A member of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra during her youth, Winehouse signed to Simon Fuller's 19 Management in 2002 and soon recorded a number of songs before signing a publishing deal with EMI. She also formed a working relationship with producer Salaam Remi through these record publishers. Winehouse's debut album, Frank, was released in 2003. Many of the album's songs were influenced by jazz and, apart from two covers, were co-written by Winehouse. Frank was a critical success in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize. The song "Stronger Than Me" won her the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.
Winehouse released her follow-up album, Back to Black, in 2006, which went on to become an international success and one of the best-selling albums in UK history. At the 2007 Brit Awards it was nominated for British Album of the Year, and she received the award for British Female Solo Artist. The song "Rehab" won her a second Ivor Novello Award. At the 50th Grammy Awards in 2008, she won five awards, tying the then record for the most wins by a female artist in a single night and becoming the first British woman to win five Grammys, including three of the General Field "Big Four" Grammy Awards: Best New Artist, Record of the Year and Song of the Year (for "Rehab"), as well as Best Pop Vocal Album.
Winehouse was plagued by drug and alcohol addiction. She died of alcohol poisoning on 23 July 2011, at the age of 27. After her death, Back to Black temporarily became the UK's best-selling album of the 21st century. VH1 ranked Winehouse 26th on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.
I Heard Love Was Blind
Amy Winehouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
His eyes were like yours
His hair was exactly the shade of brown
He's just not as tall, but I couldn't tell
It was dark and I was lying down
You are everything he means nothing to me
I can't even remember his name
Baby, you weren't there and I was thinking of you when I came
What do you expect?
You left me here alone; I drank so much and needed to touch
Don't overreact I pretended he was you
You wouldn't want me to be lonely
How can I put it so you understand?
I didn't let him hold my hand
But he looked like you I guess he looked like you
No he wasn't you
But you can still trust me, this ain't infidelity
It's not cheating; you were on my mind
Yes he looked like you
But I heard love is blind
The song "I Heard Love Was Blind" by Amy Winehouse is a story of infidelity disguised as a reflection on love's blindness. The song portrays a woman lying to her partner about cheating on him with someone who looked like him, but she justifies it by saying that it's not infidelity and that she wasn't really cheating because she was thinking of him the whole time. Winehouse's delivery of the lyrics highlights the confusion and self-deception involved in the situation, as she tries to justify her actions by convincing herself that she did nothing wrong.
The opening verse describes the physical similarities between the singer's lover and the person she cheated with, setting the stage for the deception that follows. The chorus repeats the line "Yes, he looked like you, but I heard love is blind," which suggests that love can make people do irrational and harmful things. However, the excuses that the singer makes for her actions reveal that her love is not blind, but rather, selfish and manipulative.
Throughout the song, Winehouse's use of metaphors and wordplay adds layers of meaning to the lyrics. For example, the line "I pretended he was you" could be interpreted as the singer trying to convince herself that the person she was with was her partner, but it could also mean that she was pretending that her lover was the person she wanted him to be. Similarly, the line "I didn't let him hold my hand" could be interpreted as a small act of resistance against the cheating, or it could be seen as a meaningless gesture that does not absolve the singer of her betrayal.
Overall, "I Heard Love Was Blind" is a powerful exploration of the complexities of love and infidelity, and it showcases the depth of Winehouse's songwriting and storytelling abilities.
Line by Line Meaning
I couldn't resist him
I was seduced by him
His eyes were like yours
He had the same color eyes as you
His hair was exactly the shade of brown
His hair color was identical to yours
He's just not as tall, but I couldn't tell
He was shorter, but I was lying down, so I couldn't tell
It was dark and I was lying down
The room was dark and I was lying down
You are everything he means nothing to me
You mean everything to me, he means nothing
I can't even remember his name
I can't recall his name
Why're you so upset?
Why are you angry?
Baby, you weren't there and I was thinking of you when I came
You weren't with me, but I was thinking of you during our moment of intimacy
What do you expect?
What did you think was going to happen?
You left me here alone; I drank so much and needed to touch
You left me by myself and I drank to excess and craved physical contact
Don't overreact I pretended he was you
Don't overreact, I imagined he was you
You wouldn't want me to be lonely
You wouldn't want me to be alone
How can I put it so you understand?
How can I make you comprehend?
I didn't let him hold my hand
I didn't let him hold my hand
But he looked like you I guess he looked like you
But he resembled you
No he wasn't you
No, he wasn't you
But you can still trust me, this ain't infidelity
You can still trust me, this isn't unfaithfulness
It's not cheating; you were on my mind
It's not cheating, you were on my thoughts
Yes he looked like you
Yes, he resembled you
But I heard love is blind
But I've been told that love is sightless
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: AMY WINEHOUSE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind