Thursday, May 5, 2011

"Spill the wine / da da da..."

I've been somewhat obsessed with the lyrics to Eric Burdon and War's "Spill the Wine" for some years now. Great song, love to sing along, but what the heck is he saying?
"Spill the wine / dig that girl?"
"Spill the wine / take that girl?"
"Spill the wine / take that pearl?"
Someone online suggested, "Cool ride / tic tac toe."
There have been suggestions that there are references to Ibsen's "Peer Gynt" and "Hamlet."
After much listening, researching and consideration - taking into account the culture of the times in which it was written - I have settled on:
"Spill the wine / take that pearl." ("Pearl" being a vague sexual reference. In a live version, he says something like, "Take it in your mouth and roll it around...")
Now, there's the question of the part in the background with a girl speaking Spanish. I haven't a clue. (Rumor has it that she was Jimi Hendrix's girlfriend.)
Of course, Eric Burdon's not talking. Like Carly Simon, he knows the value of mystery.

1 comment:

  1. Great post. Now this is why I keep coming back to BOGL!

    Now start posting playlists...

    ReplyDelete