My Gen X Playlist: Black Coffee in Bed – Squeeze

I love coffee. Coffee has always been my guilty pleasure. So when I decided to give up coffee, it was a pretty devastating loss. During a routine health checkup, they found an irregular heart beat and wanted to run additional tests. For years, I drank about four or five cups in the morning and I wasn’t sure if that contributed to this new found symptom. To be safe, I gave up coffee cold turkey. One day five cups, the next day zero. When the tests results came in, it turned out the frequency of the irregular heart beat was minimal and not a cause for concern. What a relief. But I was faced with a decision. Do I go back to coffee? I had already gone three months cold turkey and endured the caffein withdrawals. On the one hand, it was probably healthier not consuming gallons of coffee. But on the other – c’mon, it’s coffee! Surprisingly, it wasn’t the taste that I missed most. I missed the morning ritual to begin each day. Grinding the beans. The sound of coffee percolating. The aroma and hot steam flowing from the mug. The first sip. The feel of caffein working it’s magic. Man, I missed that. I held out a few more weeks and then wisely caved and struck a deal with myself. There was no need to further this self-inflicted pain. Only one cup of coffee in the morning. Everything in moderation, right?

Squeeze came out with Black Coffee in Bed in 1982, long before I ever had my first taste. Even though it’s a song about loss, the melody and lyrics were too catchy not to sing along.

“This lyric was inspired by my picking up my notebook one day and seeing a coffee stain on it, which inspired the first line. It was a very vivid image for me and inspired this song of loss and regret.”

– Songfacts

Looking back, my three months of loss were pretty painful, but I don’t regret them at all. I always wondered if I had an addiction to caffein and at least now know I have the will stop, if needed. That’s a big “if”, though. I don’t think that day is coming back anytime soon. I hope you enjoy your coffee this morning. I know I will.

–

For a complete playlist, please click here.

For the Spotify playlist, please click here.

There's a stain on my notebook where your coffee cup was
And there's ash in the pages, now I've got myself lost
I was writing to tell you that my feelings tonight
Are a stain on my notebook that rings your goodbye

Oh, now she's gone
And I'm back on the beat
A stain on my notebook
Says nothing to me

Oh, now she's gone
And I'm out with a friend (out with a friend)
With lips full of passion
And coffee in bed

(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

With the way that you left me, I can hardly contain
(Hardly contain)
The hurt and the anger and the joy of the pain
(Joy of the pain)

Now knowing I'm single, there'll be fire in my eyes
(Fire in my eyes)
And a stain on my notebook for a new love tonight
(New love tonight)

Oh, now she's gone
And I'm back on the beat
A stain on my notebook
Says nothing to me

Oh, now she's gone
And I'm out with a friend (out with a friend)
With lips full of passion
And coffee in bed

(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Oh, now she's gone
And I'm out with a friend (out with a friend)
With lips full of passion (ooh)
And coffee in bed

(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Oh, from lips without passion to the lips with a kiss
There's nothing of your love that I'll ever miss
The stain on my notebook remains all that's left
Of the memory of late nights and coffee in bed
Of the memory of late nights and coffee in bed

Now she's gone
And I'm back on the beat
Oh, a stain on my notebook
Says nothing to me

Oh, now she's gone (now she's gone)
And I'm out with a friend (out with a friend)
With lips full of passion (ooh)
And coffee in bed

(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)
(Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh)

Now she's gone (black coffee in bed)
And I'm back on the beat (black, black coffee in bed)
A stain on my notebook (black, black, black coffee in bed)
Says nothing to me (black coffee in bed)

Now she's gone (black, black coffee in bed)
And I'm back on the beat (black, black, black coffee in bed)
A stain on my notebook (black coffee in bed)
Says nothing to me (black, black coffee in bed)