The group debuted at the Lyceum Theatre in London on June 14, 1970 where the announcer mispronounced their provisional name of Eric and the Dynamos to Derek and the Dominos, the band decided to take up the new name and undertook a summer tour of England. From late August to early October, working at Criteria Studios in Miami with legendary Atlantic Records producer Tom Dowd, the band recorded Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, a brilliant double album now widely regarded as Clapton's masterpiece. Most of the material, including Layla (which soon became an FM radio staple) was inspired by Clapton's unrequited love for Pattie Boyd who was married to his best friend George Harrison. Clapton was seeing Pattie secretly at the time and Whitlock was dating her sister. It was not until much later that the affair was open; Boyd moved in with Clapton in 1974 and married him in 1979. However, they were separated in 1985 when Clapton started a relationship with Yvonne Khan Kelly and they divorced in 1988. The two-part song "Layla" was recorded in separate sessions; the opening guitar section was recorded first, with the second section following several months later. The second section was an elegiac piano piece composed and played by drummer Jim Gordon; early on, he objected to it being added onto Layla, but after some arguing among the band's members he finally agreed.
The Layla LP was actually recorded by a five-piece version of the group, thanks to the unforeseen inclusion of slide guitar virtuoso Duane Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. Clapton recorded most of the album while lying on the floor strung out on drugs. The band was heavily into drugs at this time, but, unlike many artists such as The Beatles, Clapton feels this did not hurt the recording process. A few days into the Layla sessions, Dowd, who was also producing the Allmans, invited Clapton to an Allman Brothers outdoor concert in Miami. The two guitarists who previously knew each other only by reputation, met backstage after the show, and then both bands repaired to the studio to jam (an impromptu session which, happily, was captured on tape). Clapton and Allman "fell in love" with each other's playing and became instant friends, so Allman was immediately invited to become the fifth member of The Dominos. (These studio jams were eventually released as part of the 3-CD 20th-anniversary edition of the album.)
When Allman and Clapton met, The Dominos had already recorded three tracks (I Looked Away, Bell Bottom Blues and Keep On Growing); Allman debuted on the fourth cut, Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, and contributed some of his most sublime slide-guitar playing to the remainder of the LP. The album was heavily blues-influenced and featured a winning combination of the twin guitars of Allman and Clapton, with Allman's incendiary slide-guitar a key ingredient of the sound. It showcased some of Clapton's strongest material to date, as well as arguably some of his best guitar playing, with Whitlock also contributing several superb numbers, and his powerful, soul-influenced voice.
Bottle of Red Wine
Derek and the Dominos Lyrics
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Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
I can't get up out of bed
With this crazy feeling in my head.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
You hear what I say?
Gonna love you anyway.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
I went to an all-night get together
And everyone I knew was there.
Had the love that would last forever.
Everywhere I looked, I saw you standing there.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
I can't get up out of bed
With this crazy feeling in my head.
I said get up right now, oh oh.
I said get up right now.
Feel so bad this morning; got a terrible headache in my head.
Do me a favor, baby, do me a favor please.
Please get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
Get up, get up; get your man a big big bottle of red wine.
The lyrics to Derek and the Dominos's song "Bottle of Red Wine" are a plea to a lover to fetch a bottle of red wine to alleviate the singer's headache and "crazy feeling" in his head. He reminisces about a recent party where he saw his lover everywhere he looked, and despite feeling ill the next day, he still professes to love her. The repetition of the request for the bottle of wine conveys the urgency of the singer's desire for his lover's comfort, implying that the wine may have a calming or healing effect on him.
The lyrics also suggest a certain hedonistic lifestyle of the party-goers, as they engage in an all-night get-together and drink red wine to cure a hangover. There is a playful and flirtatious tone to the lyrics, with the singer asking his lover to do him a favor and get him a bottle of wine, and promising to "love her anyway." The use of "man" in the lyrics may reflect the male-dominated rock culture of the time, but it could also be interpreted as a gender-neutral term for a romantic partner.
Overall, "Bottle of Red Wine" is a catchy and upbeat blues-rock track that showcases Eric Clapton's guitar skills and the band's abilities to blend blues, rock, and soul elements into a cohesive sound.
Line by Line Meaning
Get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
The singer is asking someone to get a bottle of red wine for their man.
I can't get up out of bed
With this crazy feeling in my head.
The singer is unable to get out of bed due to a feeling of unease.
You hear what I say?
Gonna love you anyway.
The singer is assuring their partner that they will love them no matter what.
I went to an all-night get together
And everyone I knew was there.
Had the love that would last forever.
Everywhere I looked, I saw you standing there.
At a party, the artist saw many people in love, but everywhere they looked, they only saw their partner.
Feel so bad this morning; got a terrible headache in my head.
Do me a favor, baby, do me a favor please.
Please get up; get your man a bottle of red wine.
The artist has a headache and is asking their partner for help in getting a bottle of red wine to alleviate it.
Get up, get up; get your man a big big bottle of red wine.
The singer is emphasizing the importance of getting a large bottle of red wine for their man.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BONNIE BRAMLETT, ERIC CLAPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind