It was seven forty-five we were all in line
To greet the teacher Miss Cathleen
First was Kevin, then came Lucy, third in line was me
All of us where ordinary compared to Cynthia Rose
She always stood at the back of the line
A smile beneath her nose
Her favorite number was twenty and every single day
If you asked her what she had for breakfast
This is what she'd say

Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam
Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine
And a side order of ham
If you set your mind free, baby
Maybe you'd understand
Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam

Cynthia wore the prettiest dress
With different color socks
Sometimes I wondered if the mates where in her lunchbox
Me and Lucy opened it when Cynthia wasn't around
Lucy cried, I almost died, you know what we found?

Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam
Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine
And a side order of ham
If you set your mind free, honey
Maybe you'd understand
Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam, oh oh

Ooh, hoo

Starfish and coffee
Cynthia had a happy face, just like the one she'd draw
On every wall in every school
But it's all right, it's for a worthy cause
Go on, Cynthia, keep singin'

Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam
Butterscotch clouds, a tangerine
And a side order of ham
If you set your mind free, baby
Maybe you'd understand
Starfish and coffee
Maple syrup and jam, oh ho, oh (la-la-la-la-la-la-la)

Oh hoo (la-la-la-la-la-la-la), oh
Oh hoo (la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la)
Oh hoo (la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la)
(La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la)


Lyrics submitted by OldSkoolPrinceFan

Starfish and Coffee Lyrics as written by Susannah K. Melvoin Prince Rogers Nelson

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Starfish and Coffee song meanings
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  • +1
    General Comment

    This song was written about an autistic girl who went to school with Susannah Melvoin ( She was Prince's fiance at the time the song was written. Susannah is also Wendy Meloin's twin sister). She told Prince about this autistic girl named Cynthia who actually ate starfish and pepe every single day for breakfast. Prince thought using "coffee" instead of "pepe" sounded better. He and Susannah wrote this song together. He said every part of the song is true about Cynthia.

    PrivateJoyon June 10, 2016   Link

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