It’s a Good Thing We’ve Been SINGING the WRONG Lyrics to this 70s Hit ALL ALONG! | Professor of Rock
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Published 2024-06-25
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Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock, always here to celebrate the greatest artists and songs of all time; if you remember playing electric football as a kid and wondering what the heck was going on you’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia Make sure to subscribe below and make sure to hit the bell so you always get our daily features. Also, check out more content on our page on Patreon to become an insider.
It’s time for another edition of our series Revelations where artists go deep on their greatest songs and albums... Today we have interviews with two of the principals of the rock-funk soul band WAR. Actually, it started out as Eric Burdon and War. After having a bunch of hits with The Animals including the #1 smash House of the Rising Sun and other classics such as We Gotta Get out Of This Place and it’s my life Burdon… Before Burdon joined War the band was known as Nite Shift and was the backup band for Deacon Jones, the former Football Player who was trying to get into music. The group was renamed WAR WHEN Eric joined and played with them for 2 albums. Eric toured around California with War before they went in to record their debut album.
When the band did Spill the Wine, they felt it would be a big hit. It went to #3 and was one of the biggest hits of 1970 but as you will find out next the song has some history. It was a spoken word song by Eric and then he sings the chorus. In the song, you can hear a lady speaking Spanish in the background. This girl was Eric Burdon's girlfriend. Our other guest today Drummer Harold Brown said that when they were recording they had put up a little tent, candlelight, and some wine and that Eric and his girlfriend were in the tent and Eric was doing things to her and making her talk.” then there’s the chorus… It’s been misheard and sung incorrectly of years. People have sung Spill the Wine that the girl repeatedly but the proper lyrics are "Spill the wine, take that girl, spill the wine, take that pearl." The "Pearl" is a reference, to a woman’s clitoris. So all this time we’ve been singing… Well, you get the point. Also many have pointed to the spoken word lyrics where Eric talks about a dream where he is at the top of a mountain naked with many different women around him. Many think it’s a reference to an orgy. Radio programmers had no clue about this. Let’s see what Eric and Harold have to say about his truly strange song.
All Comments (21)
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Poll: What is your pick for the STRANGEST song of the 70s and 80s?
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Harold couldn't be more right when he said "we can't allow our society to go to hell in a handbasket". Music is a true unifier - doesn't matter age, race, gender - we can find commonality in music.
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I knew the lyric was “take that pearl”. I could hear it. But I thought the reference was Shakespearian. From “Hamlet”, where the pearl is dropped into the goblet to either detect poison or nullify it. It didn’t save Hamlet’s mom (nor his stepdad/uncle). I thought the message was “Don’t be distracted by the wine, it’s poison, don’t drink it. Spill it out and take the pearl. Go for what’s valuable. Life is short.” That sort of thing…
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IRONY: Eric Burden has a hit with the Animals called " We Gotta Get Out of this Place." That song becomes the anthem for all the soldiers in Vietnam. Later, he joins a band called..... War!
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I was 16, living in Bakersfield, California. They were playing at an auditorium “pillow concert”, where people brought pillows and blankets and sat on the floor. Spill the Wine went on and on like a 30 minute jam. It was an amazing experience.
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We need more people in this world like Harold Brown.
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Amazing. I've been hearing this song for over 50 years, and always heard, "spill the wine, dig that girl". I bet even today most of my old buddies still sing it that way. Of course in 1970 a teenage kid had no access to most song lyrics. There was no internet, nobody circulated lyrics, and if any magazine printed them, nobody read it. And if you didn't own the album, you probably only heard the song on your car radio without headphones.
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I teared up when he started talking about picking up that woman’s things and then sitting with her and praying with her, I wish her well, bless him for being so kind.
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"... that me, an overfed long-haired leaping gnome ..." Gets me every time.
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Harold is proof that some of the Peace and Love generation, really were and still are about Peace and Love. God Bless him. Nameste!
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Harold Ray Brown is a gift. We should all try harder to be like him.
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Eric has one of the greatest voices of the era.
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Harold has a big heart, I love how he helped that lady and prayed with her after her stuff got ran over in the street!
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Never had a clue of what they were singing about, but I loved the song anyway!
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Prof: Only rock & roll song about an orgy! "Mama Told Me Not To Come" has entered the chat...
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Spill the wine Bake that squirrel!🐿️
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Old hippies black and white Right on !
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This might be my favorite interview on this channel. Purely because of Harold’s energy. Awesome 👏
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Great statement-"What a time the '60's and '70's were." I couldn't agree more. I sure wish we had music like that today!
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"she didn't have a tan like me..", I love this guy, he's the real deal!!! The world needs more of him!!!
