By DiscoMonster
Lim Giong’s Tea Time, my own guest pick, begins with the sample: “Tea drinking brings harmony and spiritual calmness. It encourages good relations. A cup of tea is a cup of tea no matter what your social class or background. You drink tea and so do I. It’s a recognition of a common culture and way of thinking. It deepens emotions between us, between every human being.”
Tea inspires memories. The song Tea for Two reminds me of drinking tea at cafes greasy and posh, on football terraces, jostling and jesting about whose turn it is to make the tea at work. Art Tatum’s playing is rich, relaxing and playful; complex and simple like tea itself.
Dillinger reminds me of giving tramps 50 pence for a cup of tea. To deny that would have been denying them and myself dignity, basic humanity. Some people need their char in the morning.
The observations Ginger Baker makes in T.U.S.A. by Masters of Reality place me in the USA, where I experienced similar frustrations. However, whilst there I also discovered more varieties of tea than I knew existed and learnt to appreciate more than a British cuppa.
Katie’s Tea is about a person who really knows how to brew. Such people are special – treasure them. I recall pressing tea from a loose leaf dispenser into a teapot; a pot so imbued with tea it scented the kitchen. I learnt how to make tea to everyone’s individual taste. I also remember scalding steam making me swear for the first time.
Melon Kinenbi x Going Under Ground are Japanese. But do not expect a sensitive tea ceremony because Melon Tea is fun. Sitting down and sharing tea with strangers is creative and energising. People holding mugs of tea look warm and inviting, which is why the hippies playing Gong and drinking trippy tea weren’t frightening but engaging. They taught me where to pick magic mushrooms from behind the sixth form college. Dropping the dried shrooms in the tea in the rec’ room before triple sociology was not my best decision. Shack sing very well about the anguish of tea not tasting quite right.
Of course, there are lots of songs with lines about tea and cigarettes, tea and regrets, tea and sympathy. I too have been there, drinking a brew, not knowing what to do, but showing empathy. Similar to Erykah Badu in On and On or Jim Noir in Tea, after a trying day I need a cuppa. Life in Mono has that melancholy cup of tea all alone feeling.
When drinking tea on my own, I relax, think and solve problems. In contrast The Tea Party by Philip Jeays hints that the business of tea has had immense social, political and cultural ramifications – Darjeeling and romance blended with royalty and the military two-step. Only tea remains constant.
But we mostly drink tea to forget social issues, to enjoy the moment like Shonen Knife like Green Tea.
Sharing tea is also intimate. Making tea for your heart’s desire. Taking it to them as they arise from their slumbers. A Cup of Tea in Bed; Lorraine Bowen knows tea romance.
Tea is not the only infusion though. Amalia de la Vega’s Mate Amargo has lyrics that speak for all those who share while drinking hot beverages. “Mate is an honest friend, a calm adviser, a good conversationalist (tells us stories of old). It calms the restless. It's the soul of the kitchen.”
And lastly, A Nice Cup of Tea – Gracie Fields’s version opens with jollity and community spirit. I find it makes me nostalgic for family and friends. Tea – the soul of the kitchen. Make a fresh pot.
The All-In-One Tea-Time YouTube List:
The Afternoon and Anytime A-List Playlist
Art Tatum - Tea for Two
Dillinger - Cup A Tea
Masters of Reality - T.U.S.A.
Camille - Katie's Tea
Melon Kinenbi & Going Under Ground – Melon Tea
Shack - Cup of Tea
Mono - Life in Mono
Philip Jeays - The Tea Dance
Shonen Knife - Green Tea
Lorraine Bowen - Cup of Tea in Bed
Amalia de la Vega - Mate Amargo
Gracie Fields - A Nice Cup of Tea
Tea for Two by Sam Toft
Biscuits, Honey and More B-List Playlist:
Katzenjammer - Tea with Cinnamon
Jim Noir - Tea
Erykah Badu - On and On
Harumi - Sugar in Your Tea
Kelis - Sugar Honey Iced Tea
Sarah Vaughan - Tea for Two (Chris Shaw Remix) (2008)
Yusuf / Cat Stevens - Tea for the Tillerman
Loveninjas - Earl Grey with Honey
Coriky - Have a Cup of Tea
Sage Francis - Cup of Tea
Ivor Cutler - Beautiful Cosmos
Dogshit Sandwich - Are You Making the Tea?
Gong - Flying Teapot
Relaxed Guru Brew:
Lim Giong - Tea Time
The full works …
These playlists were inspired by readers' song nominations from last week's topic: Ideas brewing? Songs about tea. The next topic will launch on Thursday at 1pm UK time.
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