Meaning of "Red Red Wine" by UB40

The lyrics of "Red Red Wine" present a narrative centered around the consumption of red wine as a form of escapism from the pain of lost love. The song portrays red wine as a source of relief and temporary reprieve, capable of making the narrator forget the person he still needs and loves. The repetition of the line "Thoughts of you would leave my head" emphasizes the speaker's erroneous belief that time alone will heal his heartache. However, he soon realizes that it is red wine that truly helps him suppress his memories. This revelation highlights the paradoxical nature of alcohol as a means of self-soothing. While red wine provides temporary solace, it also intensifies the narrator's feelings of sadness and loneliness. The line "It's tearin' apart my blue, blue heart" demonstrates the internal conflict caused by the narrator's reliance on red wine to numb his pain.

Throughout the song, red wine is personified as a character and given agency. The repeated refrain "Red red wine, it's up to you" suggests that the narrator sees the wine as a separate entity with the power to control or influence his emotions. This personification amplifies the narrator's dependency on red wine as the only source of solace. The imagery of the monkey smoking a joint, Rizla being a well-known rolling paper brand, adds a whimsical touch to the lyrics. The monkey's misfortune and the breaking of the line are metaphorical representations of the narrator's own struggles and the potential consequences of relying on red wine to numb his pain.

Overall, "Red Red Wine" explores the theme of using alcohol as a coping mechanism for heartache and lost love. The lyrics capture the conflicting emotions experienced when turning to substances for relief, as they simultaneously uplift and sadden the narrator. This serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of relying on such coping mechanisms to mask pain and avoid confronting one's true emotions.