Sugar in the Cane
(1946)- Music by Paul Bowles
- Text by Tennessee Williams
The cycle Blue Mountain Ballads closes with “Sugar in the Cane,” a blending of ragtime and the flatted thirds characteristic of the blues, which perfectly supports the idiomatic text of sexual innuendo.
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The audio recording, provided in the audio player to the right, features Thomas Hampson, baritone, and Wolfram Rieger, piano. To listen, please click on the track name itself. You can download a recording of Blue Mountain Ballads for free through the Instant Encore website with the download code: THSOA2009.
Sugar in the Cane
by Tennessee Williams
I’m red pepper in a shaker,
Bread that’s waitin’ for the baker.
I’m sweet sugar in the cane,
Never touched except by rain.
If you touched me God save you,
These summer days are hot and blue.
I’m potatoes not yet mashed,
I’m a check that ain’t been cashed.
I’m a window with a blind,
Can’t see what goes on behind.
If you did, God save your soul!
These winter nights are blue and cold!
