Squeeze – Black Coffee In Bed

A cousin of mine sent me a link to this song and I haven’t heard it in a long time. Black Coffee in Bed was released in 1982 and it surprises me that this did not chart in the Billboard 100 but it did peak at #26 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Charts. It also peaked at #51 on the UK Charts.

Black Coffee In Bed was released in 1982 as the first single from Squeeze’s fifth album, Sweets from a Stranger. Glenn Tilbrook sang lead and wrote the music to accompany Chris Difford’s lyrics. Elvis Costello and Paul Young sang backup.

The first article I read about Squeeze in Rolling Stone gave them a “New Beatles” label. That is not a good label to have and usually is the kiss of death. The band did have a hit the year before with Tempted. This song was played a lot on MTV. When MTV launched in 1981 they were on the hunt for videos and many of the British bands of that time had been making videos so this was in the rotation.

Sweets from a Stranger peaked at #20 on the UK Charts, #26 in Canada, and #32 on the Billboard Album Charts. This album was their follow-up to East Side Story. Like Crowded House a little later, they made some great pop albums that still sound good today.

John, a fellow blogger from 2 Loud 2 Old Music reviewed this song.

Chris Difford:  “The 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. Lyrically it was attractive to a country kind of meter. The fact that Glenn put a soul melody to it shows the unique quality of our writing.”

Black Coffee In Bead

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
With the way that you left me
I can hardly contain
The hurt and the anger
And the joy of the pain
Now knowing I am single
They’ll be fire in my eyes
And a stain on my notebook
For a new love tonight
From the 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
Remain all that’s left
Of the memory of late nights
And coffee in bed
Now she’s gone
And I’m back on the beat
A stain on my notebook
Says nothing to me
Now she’s gone
And I’m out with a friend
With lips full of passion
And coffee in bed

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

47 thoughts on “Squeeze – Black Coffee In Bed”

  1. First I love the song. Secondly, “Sweets…” is my absolute favorite Squeeze album. Thirdly, the damn video says “unavailable” on my iPhone – just like the links I put on my own desktop post this morning! It’s maddening. Any idea why?

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  3. Great tune today Max. One of my fav Squeeze songs. So many intersections with this band of artists I love, Paul Carrack, Dave Edmunds, Elvis Costello who I have all seen perform. Would have loved to have seen The Squeeze!

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  6. Super song, and surely Beatle-sque though as you point out, any publication deeming them the new Beatles is doing them a disservice (and I think I have read people suggesting that Tilbrook and Difford were the ‘new Lennon/McCartney’ as well). Hard to live up to that! But they sure were good writers and had a great band in the ’80s even with its ever-changing lineup. I had no idea Elvis C was on this track, by the way. I’m glad you mention Crowded House too – I literally told some people (online) years ago that if they were ‘rock only’ types who looked down on ‘pop’, take a listen to the best ofs by Squeeze and Crowded House. That would make them think of it in a different light.
    Lovely Susanna Hoffs did a cover of this a year or two ago, and while she’s lovely and nicer to look at than say Paul Carrack, her take on it , while not bad, doesn’t measure up to the original.

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    1. I told someone that a tour consisting of Squeeze and Crowded House would be a cool double bill to see…it wouldn’t get much better than that.
      It would fit Hoffs perfectly…

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  7. Love this song, love this band! They just don’t make ’em like they used to!
    I got to see them once, the Greek Theater at UC Berkeley…must have been ’84/’85, I was still in high school at the time. They were fantastic, as were both opening acts – The Truth (“Spread a Little Sunshine” AWESOME song!) and The Hooters – I only liked one song if theirs going in, but they delivered an impressive set that night… Completely changed my perspective on that band! Good times… Thanks (again!) for the memories!

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    1. Oh I would have loved to see them back then. I think they still tour but nothing is like when bands are in their prime.
      I liked The Hooters a lot back then also.

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      1. More surprises Max. I have most their records even when they were called UK Squeeze (I think). Pink vinyl. Watched a concert they did on PBS. Some park in New York. It was very good. I got into them same time as Costello, Parker Lowe etc. Difford and Tilbrook write good tunes. Sense of humour which works with me. I never saw that video before. Looks like they are playing around a bit.

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      2. I owned East Side Story but that was it. I always thought they were great. Yea the sense of humor works with me also…heck that was part of my Beatles attraction.
        I wish I could have seen them back then.

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      5. Cool song dude…and yea the video is really cool. That was right before I knew about them. A little different sound for them.

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  9. Very good number. Lately I’m hearing a lot of songs from the music blogs I follow that are very clear in the lyrics- there’s no need for a lyric sheet like some bands need, it’s just pure and clear. This is a good one, my ‘mind’ pairs it with ‘Breakfast In Bed.’ The/this mind is a weird and wonky thing I guess.

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    1. I would like to see them. I think a great double bill would be Crowded House and Squeeze… the song that I like the best is probably Piccadilly.

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      2. That one is great…I also liked Something So Strong…they didn’t have the wit of Squeeze but knew how to construct good pop songs.

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  11. A nice song. I saw Squeeze in their early days when Jools Holland was on keyboards. They were very high energy. They have an extensive UK tour later this year, for their 50th anniversary! No Jools this time, however. I may go see them again. They will definitely perform this track.

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  13. Squeeze got a lot of press in Creem magazine. Thats where I first heard of them like so many others as Creem didn’t limit itself to covering just metal. They would feature it so I would buy it but I read about so many others like The Clash, Petty, Cougar, Devo, the list goes on

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  14. Surpised about the low charting especially since the video got a lot of play on MTV. My fave part of the song is in the ending fade when you hear Elvis Costello sing “No milk and sugar.”

    PS – I love Squeeze and they belong in the R&R HOF.

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    1. They are not in the Hall of Fame? Well of course not…that doesn’t suprise me unfortunately…yes they deserve to be in.

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  17. Squeeze early songs were my faves though I like the 80’s stuff too. Take Me I’m Yours is my top tune though, love that one. Seen them a couple of times in concert, they like shuffling up the song order and taking requests 🙂

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