Red Red Wine
Written by Neil Diamond, as Performed by UB40
Red, red wine
Goes to my head
Makes me forget that I
Still need her so
Red, red wine
It's up to you
All I can do, I've done
But memories won't go
No, memories won't go
I'd have sworn
That with time
Thoughts of you would leave my head
I was wrong
Now I find
Just one thing makes me forget
Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don't let me be alone
It's tearin' apart
My blue, blue heart
[Red Red Wine Toast Section]
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when you're just in my hand
Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it makes me feel bad
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line
Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing make me do me own thing
Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above
Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart
Red red wine in a 80's style
Red red wine in a modern beat style, yeah
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me Red wine the kind make me feel fine
Make me feel fine all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line
The line broke, the monkey get choke
Burn bad ganja pon him little rowing boat
Red red wine I'm gonna hold on to you
Hold on to you cause I know your love true
Red red wine I'm gonna love you till I die
Love you till I die and that's no lie
Red red wine can't get you off my mind
Wherever you may be I'll surely find
I'll surely find
Make no fuss
Just stick with us.
Goes to my head
Makes me forget that I
Still need her so
Red, red wine
It's up to you
All I can do, I've done
But memories won't go
No, memories won't go
I'd have sworn
That with time
Thoughts of you would leave my head
I was wrong
Now I find
Just one thing makes me forget
Red, red wine
Stay close to me
Don't let me be alone
It's tearin' apart
My blue, blue heart
[Red Red Wine Toast Section]
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when you're just in my hand
Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it makes me feel bad
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line
Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing make me do me own thing
Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above
Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart
Red red wine in a 80's style
Red red wine in a modern beat style, yeah
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me Red wine the kind make me feel fine
Make me feel fine all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line
The line broke, the monkey get choke
Burn bad ganja pon him little rowing boat
Red red wine I'm gonna hold on to you
Hold on to you cause I know your love true
Red red wine I'm gonna love you till I die
Love you till I die and that's no lie
Red red wine can't get you off my mind
Wherever you may be I'll surely find
I'll surely find
Make no fuss
Just stick with us.
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me Red wine the kind make me feel fine
Make me feel fine all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line
The line broke, the monkey get choke
Burn bad ganja pon him little rowing boat
Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above
Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart
Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above
Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing make me do me own thing
Red red wine in a 80's style
Red red wine in a modern beat style, yeah.
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me Red wine the kind make me feel fine
Make me feel fine all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line
The line broke, the monkey get choke
Burn bad ganja pon him little rowing boat
Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above
Red red wine I love you right from the start
Right from the start with all of my heart
Red red wine you really know how fi love
Your kind of loving like a blessing from above
Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing make me do me own thing
Red red wine in a 80's style
Red red wine in a modern beat style, yeah.
Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when you're just in my hand
Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it makes me feel bad
You keep me rocking all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when you're just in my hand
Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it makes me feel bad
I was in high school when UB40 released this song, and since I wasn't cool enough to listen to reggae, Red Red Wine was a fine introduction to the beat for me and my friends; AM radio-friendly, and it was played all the time. I also wasn't cool enough to listen to any of the early rap or hiphop of the time, so Astro's reggae-rap in the "toast section" sounded intriguing and non-threatening to my suburban ears as well. We would have sang along if anyone had any clue what the lyrics were - and reading them here today, I realise that I had no idea he was saying:
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line
The line broke, the monkey get choke
Burn bad ganja pon him little rowing boat
The line broke, the monkey get choke
Burn bad ganja pon him little rowing boat
We would have felt pretty subversive rapping along to that at the high school dances - because those were the times and I was that uncool. Relistening to it now, I think this song has weathered the years just fine, even if I'm using it in the most basic of ways to introduce this week's topic: a Niagara Wine Region tour we took on the weekend.
Dave had his annual offsite for the senior leadership team, and as always, spouses are expected to drive down separately, join in for dinner on the Friday night, spend all of Saturday together, and then join the SLT for dinner Saturday night. This is supposed to be a "treat", but there's nothing that I would like less than spending one day a year acting like these are my friends and window-shopping together. Sigh. So I didn't go to Niagara-on-the-Lake until late Saturday afternoon, and this year, there was a group activity before supper: a guided tour of three wineries before a dinner with wine pairings.
First of all, the small bus that picked us up from the hotel had some other couples on it already and I couldn't even sit with Dave. Then, the bus driver was a non-stop-talking know-it-all (he kind of reminded me of Joe Pesci as Leo Getz in Lethal Weapon), and everything was "We sell however many barrels of wine around the world" and "We had a wet summer that resulted in blah blah for us": everything was "we" as though he was intimately involved in the wine-making process himself and it got on every one of my nerves. At least there would be red red wine.
The first winery we went to was family owned and produces some of the finest ice wines in the world. The underwhelming tour guide showed us a trophy room of all the awards they have won, we were given an exhaustive history of the family's generations, and while the tour of their cellar was briefly interesting, an in-depth explanation of the custom-made furniture down there was not. Also not appreciated: the bus driver hovering, and if one made a quiet yet slightly sarcastic comment to one's husband meant to sound like a legitimate thirst for knowledge, said bus driver would interject and present a rote lecture on tannins and sugars and how they affect a wine's flavour profiles. Because this was our first stop, the wine tasting included a brief lesson on how to properly assess each sample, and that was fine and interesting and the wine was tasty enough for us to buy a few bottles.
The next winery was owned by two brothers, and it was the most interesting because it was small and it was one of the brothers - passionate about what he does - who shared his wine with us. His stories were interesting, he answered questions with enthusiasm and knowledge, and buying from him felt like supporting a small business. Meanwhile, the bus driver leaned against the bar, nodding his head in agreement with answers or fist pumping when he learned which wine we were going to be sampling next.
The third winery was Peller Estates, and their set-up is massive: a huge building (obviously perfect for weddings and other receptions) with a multistory fireplace roaring away in the entrance and delicious aromas coming from a restaurant somewhere, and an enormous tasting room with multiple servers ready to pour out any three samples we desired from a long menu. There was nothing really informative at this stop (except for the servers rhyming off the qualities of each selected sample) and we all tilted and swirled our glasses, aerating and swishing the wines in our mouths like experts. Walking around this huge sales room after - looking at three hundred dollar charcuterie boards, thousand dollar carafes - we didn't feel too bad about not buying anything at this stop.
So, after sampling nine different wines (which maybe added up to three full glasses), we were bused to dinner at a lovely restaurant. Being a group, we were given a limited menu from which to select our three course meal, and as they're the experts, the wine pairings were chosen for us. Food was good, conversation was good, but my tummy was left a little queasy after mixing multiple reds and whites and ice wines. Trying to sleep in a too-soft hotel bed later didn't help the queasiness.
When we first set off on this outing, I told Dave that I keep seeing a Groupon to do one of these Niagara wine tours by bicycle - I think it's self-directed and ends up at five wineries - and while at first we thought that sounded kind of fun, that's probably just too much (yes, you can swirl and spit out the samples, but what's the fun in that?) With three stops this time, and only one of them really interesting to me, I don't know if I'd be up to doing another wine tour. On the other hand, without the bus driver hovering or directing us, it could be just as much fun as we make it.
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me Red wine the kind make me feel fine
Give me little time, help me clear up me mind
Give me Red wine the kind make me feel fine
