10. Nirvana - Pennyroyal Tea
"Give me a Leonard Cohen afterlife", pleads Kurt Cobain, "so I can sigh eternally".
Wonder if he got his wish?
9. The Proclaimers - Lulu Selling Tea
Like a Scottish Housemartins, The Proclaimers "voice their dissent" over the fact that the 60s people always talk about isn't the same decade they remember from the childhood. It's not the Beatles they grew up on, but...
Mother's Pride on the table, Batman on TV
A Man In A Suitcase, Daktari and Skippy
Jimmy Clitheroe, Colin Stein and Lulu selling tea
8. Supergrass - Whisky & Green Tea
Story of my life. Whiskey in my 20s, Green Tea in my 30s. Man, I needed those antioxidants!
7. Philip Jeays - The Tea Dance
Welcome to the tea dance
Old debutants getting up on their toes
Darjeeling and romance
Between potted plants and yesterday's Romeos
Philip Jeays - give that man an Ivor Novello.
6. Joni Mitchell - The Tea Leaf Prophecy
Still working my way through Simon Goddard's Mozipedia, and I hadn't realised how much of an influence Joni M. was on Mozzer's songwriting. Could this be her Ouija Board, Ouija Board...?
Out of the blue--just passin' thru
A young flight sergeant
On two weeks leave--
Says "Molly McGee--no one else will do!"
And seals the tea-leaf prophecy.
5. Frank Turner - A Decent Cup Of Tea
As mentioned already, Frank Turner is my musical discovery of the year, combining the fire and brimstone of a youthful Billy Bragg with the epic ambition of Springsteen. I can't tell you how happy it makes me to have found a young songwriter who speaks to me as much as Frank does.
It's obvious to me,
But she never seems to see
That it's not about the days when everything has turned out right,
No it's more about the moments when she calls me in the night
To make her cups of tea and wash the weary worries from her head
And then to draw the pain out slowly as I put her into bed.
4. Belle & Sebastian - For The Price Of A Cup Of Tea
For the price of a cup of tea
You'd get a line of coke
For the price of a night with me
You'd be the village joke
Cue self-deprecating gag. Stuart Murdoch sets 'em up, I knock 'em down.
3. Fortunes - Storm In A Teacup
Pitter patter. Pitter patter.
2. The Scaremongers - Tea Leaves
From my favourite record of 2009, the Number One album Born In A Barn.
Didn't know it'd made Number One? Here's the proof.
1. Cat Stevens - Tea For The Tillerman
Used as the theme to Ricky Gervais's Extras, this short (just over a minute) track is both poignant and uplifting. Not a clue what it's actually about, but it always makes me think of the foiled ambition of Andy Millman, Maggie Jacobs and Barry from Eastenders.
So... how do you take yours?
