“Sweet Tea” by Snoh Aalegra
Snoh Aalegra is a singer of Iranian parentage from Sweden who has experienced notable international success. For example, her most recent studio album (as of this writing), 2021’s “Temporary Highs in the Violet Skies”, appeared on both the UK Albums Chart and Billboard 200.
One of the singles derived from that project, a song titled “Lost You”, was nominated for a Grammy in 2022, and in 2023 Snoh received another R&B-related Grammy nomination for her track “Do 4 Love”.
So what’s currently being reported is that she’s working on her fourth LP (as Snoh Aalegra, as beforehand she dropped a studio album under the stage name of Sheri). And if that speculation is true, then “Sweet Tea”, which was released via Roc Nation and ARTium Records on 2 August 2023, is likely the second single from that project, as she came out with another song, “Be My Summer”, just a couple of weeks prior.
Snoh Aalegra wrote “Sweet Tea” with Ariowa Ogheneochuko Irosogie, and its producers are:
- Greg Philinganes
- No I.D
The Lyrics of “Sweet Tea”
The logical conclusion would be that this is a love song. Throughout most of the lyrics, the nature of the addressee is not identified. But in the chorus, Snoh verifies that this is indeed a “boy” whom she’s singing to. And the way she goes about biggin’ up the romance, motif-wise, is by celebrating his sweetness.
What proves to be the most intriguing part of this song, in a manner of speaking, is how the titular product is referenced in the chorus. The vocalist goes about noting, according to Genius, “that sweet tea is sweeter than” the addressee. And the reason that statement is ear-catching is because usually these types of songs rather revolve around metaphors which are meant to illustrate that the pleasure the singer derives from her romantic interest cannot be trumped by any other sensation.
But in this case we have a vocalist admitting that there is something sweeter than her sweetheart, and what proves to be so is a pretty-common product at that. But beforehand she alludes to him being “perfect”, and almost immediately after making the “sweet tea” statement, Snoh goes about noting that her “dreams ain’t sweeter than” the addressee. So all of that considered, the chorus is a bit confusing.
To note, that whole “sweet tea” comparison/metaphor has something to do with an “empty cup” that Aalegra’s lover ‘left in her fridge. It’s safe to speculate that observation is probably an analogy. But if so, what exactly it’s supposed to mean is far from being apparent.
