Do not gaze at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup, when it goes down smoothly!  In the end it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper (Proverbs 23:31-32).

I do not wish to offend Neil Diamond, or UB40, or any of the fans of these great music legends -- but in all honesty, I think that "Red Red Wine" has to be one of the stupidest songs of all time.  I know that the song is intended to be more about heartbreak and unrequited love than the wine itself, and those are certainly more worthy songwriting subjects, but still... I've long thought that "Red Red Wine" (and for whatever it's worth, I grew up with the UB40 version being the normative one) is just plain ridiculous.  Ridiculous music, ridiculous lyrics, ridiculous message.  Consider the actual lyrics of the song (particularly the reggae / rap break in the uB40 recording):

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time

Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when you're just in my hand

Red red wine you make me feel so sad
Any time I see you go it makes me feel bad

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line

Red red wine you give me whole heap of zing
Whole heap of zing mek me do me own thing

Seriously?!?!  I think the lyrics get weird way before the "Monkey pack him rizla pon the sweet dep line" part (though that certainly does take it to a whole new level!).  Red wine keeps you rocking all of the time?  A bottle of wine in the hand makes you feel like a million dollars?  Other parts of the song talk about wine's "kind of loving" being like a blessing sent from above... something that is to be loved with all of one's heart -- in a 80's style, in a modern beat.  Yeah... Right.

I don't want to be one of those prudish Christian "book-burners."  I have no desire to control what other people read or watch or listen do -- so if UB40 does it for you, then God bless you... But I certainly don't feel like Red Red Wine needs to be on any of my play-lists.  And while I similarly don't feel a need to control what other people eat or drink -- and I can even realize that wine is a very "biblical drink" (which Jesus himself regularly enjoyed) -- it's nevertheless significant to note that I also do not need red wine to be my hope, my salvation, and my song.  And, for whatever it's worth, I think that wise old King Solomon would agree with me.

Wine's joys are always temporary and superficial.  A glass (or bottle) of wine doesn't solve anyone's problems.  If anything, it can create a heap of trouble, when not used responsibly.  In the end, it bites like a snake and poisons like a viper -- be it just a hang-over, or an addiction, or all manner of collateral damage.  Whenever we find ourselves looking for salvation in a bottle, we should stop and consider the wisdom of Proverbs 23:31-32.  Stop it before it gets to the "Monkey pack him rizla" part.  Because, to be honest, I don't think any of us really want to know what that means!