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Old Red Wine Lyrics
Old red wine,
Well past its prime,
May have to finish it after crossing the line
Dusty old wine,
Two thousand a time,
An inch of black mud always left behind
They say you turned it while the sun still shined
That gorgeous girl with you was highly primed
She said she'd take you way down or way up
She might break your heart, she might crack you up
Old red wine,
Not worth a dime,
Gonna have to drink it with yer some other time
Expensive old wine,
Forty years lyin',
Mice chewed the labels, don't know what we're buying
Back home in California they got wine for the meek
There's a Bowl and a Fillmore, the Cow and the Greek
You sniffed at the cork, chose low on the list
Had your back to the lights and gazed through the mist
Old red wine,
Well past its prime,
Gonna have to drink it with you some other time
Just let it breathe
Oh, let it breathe
Breathe life
Breathe life
Let it breathe
Oh, let it breathe
Let it breathe
Well past its prime,
May have to finish it after crossing the line
Dusty old wine,
Two thousand a time,
An inch of black mud always left behind
That gorgeous girl with you was highly primed
She said she'd take you way down or way up
She might break your heart, she might crack you up
Not worth a dime,
Gonna have to drink it with yer some other time
Expensive old wine,
Forty years lyin',
Mice chewed the labels, don't know what we're buying
There's a Bowl and a Fillmore, the Cow and the Greek
You sniffed at the cork, chose low on the list
Had your back to the lights and gazed through the mist
Well past its prime,
Gonna have to drink it with you some other time
Oh, let it breathe
Breathe life
Breathe life
Let it breathe
Oh, let it breathe
Let it breathe
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The liner notes in "The Who: Then And Now" says that Townshend wrote this for Entwistle, after he died, in 2002.
Great song.
"Old Red Wine" is COMPLETELY about John Entwistle...the night he died ("they say you turned in when the sun still shined") meaning he had been out all night, with a "gorgeous girl" who was "highly primed." The Title is a reference to aonther of John's excesses (besides women and cocaine): buying, collecting and drinking vintage and rare red wines. For this part, Pete is somewhat satirical, in that, John would buy old wines that no longer had labels ("mice chewed the labels, don't know what we're buying"). It's a funny, sad, poignant epitaph for their bandmate and friend that only Pete could write. Bravo. We miss you, John!
Also, if anyone has ever seen "the Kids Are Alright," John's passion for owning and collecting things is apparent, and the opening lines of this song reflect that. John must have left quite a few bottles of wine behind when he died, thus, "may have to finish it after crossing the line." Crossing the line is dying.
"There's a Bowl and a Fillmore, the Cow and the Greek"
These are references to concert venues in California. The Fillmore is in San Francisco and the Cow is short for the Cow Palace, which is just south of the city of San Francisco. The Cow Palace was the location for the infamous incident of Keith Moon passing out on stage.
The Bowl could mean the Hollywood Bowl? Not sure. And the Greek is probably the Greek Theatre, either in Berkeley or LA.
karmas rights. in the booklet for "The Who: Then And Now" it says, and i quote"'Old Red Wine', written by Townshend in New York during the 2002 tour, is a song for their old friend and bandmate John Entwistle."
im amazed nobody posted when there were already six posts on Real Good Looking Boy when i checked. lyrics a little stupid, but besides that, i'll have to congradulate them. the songs about appreciating something way past its prime. Pete was referring to himself and Roger, who must be somewhere in their sixties by now. still, a great job.