'Mint Tea' by Johnny Blue Skies – Lyrics & Meaning

Since Sturgill Simpson released his latest album, Passage Du Desir, under the name of his alter ego Johnny Blue Skies, listeners have become acquainted with a different side of the star.

Throughout the record, fans get to spend time with the laidback yet enlightened Blue Skies on tracks like the easygoing 'Scooter Blues' and the enrapturing 'Jupiter's Faerie', but there is one song on the album that brews a refreshing concoction of both.

'Mint Tea' is a highlight of Passage Du Desir, a song that steeps together wisdom and tranquility for an invigorating opus.

'Mint Tea' opens with a gentle blanketing of disjointed strings and pattering beats, a sound that soon grows into a swirling symphony of rhythm and steel. The arrangement isn't overly inventive, rarely departing from its sashaying beat for the occasional blues-rock flourish and mandolin flaunt, but it's an intoxicating composition all the same, full of round and warm tones perfect for such a quenching song to unfold.

"Let me be the one to stitch the white thread
All this back and forth got me spinning in my head
It's got me bound up and blind, what can I do?
The only thing that makes sense is being next to you"

The meaning of 'Mint Tea' isn't obvious. In fact, it's somewhat of a confounding tune to grasp. While it's likely about love, a comfortable, well-worn kind of companionship, there are parts of the song that aren't so easily swallowed.

'Mint Tea', itself, opens in confusion, the first verse alluding to some form of "back and forth" that leaves the singer feeling out of sorts. The only time he can make sense of things is when he is in the presence of the song's nameless, faceless "you."

"So put another band-aid on my bullet wound
Pour us both another cup of that mint tea
Sit down by my side underneath the moon
Tell me why you're so afraid of little old me"

This "you" has the ability to "put another band-aid on my bullet wound," a lover who can ease his pain if only temporarily. In the chorus, he asks this person to sit beside him and enjoy some mint tea.

Mint tea is a traditional drink in Morocco and a staple of daily life there. A show of hospitality, friendliness and respect, the crisp and lightly sweetened beverage is often served to guests; and there is supposedly a proverb passed around the North African country that goes: "The first glass is as bitter as life, the second glass is as strong as love, the third glass is as gentle as death."

While we're not sure this adage holds much stock within the song, we feel it's important to note as it somewhat corresponds to the tune's progession.

"The first glass is as bitter as life..."

When Blue Skies opens the song, there is turmoil surmounting and disarray within, something that probably feels a little bitter to take. That is until he gets to be with the one he loves.

"The second glass is as strong as love..."

In the chorus, he sings, "Pour us both another cup of that mint tea." The artist notes that there has been more than one serving of mint tea, perhaps a second helping that alludes to the strength of love. This is something that gets cemented in the next verse:

"You need an early morning matcha? Girl, I gotcha," he sings, "You know my days don't see the light / I go to bed with the moon, but should I fall asleep too soon / Wake me up for that mint tea at midnight."

There seems to be something unshakable between these two people, a care and an understanding that when one falters the other isn't far behind to refill their cup.

"The third glass is as gentle as death..."

Where there are mentions of love, there are also allusions to death and life's finality, especially with the song's references to a bullet wound. Such an injury – whether it be physically, mentally, emotionally – sounds dire and can't simply be patched by some name brand bandage.

Within the song, there appears to be wounds that won't heal and an unnamed end that seems to loom between the lyrics.

"You don't wanna hurt me, and I ain't gonna hurt you
Even if I do, you know I won't mean to..."

Even still, Blue Skies asks for nothing but a little mint tea and one more band-aid.

Let me be the one to stitch the white thread
All this back and forth got me spinning in my head
It's got me bound up and blind, what can I do?
The only thing that makes sense is being next to you

So put another band-aid on my bullet wound
Pour us both another cup of that mint tea
Sit down by my side underneath the moon
Tell me why you're so afraid of little old me

You need an early morning matcha? Girl, I gotcha
You know my days don't see the light
I go to bed with the moon, but should I fall asleep too soon
Wake me up for that mint tea at midnight

So put another band-aid on this bullet wound
Pour us both another cup of that mint tea
Sit down by my side underneath the moon
Tell me why you're so afraid of little old me

Words get in the way, but actions follow through
You don't wanna hurt me, and I ain't gonna hurt you
Even if I do, you know I won't mean to
And you're still gonna love me anyway

So put another band-aid on this bullet wound
Pour us both another cup of that mint tea
Sit down by my side underneath the moon
Tell me why you're so afraid of little old me
Tell me why you're so afraid of little old me

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For more on Johnny Blue Skies (Sturgill Simpson), see below: