Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends explained
"Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends" is a pun in the form of an antimetabole. It is recorded as a toast dating to at least the nineteenth century,[1] though it is often mistakenly attributed to the Irish painter Francis Bacon[2] (1909–1992) or the American musician Tom Waits (born 1949).
Other examples of its use include:
- "Mr. Jorrocks then called upon the company in succession for a toast, a song, or a sentiment. Nimrod gave, 'The Royal Staghounds'; Crane gave, 'Champagne to our real friends, and real pain to our sham friends. Jorrocks's Jaunts and Jollities (1838), ch. 12, by R. S. Surtees a line delivered as a toast by actor Russell Johnson from the 1961 TV series Thriller, season 1, episode 16, "The Hungry Glass", based on a story by Robert Bloch
- a line in Mike Cross's song "Dear Boss" on the 1985 album Solo at Midnight
- a repeated line in the song "This One's for You" by Therapy? on their 2001 album Shameless
- a line that Edward Norton's character says in the 2002 Spike Lee film 25th Hour.
- a line said by David Spade, in the 2003 film
- the title of a song on the 2005 album From Under the Cork Tree by Fall Out Boy
- the title of a 2005 episode of One Tree Hill
- the title of a 2010 album by Alan Oldham
- a line said by the character Dave Rose in the show Happy Endings, 2011 episode "Dave of the Dead"
- the chorus of Faderhead's 2014 song "Champagne and real pain"
- a bungled line in the song "Fake Champagne" by Seth Sentry on his 2015 album Strange New Past
- a line said by the character Marnie in the show Girls, season 5 episode 6 (2016)
- a line by JP and his brother Tomothy while drinking champagne in British TV show Fresh Meat series 4 episode 6 (2016)
- a line said by the character Harley Quinn in the comic book Harley Quinn volume 3, issue #77
References
- Book: The Perfect Gentleman, Or, Etiquette and Eloquence: A Book of Information . Dick & Fitzgerald . 1860. New York City. Google Books.
- https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/aug/31/arts.artsnews3 "Friend who inherited Bacon's £11m fortune went on 11-year spending spree"
