Wine & Women in Song

Okay, so now that I've completed my list of the best songs about boozing & babes, in no particular order:

-"Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw?" Jimmy Buffet--Of course. Could this song not be on the list? Buffet is, of course, a bit of a buffoon, but sometimes the fool (or clown?) has the best wisdom. Simple, straightforward, although waiting for the waterbed to fill up and warm up seems a bit, well, time consuming.

-"Gina in the King's Road" Al Stewart--Some great lyrics, including this introduction of Gina "Purple leather mini / legs up to there / Don't you cast aspersions /On my naugahyde affair," which totally evokes a whole image of 70s shabby shag-bars. And it only goes downhill from there.

-"Spill the Wine" Eric Burdon and War--A Hamlet allusion, plus "over-fed, long-haired leaping gnome," plus "every kinda girl." It's like the porno double feature: She Wore Her Beaver Up / Doll of the Mountain King.

-"Country Boy" Hosty Duo--It makes me think of a simple country romance. Barefoot girl, barefoot boy, and a case of 3.2. If only my love life were ever that simple. None of this penny-loafer Zima shit.

-"Louie, Louie" The Kingsmen--It's about drinking and a girl, and it's got to be dirty, otherwise it'd never be so slurred.

-"Norweigan Wood" )Snicker( The Beatles--One of the best one-night-stand songs ever written. Okay, so he never gets lucky, but he was biding his time, drinking her wine, and they talked until two, so what more could you want?

-"It Was a Very Good Year" Frank Sinatra--Small town girls, city girls, blue-blooded girls, and all that comes with 'em. Soft summer nights, perfumed, hair, and chauffers. I'd say those were some good years. And he keeps most of the details to himself, letting the imagination run wild.

-"Home for a Rest" Great Big Sea--a tough call to pick between "Old Black Rum" & this one, but the last verse of this one is too good. "By the light of the moon she drifts through the streets / a rare old perfume so seductive and sweet / She'd tease us and flirt as the pubs all closed down / Then walk us all home and deny us a round."

-"Hey, Nineteen" Steely Dan--It's all about how he can't really talk to this nineteen-year-old cause she's too young & doesn't know anything about music. But if they get drunk together on Cuervo & do a little blow they can have a great time. Cool. And good advice.

-"Budweiser Cardboard Girl" Just Add Water--Who? Well, this is a fun little song, albeit pretty dumb, that's on an album I picked up for a buck by randomly choosing it out of a stack. A group of never-weres from Missouri, there's not too much to say except that this song is about what would be great about being in love w/ a Budweiser cardboard girl. You can probably guess.

And, of course, there's the Rubaiyat:

My friends, you know with what a brave carouse

I made a second marriage in my house

Divorced old barren reason from my bed

And took the daughter of the vine to spouse.