Coffee Mentioned in Many Popular and Meaningful Songs
Coffee is a widely consumed beverage, second only to water in terms of consumption. There is much literature that has in some way been associated with coffee, but songs, from popular to socially meaningful, in Italy and around the world, have also been influenced by coffee over the decades. In Naples, coffee, like songs, is an institution, and it's natural to find many connections between these two worlds.
Ma cu sti mode, oje Bríggeta, tazza 'e café parite:
sotto tenite 'o zzuccaro, e 'ncoppa, amara site...
Ma i' tanto ch'aggi''a vutá, e tanto ch'aggi''a girá...
ca 'o ddoce 'e sott''a tazza fin'a 'mmocca mm'ha da arrivá!
Roberto Murolo describes Signora Briggida as a cup of coffee: bitter on top, but underneath hides the sugar. By continually stirring it, the sweetness from the bottom will eventually reach the palate.
Pino Daniele instead reproaches the powerful for feeding the people by filling them with coffee (Na' tazzulella e' cafè, Pino Daniele):
Na' tazzulella e' cafè, e mai niente cè fanno sapè
nui cè puzzammo e famme, o sanno tutte quante
e invece e c'aiutà c'abboffano e' cafè.
The coffee that the prison guard Pasquale Cafiero prepares for Don Rafaè, following the recipe of Cicirinella's mother (Don Rafaè, Fabrizio De Andrè), is very famous:
Ah, che bellu ccafe`, sulo `n carcere `o sanno fa'
co' `a recetta ch'a Cicirinella compagno di cella ci ha dato mamma'.
How can we forget the coffee that closes Fred Bongusto's sad dinner, when he thinks back to the appetite he had in Detroit with his Lola (Spaghetti in Detroit, Fred Bongusto):
Spaghetti, pollo, insalatina e una tazzina di caffè
a malapena riesco a mandar giù
Invece ti ricordi che appetito insieme a te a Detroit.
Even at the Zecchino d'Oro they talk about coffee, Peppina's coffee, which for some reason cannot be drunk in the morning:
Il caffè della Peppina non si beve alla mattina
Né col latte, né col thè ma perché, perché, perché.
There are so many quotes, there is not enough space in a news item to remember them all, here is a short list:
Quattro amici al bar (Gino Paoli)
Tra un bicchier di coca ed un caffè
tiravi fuori i tuoi perché e proponevi i tuoi farò.
Cosa hai messo nel caffè (Riccardo del Turco, Malika Ayane)
Ma cosa hai messo nel caffè che ho bevuto su da te
c'è qualche cosa di diverso adesso in me.
Caffè nero bollente (Fiorella Mannoia):
Ammazzo il tempo bevendo caffè nero bollente
In questo nido scaldato già dal sole paziente.
7000 Caffè (Alex Britti):
7000 caffè, li ho già presi perché
sono stanco di stare al volante e vorrei arrivare entro sera da te.
Anna (Lucio Battisti):
La mattina c’è chi mi prepara il caffè.
One more Cup of Coffee (Bob Dylan):
One more cup of coffee for the road, one more cup of coffee ‘fore I go.
Black Coffee (Ella Fitzgerald):
I walk the floor and watch the door and in between I drink Black coffee.
You’re so vain (Carly Simon):
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee.
Coffee Song (Frank Sinatra):
Way down among the brazillians, coffee beans grow by the billions.
Cigarettes and Coffee (Otis Redding):
It's early in the morning about a quarter till three
I'm sitting here talking with my baby over cigarettes and coffee.
Coffee for every occasion, then, to accompany the important moments of our lives. And if it's Marziali Caffè, besides the memories, you'll also have the unmistakable taste of a high-quality product.