"Lilac Wine" is a song written by James Shelton (lyrics and music) in 1950. It was introduced by

Hope Foye Frances Hope Wainwright (born 1921) is an American folk singer who performed with such artists as Pete Seeger, Paul Robeson, and The Weavers (where she was once described as the "fifth" Weaver). Foye was born in 1921. She performed in Bob Fosse ...

in the short-lived theater musical revue, ''Dance Me a Song''. The song has since been recorded by many artists.

Lyrics

The lyrics form a narrative of heartache at losing a lover and taking solace from wine made from a

lilac ''Syringa'' is a genus of 12 currently recognized species of flowering plant, flowering woody plants in the olive family or Oleaceae called lilacs. These lilacs are native to woodland and scrub from southeastern Europe to eastern Asia, and wid ...

tree. The song focuses on the blissful oblivion achieved by becoming intoxicated. Its inspiration was a line in the 1925 novel ''Sorrow in Sunlight'' by

Ronald Firbank Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank (17 January 1886 – 21 May 1926) was an innovative English novelist. His eight short novels, partly inspired by the London aesthetes of the 1890s, especially Oscar Wilde, consist largely of dialogue, with referen ...

, in which the main character, Miami Mouth, circulates through a party "offering a light, lilac wine, sweet and heady".

Cover versions

"Lilac Wine" has been recorded by a number of artists including

Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...

on her 1953 album That Bad Eartha, Helen Merrill in her album ''

Helen Merrill with Strings ''Helen Merrill with Strings'' is the second album by Helen Merrill, featuring the singer fronting a quartet augmented by a string section arranged by Richard Hayman, recorded in 1955 and released on the EmArcy label.Judy Henske Judith Anne "Judy" Henske (December 20, 1936 – April 27, 2022) was an American singer and songwriter, dubbed "the Queen of the Beatniks" by producer Jack Nitzsche. Initially performing in folk clubs in the early 1960s, her performances and r ...

on her debut, self-titled album (1963), Nina Simone on her album '' Wild Is the Wind'' (1966), Elkie Brooks (1978) and Jeff Buckley on his album '' Grace'' (1994). The Jeff Buckley version was used as background music in the 2006 French film ''

Tell No One ''Tell No One'' (french: Ne le dis à personne) is a 2006 French thriller film directed by Guillaume Canet and based on the 2001 novel of the same name by Harlan Coben. Written by Canet and Philippe Lefebvre and starring François Cluzet, the ...

''. It also appears on Katie Melua's debut studio album '' Call Off the Search'' (2003).

Barb Jungr Barb Jungr (born 9 May 1954) is an English singer, songwriter and theatre writer, who has recorded versions of songs by Bob Dylan, Sting, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen and Leonard Cohen. Career Barb Jungr was born in Rochdale, Lancashire ...

recorded a version for her 2008 tribute album to Nina Simone, '' Just Like a Woman''.

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

played a solo in the version included on ''

Emotion & Commotion ''Emotion & Commotion'' is the tenth studio album by guitarist Jeff Beck, released in April 2010 on Atco Records. In addition to featuring vocal performances by Joss Stone, Imelda May, and Olivia Safe, the album showcases a 64-piece orchestra on ...

'' (2010) with vocals by Imelda May. Miley Cyrus released it as a video in 2012, as part of her YouTube series, '' Backyard Sessions'', where it has already accumulated over 21 million views. The song was recorded by

David Gahan David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and Soulsavers for their 2021 album ''

Imposter An impostor (also spelled imposter) is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often through means of disguise. Their objective is usually to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but also often for purposes ...

''. The song was also covered by

Susan Boyle Susan Magdalane Boyle (born 1 April 1961) is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of ''Britain's Got Talent'', singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from '. Boyle's debut studio album, ''I D ...

and Ana Moura. The only artist to have major chart success with the song was Elkie Brooks, and the song remains closely associated with her, especially in the UK and Europe. Her rendition peaked at No. 16 in the UK Singles Chart in 1978. It was included on her 1981 album, ''

Pearls A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle (mollusc), mantle) of a living animal shell, shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pea ...

''.

Charts

Notes

{{authority control Nina Simone songs Jeff Buckley songs Elkie Brooks songs Songs about alcohol 1950 songs 1978 singles A&M Records singles