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.
Love Is a Losing Game
Amy Winehouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love is a losing game
Five story fire as you came
Love is a losing game
One I wished, I never played
Oh, what a mess we made
And now the final frame
Played out by the band
Love is a losing hand
More than I could stand
Love is a losing hand
Self-professed, profound
'Til the chips were down
Know you're a gambling man
Love is a losing hand
Though I battle blind
Love is a fate resigned
Memories mar my mind
Love, it is a fate resigned
Over futile odds
And laughed at by the gods
And now the final frame
Love is a losing game
In Amy Winehouse's song "Love Is a Losing Game," the lyrics talk about the agony and pain of love, highlighting the repetitive failure and defeat associated with it. From the first verse, "For you, I was a flame, love is a losing game," the song portrays love as something that causes destruction instead of fueling passion. The second verse goes on to detail the negative impact love has had on the singer’s life. It highlights that once she had wished to avoid it and now feels foolish for having embraced it as it has led to a mess. At every corner, nothing but loss is associated with love. In the third verse, the song speaks of the consequences of playing this game. It mentions the experience of being laughed and ridiculed by the gods, reiterating that one can never win this losing game.
Line by Line Meaning
For you, I was a flame
I burned bright and intense for you
Love is a losing game
Romantic love is a risk that often ends in heartbreak
Five story fire as you came
My passion for you was as high as a five-story building
One I wished, I never played
I regret getting involved in this romantic relationship
Oh, what a mess we made
Our relationship was chaotic and dysfunctional
And now the final frame
Our doomed relationship has come to an end
Played out by the band
Our relationship has played out to its inevitable conclusion like a sad song played by a band
Love is a losing hand
Romantic love is a risky bet that often leads to disappointment
More than I could stand
The pain of a failed relationship was too much for me to bear
Self-professed, profound
I thought myself wise and insightful when it came to love
'Til the chips were down
I believed this until I was faced with the harsh reality of a failed relationship
Know you're a gambling man
You take risks in love, even though the odds are often not in your favor
Love is a losing hand
Romantic love is a risky bet that often leads to disappointment
Though I battle blind
Even though I was unaware of the risks, I still took a chance on love
Love is a fate resigned
Romantic love, for all its charms, often ends in heartbreak and pain
Memories mar my mind
I am haunted by the memories of our failed relationship
Love, it is a fate resigned
Romantic love often ends in failure, no matter how hard we try to make it work
Over futile odds
Even though the odds of success were stacked against us
And laughed at by the gods
Our relationship was a joke to fate or the divine
And now the final frame
Our doomed relationship has come to an end
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Amy Winehouse
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Cinrellaeyes2512
For you, I was a flame
Love is a losing game
Five story fire as you came
Love is a losing game
One I wished I never played
Oh, what a mess we made
And now, the final frame
Love is a losing game
Played out by the band
Love is a losing hand
More than I could stand
Love is a losing hand
Self-professed, profound
'Til the chips were down
Know you're a gambling man
Love is a losing hand
Though I battle blind
Love is a fate resigned
Memories mar my mind
Love is a fate resigned
Over futile odds
And laughed at by the gods
And now, the final frame
Love is a losing game
@bashahussain
I remember travelling into London with my mum and brother when I was about 14 or 15 years old. When we got into London, not far from islington/highbury area, the traffic was slow but flowing with a stop start rhythm. As we were gradually edging towards the front of a queue that was caused by a set of traffic lights, a beautiful girl that was sitting and waiting at a bus stop to the left of me caught my eye. I couldn't help but stare at her as she sat there and gaze towards the sky, in her own world. Looking at her I could see that her carefree head was in the clouds just watching the day go past.
She then turned her head and noticed me staring at her, we made eye contact. As we paused in that brief but beautiful moment, eyes locked looking at one another, we shared a beautiful subtle smile before breaking into a full on contagious beaming smile, as if we were good friends sharing a private joke and all the passersby were none the wiser.
I thought "wow look how beautiful she is and what a gorgeous smile" and then blushingly I turned my gaze away, not wanting to make it awkward for myself nor her.
Then I thought to myself "Hold on! Was that?!"
I snapped my neck back and realised, Yes! it was indeed Amy Winehouse! She started laughing realising that I had processed, computed and only just clocked on.
I exclaimed to my brother "look!! that's Amy Winehouse there!" He was more focused on the road and the lights up ahead as they began to change green he didnt believe me anyway.
As the car started moving I quickly put my windows down and shouted "AMY!!" She looked and was laughing even harder and then I knew without doubt it was her.
The cars moved off and my moment with her had passed.
I still think of that moment, especially when I go into London, as I usually go past the exact same spot. I think what if I would have got out the car and just took my shot at striking a conversation with her. Just to connect with another human and interact before going on about our days and lives.
She had a beautiful smile. And I can still picture her in that moment.
@Silverbackblackback
Hard to believe this was the lowest charting single from back to black album. People have no taste! Such a beautiful sad song.
@bghlee
This song and You Know I'm No Good are IMHO her two most beautiful and brilliant songs ever sung by her. Love her vocals and emotives.
@evasbolci3005
@@bghlee Agree,also "Tears dry on their own".Such poetry.
@NS-ur5ss
Her best song ever!
@ofirtal4032
You're so right!!
@anna-uc4tq
If she only knew how miserable and crappy the world and society have become today, she would have died twice...
@goldenlady3495
I really wish she was still here.
@noxythegreat
Same here
@IXcircle
If she was still here she would still be an addict wasting away even more.
Maybe I wish she never touched hard drugs.
@MariaNI-yf1bz
Great loss