Neil Diamond recorded "Red Red Wine" for his second studio album, Just for You, released on Bang Records in 1967. Diamond approached the song with deep melancholy. Driven by sparse acoustic guitar picking, an understated rhythm section, and mournful orchestral strings, the lyrics served as a literal plea to alcohol to numb the sharp sting of abandonment.
The core lyricism was grim. Lines like "Red, red wine, goes to my head / Makes me forget that I still need her so" were sung with low-register restraint. Diamond treated the bottle not as a party favor, but as an anesthetic. Bang Records issued it as a single in early 1968, where it scraped into the lower half of the charts before fading from commercial radio. Diamond moved on to lighter, faster pop hooks like "Cherry, Cherry" and "Sweet Caroline," leaving the somber ballad dormant in his back catalog.
