Music can be a great consolation in our darkest hours. Many times over the years, when I’ve felt close to desperation music has kept me sane. And so, it was to music that I turned this morning when I pried open the lid of my late grandmother’s tea caddy to discover that I only had one tea bag left. Holding back the tears, I immediately turned on my computer and began to search the internet, which as we all know, holds all the answers to The Meaning of Life, The Universe, and Everything.

Has anyone ever felt as desperate as I do this morning? I asked myself pitifully. I frantically typed a search into YouTube …. “senza tè” I wrote, and pressed ENTER.

A wave of relief overcame me … “I’m not alone” I said to myself, as I scanned through the mass of search results, and for the next 30 minutes I consoled myself with some great Italian classics that seemed to perfectly empathise with my dilemma. “Strange” I thought to myself, “that the Italians, with their mania for coffee, should have so much empathy for the desperation of a poor English soul who’s down to his last tea bag”. Strange, but true. Just take a look at the following wonderful touching lyrics, with my usual expert translation into English:

Mina: Io Vivrò Senza Tè

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO LISTEN TO ‘IO VIVRÒ SENZA TÈ’

Che non si muore per amore
è una gran bella verità
perciò dolcissimo mio amore
ecco quello,
quello che da domani mi accadrà

Io vivrò
senza tè
anche se ancora non so
come io vivrò.
Senza tè,
io senza tè …

That one doesn’t die for love
is a great truth
therefore sweet love
here’s what
what will happen to me from tomorrow

I’ll live
without tea
even if I still don’t know
how I’ll live.
Without tea
me without tea …

Even more touching are these lyrics:

Pino Donaggio: Io Che Non Vivo Senza Tè

CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO LISTEN TO ‘IO CHE NON VIVO SENZA TÈ’

Siamo qui noi soli
come ogni sera
ma tu sei piu’ triste ed io lo so perche’
So che tu vuoi dirmi
che non sei felice
che io sto cambiando e tu mi vuoi lasciar…

Io che non vivo piu’ di un’ora senza tè
come posso stare una vita senza tè?
Sei mia, sei mia, mai niente, lo sai
separarci un giorno potra’

We are here alone
like every evening
but you’re sadder, and I know why
I know that you want to tell me
that you’re not happy
that I’m changing and you want to leave me …

I who can’t live for more than an hour without tea
how can I live a life without tea?
You’re mine, you’re mine, you know that nothing
will ever be able to separate us

And you know what, the strangest thing of all is that when Dusty Springfield sung her English version of Io Che Non Vivo Senza Tè, entitled You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me, which became a number one hit in the UK, she didn’t even mention tea! I’ll just have to assume that her Italian wasn’t as good as mine.