This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
He was working through college
On my grandpa's farm
I was thirsting for knowledge
And he had a car
Yeah, I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child
One restless summer we found love growing wild
On the banks of the river on a well beaten path
It's funny how those memories they last
Like strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, oh bittersweet
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine
I still remember
When thirty was old
And my biggest fear was September
when he had to go
A few cards and letters and one long distance call
We drifted away like the leaves in the fall
But year after year I come back to this place
Just to remember the taste
Of strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, whoa-oh, bittersweet
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine
The fields have grown over now
Years since they've seen the plow
There's nothing time hasn't touched
Is it really him or the loss of my innocence?
I've been missing so much
Yeah
Strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, whoa-oh bittersweet
And green on the vine
Like strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, oh, bittersweet
And green on the vine
Like strawberry wine
Strawberry wine
Ooh
Strawberry wine
On my grandpa's farm
I was thirsting for knowledge
And he had a car
Yeah, I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child
One restless summer we found love growing wild
On the banks of the river on a well beaten path
It's funny how those memories they last
Like strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, oh bittersweet
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine
I still remember
When thirty was old
And my biggest fear was September
when he had to go
A few cards and letters and one long distance call
We drifted away like the leaves in the fall
But year after year I come back to this place
Just to remember the taste
Of strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, whoa-oh, bittersweet
Green on the vine
Like strawberry wine
The fields have grown over now
Years since they've seen the plow
There's nothing time hasn't touched
Is it really him or the loss of my innocence?
I've been missing so much
Yeah
Strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, whoa-oh bittersweet
And green on the vine
Like strawberry wine and seventeen
The hot July moon saw everything
My first taste of love, oh, bittersweet
And green on the vine
Like strawberry wine
Strawberry wine
Ooh
Strawberry wine
Lyrics submitted by Manderzterz
Strawberry Wine Lyrics as written by Matraca Berg Gary Harrison
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The Night We Met
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Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
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I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example:
"'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
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This song is about your first love, immature teen love. It doesn't take much to fall in love for the first time, but the feelings can last a lifetime. Her loss of innocence can refer to her virginity, but also to her first heartbreak and how after that, you are never the same again. She reminisces and acknowledges the relationship for what it was.
Strawberry Wine is an anthem for your first love and youth. Beautiful.
@beaches well put!
one of the greatest country songs. About a girl who was seventeen and stayed at her grandpa's farm and bascially hooked up with this guy, her first taste of love. Every year she goes back and things havent changed much there but the loss of her innocence haunts her.
To me, this song is about a girl who meets a guy who is a couple of years older than her. They spend a lot of time together that summer. She experiences a whole new world with him. They fall in love. She is reminiscing about her relationship with him. Now she's looking back at it all. She was so terrified for the day he had to leave for college because she felt that they would lose touch and eventually that's what happend. When she goes back to her grandpa's farm, she remembers him and the memories are bittersweet because he and her first love are no longer in contact and he is just a part of her past. The "innocence" is most likely her virginity. She wonders if it's that or the actual guy that she misses. This song is beautiful and speaks personally to me.
i think this song is so sad. but like deanna said, its bittersweet, but the sweetness didnt last, it left so fast for this girl and the rest is bitter. she lost her virginity when she was 17 to a guy who ended up meaning nothing to her. it shows how emotions can get crazy when your young... shes regretting having sex with him, and she wishes she still had her innocence. thats something you just cant get back "is it really me or the loss of my innocence ive been missing so much" she has to live with this regret for the rest of her life. it just seems extremely overwhelming
This song is actually beautiful. Looking at these interpretations I wonder what Deana Carter intended for this song to mean. Some people are saying that this is a sad song because it's about the regret of her first love and the loss of innocence. They say that it is just about sex and nothing else, but I would love it more as a love song. It's bittersweet because she misses her innocence, but maybe she does not regret it because she says that she goes back year after year to "remember the taste of strawberry wine." Why would she go back if it was painful? Her first taste of love was a taste of strawberry wine when she was young and naive. Her first taste of love may not have been sex, but love making. There is a difference. "The hot July moon saw everything." It was a romantic night in the country and it was so romantic that they could not resist, nor could their hormones resist (no really), and that is where the loss of her innocence comes in. Sounds silly, but that's my interpretation. She might miss her innocence, but she might not regret it. It's a sad memory in that she lost her innocence and they were seperated, but it's a beautiful memory. Love hurts, but it was still her first love. Love should be experienced by everyone even if it sometimes end in heartache. It's bittersweet just like strawberry wine.
So this is essentially a song about how an older man seduced a young girl, using alcoholic beverages to reduce her inhibitions to sexually assault her or at least commit statutory rape (but you legally can't give consent if you're an inebriated child).
@eric137371 basically yep! lol
You'll always be the highest rank in my book, July. Don't ever forget it!! This is our song! Yes, the biggest fear is September, if you get on my bad side. Only. 😉
@ImYourTerror If this i how you feel still now then show me to my face instead of through lyrics of songs you know i'm here and i know most of whats happened to you i truly want to embrace you open out your heart and let me in for real x
This just happens to be the only country song that I have ever and probably will ever like because I don't like country music. It reminds me of my relationship w/ my bf.
This song has a lot of meanings to me. My first experience was when I was 17 on a hot july day. This song reminds me a lot about my boyfriend and me sharing our moments together. Its something very special. :)
this song is about a girl losing her virginity when she was 17
You're right and I think the song is more graphic than you think. The bittersweet is an analogy of the mix of pain and pleasure from sex when losing your virginity. Strawberry wine can be a metaphor for blood also as wine is a metaphor for blood in many instances.