Where does the title come from?
Sorry if its been answered already, but where does the phrase "last of the summer wine" come from?
I plan to live forever, or die trying
Here is what it says on Wikipedia:
Clarke chose the original title, The Last of the Summer Wine, to convey the idea that the characters are not in the autumn of their lives but the summer, even though it may be "the last of the summer". BBC producers hated this at first and insisted that it remain a temporary working title, while the cast worried that viewers would forget the name of the show. The working title was changed later to The Library Mob, a reference to one of the trio's regular haunts early in the show. Clarke switched back to his original preference shortly before production began, a title that was shortened to Last of the Summer Wine after the pilot show.
I'm not aware if the phrase was in use before Roy Clarke thought of it as a title for the series (most likely not I would assume).
As far as I know, Clarke coined it. It's rather poetic really. His writing can be deeper than it seems at first.
The title does make more sense when you have the lyrics to the theme song, as Clarke wrote them. They were rarely used on TV:
The colour of summer's gone,
Of golden days when I was young,
Of girls who came but soon moved on.
Is in my summer wine.
The perfumes of earth and vine,
Of meadows when the rain has gone,
Of women with their finery on.
Is in my summer wine.
The memories I can see,
Here in my cup,
Of sweet short days, bitter days,
Now all drunk up.
The taste of the life that slips,
From day to day through fingers blind,
The honey from the woman's lips,
Is in my summer wine.
There is also a version written by Bill Owen, never used on the air to my knowledge, and an altered version of the lyrics above that was used for Compo's funeral. I especially like the last verse of this version. "The taste of the life that slips from day to day through fingers blind". Roy Clarke is underrated. I don't think TV does his writing justice. See the Summer Wine website for more info.
'Irregardless' is not a word