What do these statements mean?

[gary]

What does "dine on cold grapes" mean?

What about "Johnny fill up the bowl" in the song?

 

[Reconstructed Rebel]

To "dine" is to eat - so it means they were eating cold grapes.

Fill up the bowl refers to having an alcoholic drink of some sort - bowls or cups without handles were used in very early times. Same as a Christmas reference to "a smoking bowl of hot punch." So "Johnny fill up the bowl" is a drinking song in which the singer is saying give me a drink or give me another round.

 

[Stryker65]

@gary I assume you got that from the 52nd Massachusetts regimental history, which, based on context, I suppose would be something of a sarcastic comment directed towards the Union besiegers, i.e. something like the counting-chickens-before-they-hatch story. But that's just a theory.

 

[JackADriscoll]

Could that be a reference to grape shot?

 

[gary]

Stryker65 - I did read that in the 52nd Massachusetts regimental history and hence my inquiry.

 

[lupaglupa]

Interesting. Grapeshot could be a logical guess. That fits with the mention "as long as you live." Maybe cold grapes were something served in paradise? People of that era knew a lot of classical and literary allusions that we aren't familiar with.

 

[JOHN42768]

Cold grapes might also be wine