Glossary entry for
days of wine and roses

The phrase "days of wine and roses" is originally from the poem "Vitae Summa Brevis" by the English writer Ernest Dowson (1867-1900).
They are not long, the days of wine and roses:
Out of a misty dream
Our path emerges for a while, then closes,
Within a dream.

Contributed by Alan Pert, Sydney, Australia

Another Van-list member suggests that Van may be referring to the 1962 motion picture of the same name, about an alcoholic couple and how the bottle dominates and ultimately destroys their lives. On A Night in San Francisco, Van uses the line "Lead me through the days of wine and roses, one sweet day at a time" - which combines the line with the recovering alcoholic's mantra, perhaps strengthening that interpretation.

Van references in:

  • "See Me Through" (on Enlightenment)


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