# An overfed, long-haired, leaping gnome **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [August 18, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900 "2000-08-18T19:56:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/1 "2000-08-18T19:56:26Z")
I know this doesn’t really fit on this forum. I know. But I thought you all might get a kick out of this. Watching tv the other night and on comes Eric Burdon. Starts singing ‘Spill the Wine.’ Everybody in the room wonders aloud about it. Weird song. My husband then says, “Hey, you oughtta ask all those people you’re always talking about. I betcha one of them would know.” He’s being kinda smarty about it, but I think he’s a little curious to see what you might say. So, does anybody out there know the story behind this song? I think I remember it being something they had to have quickly to finish off an album and that it has no real meaning. Sound boring. Anyone? Bueller? ---
**Author:** ![Spider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Spider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spider)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/2 "2000-08-18T20:28:40Z")
Finding meaning in it may be a stretch. I’d settle for a translation of the lyrics. The parts where he’s talking are easy enough, but the refrain? For the longest time I thought it was “Do I, dig that girl?” but then I realized what the song was called, so I changed my version to “Spill the wine, take that girl.” Still fun. Red ones, blue ones, black ones, green ones. ---
**Author:** ![struuter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@struuter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/struuter)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/3 "2000-08-18T20:37:37Z")
Actually it’s ‘Spill the Wine, take that pearl.’ Yeah, I know. Now it makes even less sense. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/4 "2000-08-18T20:43:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by struuter \* > \*\*Actually it’s ‘Spill the Wine, take that pearl.’ Yeah, I know. Now it makes even less sense. \*\* And I was sure the one word I was hearing correctly was girl. Guess I was wrong again. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/5 "2000-08-18T20:57:11Z")
> [@](#): > > “Do I, dig that girl?” This is exactly what I thought it was too, before I found the lyrics online. I like our version better. ---
**Author:** ![Sn-man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sn-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sn-man)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/6 "2000-08-18T20:57:40Z")
I found a bit of info using the meta-search engine dogpile. The preview of the link listed the following: Based an a studio accident when a bottle of wine spilled on the studio console. The actual link did not work. It could be just speculation. ---
**Author:** ![MadPoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@MadPoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPoet)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/7 "2000-08-18T21:00:24Z")
The group 2NU (of _Ponderous_ “fame”) does a cover of it that is fairly intelligible, although who knows if they got the words right. I’ve got an MP3 (to my knowledge it’s Public Domain, I got it off a site linked to by the official one) if anyone wants it. ---
**Author:** ![fierra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58956e/32.png) [@fierra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fierra)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/8 "2000-08-18T23:35:11Z")
pearls dissolve in wine…that might be a link I dunno, it sounds really weird. ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/9 "2000-08-19T01:05:06Z")
Hey struuter- Tell your smarty pants husband that if I hadn’t joined this merry band, I would not have learned (for free)how to get rid of my ant problem. There have been other situations as well, but this one was the most recent, so it sticks in my tiny little mind. One of the wonderful things about this message board is that there are “teeming millions” of people in all walks of life who are willing to come forward and share their expertise. And, of course, most are always willing to share their wit and wisdom on almost any topic. What could be bad about that? Scotti ---
**Author:** ![Scotticher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Scotticher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scotticher)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2000, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/10 "2000-08-19T01:10:42Z")
And, now that I think about it, don’t we have a G’Nome or something? He/she/it should be able to help you out! Scotti ---
**Author:** ![Chato15](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Chato15](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chato15)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/11 "2025-10-10T16:36:48Z")
I just wanna know EXACTLY WHAT IS AN OVERFED LONG HAIRED LEAPING GNOME??? ANYONE………ANYONE……..BUELER…….. BUELER………..HEY MCFLY!!! ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/12 "2025-10-10T16:41:57Z")
[![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/MYCRIykylOc/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-CYAC0AWKAgwIABABGH8gLyg7MA8=&rs=AOn4CLAN45is2CriL-Pb06u8kKHYAS0YyQ "WAR, Eric Burdon - Spill The Wine (Official Audio)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYCRIykylOc) Eric Burdon is one of the most talented singers ever. He also happened to be a long-haired leaping gnome on stage back then. 🙂 I’ll never understand why the Animals and later War weren’t even bigger than they were. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/13 "2025-10-10T17:17:21Z")
25 years late, but if I had posted originally, I would have said I thought the word was “overfaired”. It rhymes with “haired”. It doesn’t make sense, but then, what in the song does? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/14 "2025-10-10T17:22:32Z")
Or more sense. Romans would dissolve pearls in glasses wine so spilling the wine out of it to get to the pearl makes perfect sense. Especially as a metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [October 10, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-overfed-long-haired-leaping-gnome/29900/15 "2025-10-10T19:15:04Z")
Burdon gave an interview about the song that explains … pretty much nothing. > **[Eric Burdon’s Baffling ‘Spill the Wine’ Explained](https://medium.com/the-riff/eric-burdons-baffling-spill-the-wine-explained-39862db1d273)** > > The Former Animals Vocalist Sets the Record Straight