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Well, shit in me doughnut! I was pert-dern sure that Eric Burdon & War was a-gonna win my last Battle Of The Bands' Battle Of The Booze contest, but I didn't think they was a-gonna win by such a Large Marge-in.
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The songs were 'SPILL THE WINE' (Eric & his WARriors) and 'RED RED WINE' (UB40), and the contest took place HERE.
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Even if the song 'Spill The Wine' truly is about injecting heroin into one's body, which some websites claim (and which would be an incredibly stupid thing to do), I loved the song when I was 9 or 10 years old, and I still like it today at 64 or 65 (or... 12). So, I too voted for spilling the wine (or, shooting up the horse).
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FINAL TALLY:
Eric Burdon & War = 9 votes
UB40 = 3 votes
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In other words, Eric & his WARriors will advance to the BOTBs' BOTB playoff rounds, and UB40 will go back to the Unemployment Department, where they belong, and will submit another form 40 for taxpayers' help.
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Because she is a big fan of Eric Burdon, I dedicated this Battle to our friend Debbie the Doglady. Her blogs can be found HERE & HERE. (Check her out, because she's got some really interesting stories and BOTB contests.) It's fittin' that Eric & the WARriors won this contest in true blowout fashion.
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My thanks to everyone who took the time to spill or drink some wine in my March 15th BOTB installment. I 'preciate youz all! I intend to return here on April 1st (April Fools' Day) with an appropriately fun & silly Battle for y'all to "bote" in.
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Here's a sneak preview of my next BOTBs' BOTB contest. (423.83% kudos will go to anyone who can guess the two songs I'll be using, based on these two photos.)
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Fuhgeddaboudit! Ain't no one who can guess the two songs (unless they're given Holy Spirit help from God Himself!)
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"See ya soon!"
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~ Stephen
OK, so it is Tuesday Weld and John Birch. Hmmmm... what could those two do to provide a song battle. Involving booze. Hmmmm!
ReplyDeleteSix
I'll bet it involves communists! And if it involves communists, surely VODKA will be included. Everyone knows that vodka is the official drink of the USSR!
Delete~ D-FensDogG
Thanks again for the dedication, Stephen, and the free advertising! ☺ I'm honestly not that surprised by the outcome. UB40's song still gets played to death on classic rock radio and I think most people are sick of it. Yucky earworm! Here's the real story behind Spill The Wine from the great man, himself:
ReplyDeleteSpill The Wine explained by Eric Burdon.
DEBBIE ~
DeleteThe moment I realized that I had somehow - incredibly! - left 'Spill The Wine' off my extensive boozy song list, I *knew* I had to use it soon, and dedicate the BOTB installment to you. (Like, who else would I dedicate it to?!)
As I mentioned previously, I had no idea that UB40's hit had been so overplayed, because I ceased listening to most Top 40 Pop / Rock radio stations in the very early '80s, and my exposure to the song came primarily from MTV, where it wasn't one of the most frequently played music videos.
Up until two or three years ago, I (like most people probably still do) thought the lyrics were "spill the wine, take that girl". I'd previously read a number of different articles about the meaning of the song, including that very article you linked to above. That all sounds like it has the ring of truth to it. I buy it. But what puzzles me is that one line in the chorus: "...take that pearl". That just doesn't seem to add up.
According to some sources, the "pearl" means heroin, and "spilling the wine" means the blood that drips down one's arm when they inject the "pearl".
That's the viewpoint being expressed in [Link> this article, anyway. Also, [Link> this site states that "black pearl" is a known slang term for heroin.
I have no way of knowing for sure what the truth is. I do know, however, that for a while in 1970, 'Spill The Wine' was my very favorite song, and I still enjoy listening to it.
I suspect that Eric's song is a compilation of a variety of different ideas and may have multiple meanings, or perhaps no clear meaning at all. A good amount of the time when I write (and a majority of the time when I'm composing comments on my blogs), I employ what I think of as a semi-stream-of-consciousness approach. Various disparate references will just seem to enter into my mind and I try not to judge them, but just let the ideas appear as they will, attempting to make myself a clear conduit, so to speak. I figure I can always make adjustments later, if what I wrote seems just too bizarre.
I think Bob Dylan wrote a lot of his mid-'60s songs this way, and I strongly suspect Eric Burdon was in that same mindset when 'Spill The Wine' came to him. I like the spontaneity of those kinds of songs, and the fact that they can mean all kinds of different things to all kinds of different people.
~ D-FensDogG
Nah, I don't buy the heroin explanation. Far as I know, Eric was into LSD, not heroin. And the lyrics are thus:
DeleteSpill the wine, dig that girl
Spill the wine, take that pearl
I believe it's a sexual reference. Here's a link for you: Spill The Wine Songfacts. And yeah, it probably was a stream of consciousness thing.
DEBBIE ~
DeleteI had also previously read that article you linked me to. (When I care enough to research a topic, I *really* RESEARCH it!!)
I'll probably never feel fully confident that I know the true meaning of the song. And I likes it that way. I'm not sure if even Eric Burdon fully understood the meaning of it. That's a stream-o'-consciousness thang.
I like this line:
It's all good
I wonder how many rappers and gang members have ripped off Eric by stealing that line. (Unless, of course, Eric actually stole it from his band, WAR. ;^O)
Meditation is the second hardest thing I've ever learned to do in my life. The *hardest* was writing in a stream-of-consciousness approach. I spent many nights in the earliest years of the 1980s attempting to write a genuine s-o-c poem. I'd stay up all night long drinking Kahlua (until I was jittery as hell!), attempting to write an *HONEST* s-o-c piece. I completely failed.
Then early one morning in June of 1983, I actually accomplished it! (In the form of a kinda-sorta "love letter".) I was completely sober but with a 92.83% hangover. All those nights I'd tried to do it while buzzin' on booze, I had no idea that it needed to be done while hungover. And I've been able to do it at will ever since then. That was the ONLY good thing that ever came from a hangover of mine.
Did you ever see the movie 'Billy Jack'? [Link> THIS is the musical soundtrack to it, which I really love, and I am sure you would, too!
~ Bob DylanDogG
POSTSCRIPT: The "kinda-sorta love letter" that I wrote in a 100% stream-of-consciousness manner, was written to the 'Always On My Mind' gal. (NO! She didn't look a bit like Willie Nelson! :^D)
Delete~ Dr. DogG
I like "It's All Good", a line still popular so many years later. 🙂 Never tried meditation - I'm just not into that much "navel gazing". A friend of mine kept trying to convert me and I wouldn't bite. She actually got pissed at me about that. But, it's all good! 😉 Nice to know a hangover can fuel creativity! I don't get those, but booze often fuels mine. In fact, I wrote a stream of consciousness poem just the other day. 🙂 Yes, I LOVE Billy Jack and have seen all the movies. "One Tin Soldier" is a favourite song as well. Your link leads me to a Gary Moore playlist, though, but it's all good, as I love him too. I'm glad your girlfriend didn't look like Willie Nelson! 😆
DeleteI'm not surprised that UB40 got some votes since it was a pretty big hit in its time. Still, I would have been surprised if they had come close to Eric Burdon's votes. That latter's song is just so cool while the UB40 things is almost annoying after a while.
ReplyDeleteLee
I had zero doubt that more votes would go for Spilling than Drinking the wine. However, I did expect more like a 3 or 4-vote margin of victory. Oh well. Keeps it interesting.
DeleteSpeaking of "interesting", I have NO IDEA what to expect with my next BOTB match-up. And I probably won't make any new friends over it. ;^D
~ D-FensDogG
Beach Boys?? It was a good battle and glad Spill the Wine won
ReplyDeleteNegatory. As much as I dearly love the music of The Beach Boys, they won't be contestants in my next BOTB installment.
DeleteGlad you enjoyed the Battle, Birgit. And thanks again for participating in it!
~ D-FensDogG