White Winos

Album: Last Man on Earth (2001)
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Songfacts®:

  • Loudon Wainwright III has penned several songs about alcohol: "Drinking Down at the Bar," "Central Square Song," "The Drinking Song," "Wine with Dinner." But one song in particular is about more than just booze. "White Winos" tells the story of the singer and his mother.

    "That has specifically to do with me and my mom, how we used to sit out on this porch, drink white wine, and get a little loose. Stuff would come up and come out," Wainwright told the A.V. Club.

    He wrote the song just after his mother died in 1997, remembering how they would bond over glasses of white wine and share stories about their lives.

    Mother liked her white wines
    She'd have a glass or three
    We'd sat out on the screen porch
    White winos mam and me


    "I'm a great believer in heritance and genetics. I think we're very much like our parents," Wainwright said.

    If Wainwright was like his parents, then his children must certainly be like him. His son, Rufus, also shared a strong bond with his own mother, Kate McGarrigle.

    Martha Wainwright told The Telegraph about the relationship between her brother and mother: "Rufus and Kate were, like, glued together."

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