I lost myself on a cool damp night
I gave myself in that misty light
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
Under a lilac tree

I made wine from the lilac tree
Put my heart in its recipe
It makes me see what I want to see
And be what I want to be

When I think more than I want to think
I do things I never should do
I drink much more that I ought to drink
Because it brings me back you

Lilac wine is sweet and heady, like my love
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, like my love
Listen to me, I cannot see clearly
Isn't that she, coming to me nearly here?

Lilac wine is sweet and heady where's my love?
Lilac wine, I feel unsteady, where's my love?
Listen to me, why is everything so hazy?
Isn't that she, or am I just going crazy, dear?

Lilac wine, I feel unready for my love
Feel unready for my love



Lyrics submitted by fallen_crow05

Track duration: 04:31

"Lilac Wine" as written by James H. Shelton

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Lilac Wine song meanings
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26 Comments

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  • 0
    My Opinion:To hear Morgana King sing this song ... well, what an interpretation and voice!!!
    Flag kulewriteron December 27, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I agree with the above interpretation. Many people seem to think alkies lead barren, pointless lives. This song helps to explain that alcoholics know that "real life is paler, duller and contains less potential for unexpected delirium." (Nick Hornby, Fever Pitch.)
    The price for this can be loss of family, friends, possesions and so on. So, the big question is - is it worth the price? Sometimes it is.

    "Oblivion is Privilege - It has a fee" - Richie Edwards
    Flag badgerboyon May 12, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:alcoholism
    and that's the end of it

    but what a sheer portrait! not a moral, flat or demonizing one, but one spawned from personal experience. The emotions, the self-destruction, they're all palpable. The sweet poison of drinking that turns less and less bitter and more and more pleasent with each time the mouth is filled; and not because of the wine itself but of the inner struggles of our soul that seem to have a mouth of their own, with it's own unquenchable thrist.
    It makes me think of the way Lou Reed described heroin use in 'Heroin'.
    Flag bicicletasaladason November 29, 2009   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:This song is like Mojo Pin. It's about loving losing one's self to a substance in the absence of a loved one, only the substance here is alcohol, not drugs.
    Flag d/c addicton July 27, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:LOVE this song.
    Flag zzoeEon July 02, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:to mycroft45: well...word "lilac" in lilac wine is quite tricky. I believe it doesn't reffer to noun lilac (lilac plants are not poisonous) but to lilac- the adjective.If so, wine would've been made of lily, which is poisonous plant... I agree with re8ecca's interpretation. Maybe simply because lyrics are becoming stronger, more meaningful and dramatic then. Anyway, mycroft45, PLEASE assume sometimes that you're not omniscient and think twice before you post something fault-finding on NET...
    And just a word about lyrics- unfathomable.
    Flag Kresjuon January 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Nicholas Cage in "Leaving Las Vegas" 1996
    Flag bkat004on December 22, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:what an incredible song. definitely one that makes my heart ache... i think that everyone who has lost someone they love can identify with the poetry of the lyrics.

    the speaker has obviously lost someone he loves, and the only way to regain her is to drink himself into oblivion. i'd like to think that he reaches her at the end... whether through a hallucination, a dream, or through death.

    jeff buckley's incredible voice carries the meaning of the song to a whole different level.
    Flag rabidglowon October 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This song is king when played while walking on a warm summer night. It becomes one of those moments where the song is something that should just happen like when your skin gets a little slick from walking out of a cold house and into the warm night.
    Flag Blackmofasa9on June 30, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:According to wikipedia:
    "Lilac Wine" is a song written by James Shelton. It was covered by Nina Simone on her album Wild Is The Wind (1966), was a solo hit by Elkie Brooks (1977) and appeared in her album Pearls (1981) and later by Jeff Buckley on his début album Grace (1994). More recently, the song was covered by Katie Melua on her debut album Call Off the Search (2003).
    Buckley considered Simone's to be the definitive interpretation of the song, stating, "I've only heard Nina Simone's...And that's the only one that matters. There's one by Eartha Kitt. There's one by Elkie Brooks, which I've never, ever heard. There's another one. They've done it, but Nina does it best. That's the end all of it. That's the be all end all version. She's the king."
    No need reading false facts in these comments
    Flag b19pen15on March 06, 2007   Link

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