Way down among in Brazilians
Coffee beans grow by the zillions
So they’ve got to find those extra cups to fill
They’ve got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
You can’t get cherry soda
’cause they’ve got to fill that quota
And the way things are I’ll bet they never will
They’ve got a zillion tons of coffee in Brazil
No tea or tomato juice
You’ll see no potato juice
’cause the planters down in Santos all say No, No, No
The politician’s daughter
Was accused of drinkin’ water
And was fined a great big fifty dollar bill
They’ve got an awful lot of coffee in Brazil
You date a girl and find out later
She smells just like a percolator
Her perfume was made right on the grill
Why, they could percolate the ocean in Brazil
And when their ham and eggs need savor
Coffee ketchup gives ’em flavor
Coffee pickles way outsell the dill
Why, they put coffee in the coffee in Brazil
So you’ll add to the local color
Serving coffee with a cruller
Dunkin’ doesn’t take a lot of skill
They’ve got an awful lot of coffee
An awful lot of coffee
Man, they got a gang of coffee in Brazil!
—
This song was written by Bob Hilliard and Dick Miles, and recorded by Sinatra in 1946. On Wikipedia, it’s written that this song is a US caricature of the Paulista coffee producing industry of that time, and I think that’s a great expression for this lighthearted, whimsical and hyperbolic take on the production reality of this global commodity. Brazil’s domination of the coffee market with the Paulista planters of São Paulo – the Santos planters that Sinatra sings of – during the Old Republic 1850 – 1920. Coffee export domination of arabica market continued through the Vargas administration (1930 – 1945), the military dictatorship; this immense presence of Brazil in the general coffee market course continues today. The lyrics that Sinatra sings reflect US criticism of the heavy-handed state management of coffee production of that time, which allowed the country to build up immense surpluses of green coffee and in effect control coffee prices and It also shows the context in which the International Coffee Agreement was drawn up in attempt to regulate the coffee market.
That was a little watered down shot of history in this song sung by an iconic jazz singer. For those people in the US, I hope you guys have a great holiday in Thanksgiving! If you haven’t already and feel like it, have a nice cup of coffee, tea, water, juice or whatever it is that floats your boat.
BEFORE THE BEAN 