This is the lead single from Robin Gibb's posthumous album 50 St Catherine's Drive. The record is named after the address where Gibb was born in Douglas on the Isle of Man off the English coast. The song title is taken from the 1896 Ernest Dowson poem "Vitae Summa Brevis, which was popularised by Oscar Wilde: ("They are not long, the days of wine and roses.") Though the phrase is often used to evoke romance, it was used as the title of a 1962 Hollywood film about two lovers struggling with alcoholism and self-destructive behavior. Its theme song was a hit for Henry Mancini. Robin Gibb's widow Dwina said: "Robin admired Oscar Wilde's works, and his wit, and having found this phrase, he was inspired to compose a song." "This song is about remembering beautiful things from the past. It is a song about a lover having gone away or a lost love from the past. It is about a man who wonders if his call would ever be answered if he dared to call a past love again. It is also remembering the carefree, happy days of childhood that are all too short."