When I saw what the prompt was for this week’s Song Lyric Sunday, so many songs popped into my head, which means it’s a good prompt. Thanks, Nancy! I originally wrote this for one of hanspostcard’s song drafts back in 2021. It’s an iconic groovefest that never grows old. Eric Burdon as frontman for War isn’t a combo I would have ever considered, but by gum it works! This tiny white man from England with the big voice gettin down with it with these consummate Afro-American hippies makes me smile every time.
I don’t remember the first time I heard, “Spill the Wine,” but I do remember being mesmerized by it. Flutist Charles Miller feels like the Pied Piper* as the protagonist is led to an altered reality as he decides to lay down in the grass on that hot summer day. I love how sounds and reality begin to bend and how magical and exotic that reality is. At my pre-teen age, I had no care nor concept that there might be symbolism in the words, only that it was like a fairy tale with music.
Released in May, 1970, “Spill the Wine,” by Eric Burdon and War, first appeared on the album Eric Burdon Declares War.
Cover art trivia:
The cover, credited to The Visual Thing (with Burdon credited for the concept), depicts two disembodied but joined arms, one white and one black, both giving a three finger salute, similar to the peace sign which uses two fingers. The three fingers may represent the letter “w” in the word “war”. This salute was also used on the cover of a future album, War. The use of a background sun also appears as a recurring theme on both front and back covers of The Black-Man’s Burdon and the inner sleeve of Deliver the Word.
Personnel and Songwriters:
Eric Burdon – lead vocals
Lee Oskar – harmonica
Charles Miller – tenor saxophone, flute
Howard Scott – guitar, backing vocals
Lonnie Jordan – organ, piano
Bee Bee Dickerson – bass, backing vocals
Harold Brown – drums
Dee Allen – conga, percussion
Burdon and War were together from 1969-1971.
Harold Brown, who was … a founding member of War, … [said] that record executive Steve Gold arranged for War and Eric Burdon to record together. Says Brown:
Steve wanted first to see what we could do. So for about a year we just kept going in and out of studios. And then one day we were up in San Francisco, just playing and stuff. Lonnie (Jordan, War keyboard player) came in acting all drunk and stuff and out. They had a bottle of wine, and some of that wine got spilled in the console. Lee (Oskar, War harmonica player) says he felt that the song didn’t have anything to do with the wine going into the console, but all I know is after that they moved out of the A studio, they moved us into the B studio, and then we were playing a Latin thing, and even if Eric had been writing ‘Spill The Wine’ all along, and writing the concepts, that’s when it all came together. I think that Eric was already working on an idea about leaking gnomes waking up in a grassy field, and then when the wine inadvertently got knocked over, whether it was part of the song or not, it all just came together right at that moment.
One bit of trivia I found interesting was, “Due to contractual intricacies, Burdon was not credited as a songwriter on this or any of the other songs he worked on with War.” I have no confirmation of that; wiki says he is credited as a songwriter.
Another is that, “Spill the Wine” was used in the movie Boogie Nights as part of a pool party scene with the porn stars.
Lisa Shea at The Wine Intro website has an interesting theory about the song’s lyrics:
Unfortunately for us wine drinkers, the lyrics actually have nothing to do with wine (or girls for that matter). The pearl referred to the pearl of the orient, i.e. heroin. Spilling the wine was a slang term for the blood that dripped when you were doing the drugs.
Whatever hidden meanings any of the terms in the song might or might not have, there is no denying that this is a good jam. I’m including live and studio versions of the song:
Spill The Wine
I was once out strolling
One very hot summer’s day
When I thought I’d lay myself down to rest
In a big field of tall grass
I lay there in the sun
And felt it caressing my face
As I fell asleep and dreamed
I dreamed I was in a Hollywood movie
And that I was the star of the movie
This really blew my mind
The fact that me, an overfed long-haired, leaping gnome
Should be the star of a Hollywood movie
But there I was
I was taken to a place
The Hall of the Mountain King
I stood high up on a mountaintop
Naked to the world
In front of
Every kind of girl
There was long ones, tall ones, short ones, brown ones
Black ones, round ones, big ones
Crazy ones
Out of the middle
Came a lady
She whispered in my ear
Something crazy
She said
Spill the wine, dig that girl
Spill the wine, take that pearl
Spill the wine, dig that girl
Spill the wine, take that pearl
I could feel hot flames of fire roaring at my back
As she disappeared
But soon she returned
In her hand was a bottle of wine
In the other, a glass
She poured some of the wine from the bottle into the glass
And raised it to her lips
And just before she drunk it
She said
Take the wine, take that pearl
Spill the wine, take that pearl
Take the wine, take that pearl
Spill the wine, take that pearl
Take that pearl, yeah!
It’s all good
Oh, you got to do it
Spill that wine, spill that wine
Spill the wine, spill the wine, spill the wine, spill the wine, spill the wine
Take that pearl
Songwriters: see above under personnel
Sources:
songfacts
wikipedia
WineIntro
top image
Eric Burdon Declares War album cover
*Interestingly when I went to look for links for the Pied Piper, I came across a more sinister aspect on the story that I had never heard before. Read more about it here — if you dare! If you believe the song is talking about heroin, the parallels between it and the piper are chilling!
I hope you have enjoyed today’s post. Looking forward to reading the comments on this one.
Originally posted on hanspostcard
Jim Adams is the host of Song Lyric Sunday. This week, Jim wants us to find and share a song related to drugs, chemical substances, prescription medications, alcohol, or tobacco, as suggested by Nancy of the Elephant’s Trunk aka The Sicilian Storyteller
Tao-Talk 
awesome choice Li a great song I totally enjoyed it!
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Glad you enjoyed it, CA :)
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Love Burdon – fabulous voice I really enjoyed the live session thanks for sharing Lisa ♥️
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Ange, me too. My pleasure to share <3
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🩷
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What a great choice .. spectacular for it’s time . Eric Burton one of the best 💜💜💜
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Thanks so much, Willow. Yes he is!
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True talent
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A great choice. I haven’t heard this in years and it still sounds fantastic!
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Clive thank you very much, and yes, it does!
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Your use of the word ‘mesmerized” is so spot on. That is exactly what this song does- the flute the almost mythical sounding lyrics- perfect song choice for this week.
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V, thanks much, and glad you like the groove of this one also.
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Watching that video of Eric and the band was awesome. I have never seen the song performed. I remember hearing this song and being blown away by it. It still blows me away. That groove, Burdon’s voice and the musical narrative are a perfect match. Thanks so much for posting the video.
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Sean, lovely comment and glad you connect with this song. I remember being totally shocked that the singer was white way back when it came out. You are very welcome.
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This song always transported me “elsewhere” 😄 Great choice …. one I almost went with. Burdon is still fantastic.
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Transporting is an excellent word for what the song does. Thanks, Nancy <3
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A pleasure, Lisa. Cheers! 🍷
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I have always loved this song, and this is the first time I read a post about it Lisa, so thanks for selecting it. Eric Burdon’s gritty, improvisational vocal style finally found a “perfect match” in the group War because of their open, jam-driven musical style.
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Great that this is the first post on this song. Good description on how the two meshed. You are welcome.
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Very good choice. I’ve always liked the song, and the video here is interesting to watch. Lots of information about the meanings and lyrics I didn’t know about :)
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Barbara, I remember it being fun going down the rabbit hole back when I wrote the review. Thanks so much!
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Great choice for today’s theme!!! I enjoyed listening to it again…
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Marina, happy to bring it back to you. Thank you :)
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Your reference to the Pied Piper brings to mind the xenophobic myth of my childhood. If we misbehaved my mother would threaten to sell us to the Gypsies. (We knew she was joking and we were not aware of any Romani people in our neck of the woods anyway. But it is an example of the casual racism of my parents’ generation.)
On the other hand, this is a great song and Eric Burdon has one of the great voices of our generation.
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Steve, I appreciate you making that link between The Pied Piper and fairy tales and other conditioning lies we’re fed to acculturate us as children into a particular point of view.
Yes, on the song and singer. Thanks for tuning in.
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Oh what a perfect match of Eric Burton and War! I loved this collaboration Lisa especially the lyrics: He was definitely blue eyed soul. 🥰
‘an overfed long-haired, leaping gnome’ That line made me smile.
In the early sixties Eric’s skin was quite pock-marked. By the time he cut this record he must have had a few peels! 🤣. He looked terrific.
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Christine, I love that line also. What’s so funny is when I originally posted this in 2021 it said leaking not leaping lmao.
Did not know that about Eric’s skin. He does look cutie patootie in this live video. Thanks so much for your comment.
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I know right? At first glance, I thought it was David Cassidy 🤣
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Now that you mention it, they do look very similar!
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Burdon! Autospell, naughty!
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I remember Eric Burdon from The Animals
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Glyn, me too. I wonder if this was a side project for him?
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Yes, I believe it was Lisa. I think he only made one album with War?
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They made 2 together. The 2nd one was a double album.
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I remember hearing it on an oldies channel in 1985 for the first time. It was strange at first and then it began to grow and grow on me…loved it after the 3rd time because it was so different….I was a Burdon fan anyway.
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Cool, Max. It’s a song that will pull you in. I just got home from GR. May be late visiting your blog.
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Do your thing Lisa…don’t worry…I have a Fantasy Baseball draft in 30 minutes so I won’t be around for a while!
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Great choice. I usually go for the live version all the time but this studio version has that scratch of the vinyl — so cool. I went right back down memory lane
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:)
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He was so young!
Excellent choice as always. (K)
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Yes, he was. Glad you enjoyed my choice, K :)
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War – the band – has always been a favorite of mine. But really only after Eric Burden left the band.
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They know how to jam, that’s for sure.
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Interesting.
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