Lilac Wine Lyrics

Lilac Wine is a song written by James Shelton (words and music) in 1950. It was introduced by Hope Foye in the short-lived theater musical revue, Dance Me a Song. It was covered by Eartha Kitt (1953), by Judy Henske on her first, self-named album (1963), by Nina Simone on her album Wild Is The Wind (1966), was a solo hit by Elkie Brooks and appeared on her album Pearls and later by Jeff Buckley on his début album Grace (1994). It was covered live by Sarah Slean in 1997[1], More recently, the song was covered by Katie Melua on her debut album Call Off the Search (2003). In 2008 it was sung (Jeff Buckley version) at least once as background music in the French film Tell No One. The only artist to have major chart success with the song was Elkie Brooks in 1978 and the song remains closely associated with her, especially in the UK. The lyrics form a narrative in which the narrator recounts their experiences with the lilac tree, "Lilac Wine" made from it, and their loved one. It evokes his feelings of love, loss, pleasure and confusion in the lyrics that are arguably open to many interpretations.