In this YouTube video, Nashville singer‑songwriter Sarah Spencer introduces and performs her original song “Little Black Tee.” She opens with a casual, personable monologue, explaining the title’s play on the phrase “little black dress” and noting she’s wearing a ten‑year‑old black T‑shirt bought in Austin. After a brief spoken intro, she sings the song, which tells the story of a hardworking waitress in a black uniform who meets a lover who makes her feel glamorous despite her long shifts. The lyrics juxtapose the gritty reality of bar work with romantic, uplifting imagery (“you make me feel like a hundred thousand grand”). Following the performance, Sarah discusses the song’s inspiration: friends who work as waitresses to support their music, the symbolism of the black tee as a uniform, and how the song evolved from a title into a narrative about love and self‑worth. She also promotes her Patreon, inviting viewers to support her music and access songwriting insights.
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I should probably tune. Tuning is good for the soul. Okay, let's try this again. Hey everybody, my name is Sarah Spencer and I'm a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. That Nashville! This is a song that I actually kind of preview-teased on my Patreon page to my patrons, and it's done! It's called "Little Black Tee." And just to clarify, because I feel like I've said that title on stage a few times and the audience has been like, "Little black what?" Little black tee, as in t-shirt. I am wearing my favorite little black tee for this video. I got this like, god, like 10 years ago? No, there's no way.
There's no way this fits me if it's 10 years old.
But I got it a really, really long time ago in Austin at a cool bar called Antone's. I don't even I don't even know if Antones is still around, honestly, but my dad and I were there and we saw a really great show and so I bought the t-shirt. So yeah! Little black tee! I hope you enjoy! Stick around at the end of the song too, 'cause I tell you a little bit about where the idea came from, how the song was written, who it was written for, if it was written for anyone at all, I don't know, you'll have to see, wait 'til the end of the song.
Okay! Bye!
2, 3, 4.
Woo! I never was a pretty princess type, never bought into the Barbie and the Ken doll life. I traded shopping for a discount guitar, man, I worked my butt off for it in that country bar. Woo! Woo! When you came in 3 3 times out of the weekend trying to catch my shift, buy me my favorite drink. We had our first date at that hot top table in my uniform shirt and it started to click. You, oh, you make me feel like a hundred thousand grand, like I'm dripping in diamonds. You, oh, you dress me up like a model in a gold gown, walking down a runway in my little black, black boots. —be in my head back to you, baby. Ooh, ooh. Ooh, ooh. It was raining one Thursday evening. I was driving back from a long, hard day at the bar. About a block from your place, that tire gave way, and I was spinning rubber on a slick asphalt. When I called you, baby, you came running, showed up In the rain with a jacket and a smile. Fix a problem, so I took it back home. Slipped into something I could wear for the night. Yeah. You, oh, you make me feel like I'm a dozen grand, like I'm dripping in diamonds. You, oh, you dress me up like I'm modeling a gold gown. Walking down a runway in my little black tee. You love me in my little black tee. Baby, I never thought it was possible. I was a hobbit, never had time for a love interest. You, oh, you're changing up all of this. I can't believe that I feel like a queen in love. You are who makes me feel like a thousand grand. I'm drinking in Somewhere in there.
There it is! Got it! So Little Black Tea. Where did this song come from? I had this idea— wow, how vague, right? I had this idea. This song started as just a title. I thought it would make a cool title, like, because you know that there's that phrase "little black dress." like every girl has to have that little black dress that she can wear to a casual night out or she can wear to a cocktail party and it just fits her like a glove and she looks beautiful in it no matter what. I thought, well, what about like a t-shirt? Maybe it's not a dress, maybe it's a t-shirt, little black tee. Okay, what, what's the story there? What's the story behind that? And this song quickly became a story song. The first verse is sort of inspired by a few friends of mine that are actually waitresses. They're musicians first and foremost, but on the weekends they waitress to be able to support their music careers. And these girls work so freaking hard. They work their asses off, like pulling doubles all weekend just to make rent. They're just incredible. So a lot of the times a little black t-shirt is like your uniform shirt, right? Like Starbucks baristas, they wear black t-shirts. I can't think of anyone else off the top of my head, but like lots of, lots of companies and restaurants and stuff require their employees wear black t-shirts. So I thought, okay, Little Black Tea, this is a hardworking girl who meets someone who makes her feel beautiful even when she doesn't feel beautiful herself. You make me feel like 100,000 grand, like I'm dripping in diamonds, even though she's probably sweaty and like sticky from making drinks all night. Second day hair, no makeup, but he makes her feel so beautiful. That's Little Black Tea. I have a Patreon page where I release new music, downloads of songs like this, and sneak previews of stuff that I'm working on. If you're interested in songwriting at all, I suggest you come on by and check it out. I like to talk about songwriting a lot, probably too much. But yeah, thanks for coming by, thanks for listening.
Bye! I never was a pretty princess type. Never bought into the Barbie and the Ken doll life.
