Drinking beer gets lonely without music.
For about 40 years in my beer-drinking life, music played a crucial, if not integral part.
The conversation between friends in a gathering got more animated as the music —whether live or recorded — plays in the background.
Among the countless songs I’ve heard while drinking the brew, the amusing ones were those about drinking itself.
In the early 1980s, I got hold of a cassette copy of Joe Jackson’s Jumpin’ Jive album. Released in 1981, it is contained 12 covers of classic 1940s swing and jump blues songs originally performed by musicians such as Louis Jordan and Cab Calloway.
One track, “What’s the Use of Getting Sober (When You’re Gonna Get Drunk Again),” became a favorite especially during sleepy afternoons.
It features a drunken voice speaking these lines:
“I went out last night about half past one
Thought I’d whoop it up a little and have some fun
I got me a half pint about half past two
Mmm, mmm, the way I was feeling you know what I wanna do
Got me a pint about half past four
Felt so good, went out and got me some more
Got me a quart about half past five
Boy, that was so nice didn’t know if I was dead or alive…”
I always ended up shouting out loud the chorus, not because I was always drunk, but because it mocked the incurable alcoholic: “So what’s the use of getting sober, if you’re gonna get drunk again…”
In 1999, the Filipino band Parokya ni Edgar recorded a drinking song that captured the feeling of someone eager to sip from an ice-cold bottle of beer.
“Tama na ‘yan, inuman na
Hoy, pare ko’y tumagay ka
Nananabik na lalamunan
Naghihintay, nag-aabang…”
But my all-time favorite is the 2005 Itchyworms tune aptly titled “Beer.” Its lyrics bear the marks of a finely crafted poem with vivid imagery and language.
“Nais kong magpakalasing
Dahil wala ka na
Nakatingin sa salamin
At nag-iisa
Nakatanim pa rin ang gumamelang binalik mo sa ‘kin
Nang tayo’y maghiwalay
Ito’y katulad ng damdamin ko kahit buhusan mo ng beer
Ayaw pang mamatay
Giliw, ’wag mo sanang limutin
Ang mga araw na hindi sana naglaho
Mga anak at bahay nating pinaplano
Lahat ng ito’y nawala no’ng iniwan mo ‘ko
Kaya ngayon
Ibuhos na ang beer sa aking lalamunan
Upang malunod na ang puso kong nahihirapan
Bawat patak, anong sarap
Ano ba talaga’ng mas gusto ko?
Ang beer na ‘to o ang pag-ibig mo?”