"A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich and You" is a 1925 song written by Joseph Meyer, with lyrics by

Al Dubin Alexander Dubin (June 10, 1891 – February 11, 1945) was an American lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with the composer Harry Warren. Life Al Dubin came from a Russian Jewish family that emigrated to the United States from Swi ...

and

Billy Rose Billy Rose (born William Samuel Rosenberg; September 6, 1899 – February 10, 1966) was an American impresario, theatrical showman and lyricist. For years both before and after World War II, Billy Rose was a major force in entertainment, with sh ...

. The title was inspired by the famous line "A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread--and Thou" from the

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia". Altho ...

Arnold Shaw Arnold Shaw may refer to: * Arnold Shaw (politician) (1909–1984), British politician * Arnold Shaw (writer) (1909–1989), American music writer {{hndis, Shaw, Arnold ...

, ''The Jazz Age: Popular Music in the 1920s'', (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1987), , pp. 125, 160, 163
Excerpts available
at

Google Books Google Books (previously known as Google Book Search, Google Print, and by its code-name Project Ocean) is a service from Google Inc. that searches the full text of books and magazines that Google has scanned, converted to text using optical c ...

. The song first gained popularity after it was performed (and recorded) by

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End of London and on Broadway in New York. Early life Lawrence was born Gertr ...

and

Jack Buchanan Walter John Buchanan (2 April 1891 – 20 October 1957) was a Scottish theatre and film actor, singer, dancer, producer and director. He was known for three decades as the embodiment of the debonair man-about-town in the tradition of George G ...

André Charlot André Eugène Maurice Charlot (26 July 1882 – 20 May 1956) was a French impresario known primarily for the successful musical revues he staged in London between 1912 and 1937. He also worked as a character actor in numerous films. Early li ...

's show ''Charlot's Revue'' when it came to New York in 1926. The song was Dubin's first significant successMichael Lasser, ''America's Songs II: Songs from the 1890s to the Post-War Years'' (

Routledge Routledge () is a British multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanities, behavioural science, education, law, and ...

, 2014), , pp. 87-89
Excerpts available
at

. and was credited with bringing Lawrence and Buchanan popularity in the United States. The song was licensed for use as a recurring motif in the

Preston Sturges Preston Sturges (; born Edmund Preston Biden; August 29, 1898 – August 6, 1959) was an American playwright, screenwriter, and film director. In 1941, he won the Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Best Origina ...

film ''

Christmas in July Christmas in July, Christmas in Summer or Christmas in Winter is a second Christmas celebration held around the summer season, mainly during July. It is centered around Christmas-themed activities and entertainment, including small gatherings, se ...

'' (1940). It also appeared in the

Jeanne Crain Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her title role in '' Pinky'' (1949). She also starred in the films ''In the Meantime, Darling'' (1944 ...

film ''

Margie Margie is a feminine given name, usually a short form (hypocorism) of Margaret, Marjorie or Margarita. Margie may refer to: People * Margie Ackles (born 1939), American retired figure skater * Marjorie Margie Alexander (1948–2013), American ...

'' (1946).

Carl Stalling Carl William Stalling (November 10, 1891 – November 29, 1972) was an American composer, voice actor and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts produced by War ...

would frequently use this song as backing music in

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Di ...

cartoons during scenes depicting hunger, cooking, or eating. Witch Hazel sings her own version of the tune, with altered lyrics, in ''

Broom-Stick Bunny ''Broom-Stick Bunny'' is a 1956 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' short directed by Chuck Jones. The short was released on February 25, 1956, and stars Bugs Bunny. The short is notable for being June Foray's first project for Warner Bros., which led ...

''.Daniel Goldmark
"Carl Stalling and Humor in Cartoons"
''

Animation World Magazine Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

'', April 1997. The song was also recorded by

Roger Wolfe Kahn Roger Wolfe Kahn (October 19, 1907 – July 12, 1962) was an American jazz and popular musician, composer, bandleader (Roger Wolfe Kahn and His Orchestra) and an aviator. Life and career Roger Wolfe Kahn (originally spelled "Wolff") was born in ...

and His Orchestra on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer that operated independently from 1901 until 1929, when it was acquired by the Radio Corporation of America and subsequently operated as a subsidi ...

References

External links

"Gertrude Lawrence & Jack Buchanan - A Cup of Coffee, A Sandwich & You 1925"

Archive.org The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cup of Coffee, A Sandwich, and You 1925 songs American songs Songs with lyrics by Al Dubin Songs with lyrics by Billy Rose Songs written by Joseph Meyer (songwriter)