One More Cup of Coffee

Jim Adams of A Unique Title For Me gives us the theme – to past a song from a live album.

“Bob Dylan at Budokan” is one of my favorite live albums. The first copy I got of the album was allegedly a bootleg copy, so I felt like I had something rare, and it was titled “Bob Dylan Live at Budokan.” The album was released by Columbia Records in August 1978 in Japan only. Later in 1978, it was released in Australia and New Zealand. In 1979, spurred by extensive importing and at least one European counterfeit edition, Columbia released the album worldwide. They remastered and released the album as “The Complete Budokan 1978” in 2023. “Bob Dylan at Budokan” had mixed reviews, but went gold in the U.S., and has developed a cult following.

When my daughter was in her early teens, I drove an hour and a half each way to take her to private ballet lessons. She was very serious about dance, but she started late, and needed more intensive instruction than she could get in our town to get her skills “caught up” with other dancers her age. Driving her to the lessons after a long work day, sitting with nothing to do for the hour she was in instruction, and then driving us home was difficult for me. She would usually nod off on the way home and I would play this album to keep me awake. I don’t know what its magic was, perhaps something to do with the instruments, the arrangements, or the lyrics, but it probably saved our lives. Nothing else I had to listen to would help me stay alert in the same way. And, of course, I sang loudly along with Bob, which helped.

The song I have chosen is “One More Cup of Coffee” because you may have never heard it and it is one of my very favorites. The mysterious lyrics, the magic of the saxophone, the unique percussion just comes together to make this song really special and awesome!

One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)

Written by: Bob Dylan

Your breath is sweet
Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky
Your back is straight, your hair is smooth
On the pillow where you lie
But I don’t sense affection
No gratitude or love
Your loyalty is not to me
But to the stars above

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee ’fore I go
To the valley below

Your daddy he’s an outlaw
And a wanderer by trade
He’ll teach you how to pick and choose
And how to throw the blade
He oversees his kingdom
So no stranger does intrude
His voice it trembles as he calls out
For another plate of food

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee ’fore I go
To the valley below

Your sister sees the future
Like your mama and yourself
You’ve never learned to read or write
There’s no books upon your shelf
And your pleasure knows no limits
Your voice is like a meadowlark
But your heart is like an ocean
Mysterious and dark

One more cup of coffee for the road
One more cup of coffee ’fore I go
To the valley below

• Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, harmonica
• Steve Douglas – saxophone, flute, recorder
• Steven Soles – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• David Mansfield – pedal steel guitar, violin, mandolin, dobro, guitar
• Billy Cross – lead guitar
• Alan Pasqua – keyboards
• Rob Stoner – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Ian Wallace – drums
• Bobbye Hall – percussion
• Debi Dye, Jo Ann Harris, Helena Springs – backing vocals

Performing Showcase