And not much hard to fight
It's not particularly difficult to resist smoking
Coffee
I drink coffee without cream or sugar
Feeling low as the ground
Feeling incredibly down and depressed
It's driving me crazy
It's making me go insane
This waiting for my baby
I am waiting for my lover
To maybe come around
Hoping that they will come back to me
Mmh, mmh, mmh
Vocalization signifying sadness and heartache
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Francis Joseph Burke, Paul Francis Webster
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@learafisura6424
I'm feeling mighty lonesome
Haven't slept a wink
I walk the floor and watch the door
And in between I drink
Black Coffee
Love's a hand me down brew
I'll never know a Sunday
In this weekday room
I'm talking to the shadows
1 o'clock to 4
And Lord, how slow the moments go
When all I do is pour
Black Coffee
Since the blues caught my eye
I'm hanging out on Monday
My Sunday dream's too dry
Now a man is born to go a lovin'
A woman's born to weep and fret
To stay at home and tend her oven
And drown her past regrets
In coffee and cigarettes
I'm moody all the morning
Mourning all the night
And in between it's nicotine
And not much hard to fight
Black Coffee
Feelin' low as the ground
It's driving me crazy just waiting for my baby
To maybe come around
My nerves have gone to pieces
My hair is turning gray
All I do is drink black coffee
Since my man's gone away
@rocketpost1
Sarah is one of the great voices of all time along with Ella. How anyone could vote this down I don't know : because they can and because they know nothing about music. What an incredible voice !.
@thomascordery7951
I expect some down votes may be about the "B" section lyrics, which these days sound like a period piece. But then, the song is a period piece.
"Now a man is born to go a lovin', A woman's born to weep and fret, And stay at home to tend her oven, And drown her past regrets, In coffee and cigarettes".
Perhaps someone might want to come up with a different lyric through that section or use it for an instrument solo if they were recording it today. Or not.
@leroyb.vaughn6150
It feels like I should be sitting in a bar in New Orleans on a rainy night sipping Absinthe when I listen to this song.
@yp1419
Leroy Vaughn pour me a whiskey and I'll join you in Nola
@leroyb.vaughn6150
Thanks for the nice comment Ysamalis.
@zzzzgirl9600
Iβm here and have the perfect place to make that happen π
@scotnick59
How nostalgic and very apropos!
@erflingnot
You nailed it! Or somewhere on the left bank!
@LaNoire27
Why is music SO different now? This sounds straight classy! How could one not like this?!
@boffo63
Things got electrified.