My Cup Runneth Over

"My Cup Runneth Over" is a quotation from the Hebrew Bible^[1] (Psalm 23:5) and means "I have more than enough for my needs" though interpretations and usage may vary. Notably, it can be employed sarcastically to indicate that someone, e.g. one's host, is being less than generous.

In music

The phrase is the title of a popular song written by Harvey Schmidt with lyrics by Tom Jones, featured in the 1966 Broadway musical, I Do! I Do!, which starred Robert Preston and Mary Martin. The most popular recording of the song was made by Ed Ames in 1967, which was a #8 pop and #1 AC hit in the United States.^[2] Another version of the song is performed by popular New Zealand barbershop quartet, Musical Island Boys.^[3]

The quotation has been used extensively in other music. Rap artist Project Pat employed the quotation in its most literal sense when he stated "Patron in my cup runneth over" in his song "I Keep That" from his post-incarceration album Crook by da Book: The Fed Story. Rap artists Eminem and Jay-Z have used it in "Run Rabbit Run" and "Can't Knock the Hustle" respectively, and Eminem has also used the phrase "His cup just runneth over, oh no!" in the song "Forever", while actor and musician Drake used it in "Ignant Shit" as well as in a collaborative song with Eminem called "Forever". Rock musicians have also used the phrase. It is in the opening lyrics of "December" by Collective Soul and in the opening line of the Alice In Chains song "Bleed the Freak", while the death metal band Aborted include the phrase as a lyric in "Pestiferous Subterfuge" and the virtual band Gorillaz referenced the phrase in "All Alone". A variation is also used in the song "So Appalled" from rapper/producer Kanye West's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy when fellow rapper Cyhi the Prynce says "My cup overrunneth with hundreds," referring to one-hundred dollar bills. This line is also similar to rapper Jay-Z's line in his song "Can't Knock the Hustle" from his album Reasonable Doubt when he too says "My cup runneth over with hundreds." The words are exactly repeated in the song "Manifest" by the Fugees in their 1996 album The Score.

The quotation also features prominently in the Bob Marley song "My Cup" and it is also used by Tavares in their disco hit-song "Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel". It also features in the song "Desert Sand" by UB40 and in the Brandon Flowers song, "Magdalena", from the album Flamingo.

It also features in The Stone Roses's song "Tightrope", off their album Second Coming.

In video games

"My cup runneth over!" is screamed as an expression of ecstasy by the fictional character William Bedford Diego in the 1999 video game System Shock 2, while in World of Warcraft, fictional character Blood Prince Valanar uses the phrase during the "Blood Prince Council" encounter. "Your cup runneth over!" is also an achievement in Devil May Cry 4.

In television

"Thy cup runneth over" was the catch-phrase of the coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup on the Australian Special Broadcasting Service (SBS). In the animated series Daria, the titular character uses the phrase sarcastically in the episode "I Loathe a Parade".

Other uses

It is used in the movies A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and Hope Floats.

The phrase is also used as the title for Cherry Whytock's book My Cup Runneth Over: The Life of Angelica Cookson Potts.

The phrase is also referenced by Firesign Theatre on their 1971 album Not Insane, where, in a Shakespearean parody "Anything You Want To", it is used as the double entendre "Your couplet runneth over."

The theatre production Avenue Q uses the line when Rod expresses how overwhelmed he is at the sight of his new boyfriend that his roommate Nicky had found for him on the internet. "Sweet suffering Jesus! My cup runneth over!"

References

1. ^ Mechon-Mamre Hebrew/English Bible "Psalm Chapter 23".
2. ^ [1]
3. ^ Musical Island Boys

• The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition, 1996