Days of Wine and Roses

Album: 50 St Catherine's Drive (2014)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the lead single from Robin Gibb's posthumous album 50 St Catherine's Drive. The record is named after the address where Gibb was born in Douglas on the Isle of Man off the English coast.
  • The song title is taken from the 1896 Erenest Dowson poem "Vitae Summa Brevis, which was popularised by Oscar Wilde: ("They are not long, the days of wine and roses.") Though the phrase is often used to evoke romance, it was used as the title of a 1962 Hollywood film about two lovers struggling with alcoholism and self-destructive behavior. Its theme song was a hit for Henry Mancini.
  • Robin Gibb's widow Dwina said: "Robin admired Oscar Wilde's works, and his wit, and having found this phrase, he was inspired to compose a song."

    "This song is about remembering beautiful things from the past. It is a song about a lover having gone away or a lost love from the past. It is about a man who wonders if his call would ever be answered if he dared to call a past love again. It is also remembering the carefree, happy days of childhood that are all too short."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.