Black Coffee (1948)

Webster/Burke

"A woman's born to weep and fret, to stay at home and tend her lovin'

And drown her past regrets, in coffee and cigarettes."

What is it about old coffee cans that makes artists want keep them around for stuff?  They can hold paintbrushes, paint... visit the Pollock-Krasner House and you will see the ones he used. Lee Krasner, no slouch of a painter herself and wife to Pollock certainly must have done a fair amount of "staying home and tendin' her lovin," trying to dry Jackson out and quit the booze. (Sadly, she lost the battle.) Peggy Lee does a knock-out version of this song, a bluesy, caffeine-y, swinging ballad. Her voice is modern, cool and edgy similar to a Pollock painting... or a Krasner, for that matter.

CHORUS

I'm feelin' mightly 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 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 dreams to 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 lovin'
And drown her past regrets in coffee and cigarettes.

I'm moonin' all the mornin', mournin' all the night
and in between it's nicotine and not much heart to fight
Black coffee
Feelin' low as the ground,
it's drivin' me crazy, this waitin' for my baby
To maybe come around.

My nerves have gone to pieces
My hair is turnin' grey
All I do is drink black coffee,
Since my man's gone away.

Love is like a cigarette

Jerome/Kent

Then just like a cigarette 

Love seem to fade away
and leave behind ashes of regret...

Ivie Anderson deserves to be better known. One of Duke Ellington's earliest vocalists - and his first full time "girl" singer - her delivery is straightforward and swinging, not a scat to be heard. Love is like a cigarette conjures up a smoky time in the past when cigarettes evoked romance, moodiness, excitement. (Actually, they still have a tinge of glamour about them.) Think of Paul Henreid and Bette Davis in Now, Voyager - where would they have been without cigarettes? Sadly, Ivie suffered from severe asthma her entire life, and both her career and her life were cut short by this breathing disease. Here is she is singing with Ellington in a rare film clip singing I've Got it Bad and That Ain't Good.

VERSE

What is love? You called it heaven above 

Star that shine in the night 

A bird that sings in its flight 

A flower that blooms in the spring 

There's no such thing 

CHORUS

Love is like a cigarette 

You know you had my heart aglow 

Between your fingertips 

And just like a cigarette 

I never knew the thrill of life 

Until you touched my lips 

Then just like a cigarette 

Love seem to fade away and leave behind ashes of regret 

And with a flick of your fingertips 

It was easy for you to forget 

Cause love is like a cigarette 

Then just like a cigarette 

Love seem to fade away and leave behind ashes of regret 

And with a flick of your fingertips 

It was easy for you to forget 

Cause love is like a cigarette