Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for … Read Full Bio ↴Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues, reggae and jazz.

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.

Wake Up Alone Original Recording
Amy Winehouse Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It's okay in the day
I'm staying busy
Tied up enough so I don't have to wonder where is he
Got so sick of crying
So just lately
When I catch myself, I do a one-eighty
I stay up, clean the house
At least I'm not drinking

Run around just so I don't have to think about thinking
That silent sense of content
That everyone gets
Just disappears 'soon as the sun sets

He's fierce in my dreams, seizing my guts
He floats me with dread
Soaked in soul
He swims in my eyes by the bed
Pour myself over him
Moon spilling in
And I wake up alone

If I was my heart
I'd rather be restless
The second I stop, the sleep catches up
And I'm breathless
'Cause this ache in my chest
As my day is done now
The dark covers me, and I cannot run now
My blood running cold
I stand before him (before him, I)
It's all I can do to assure him (assure him)
When he comes to me
I drip for him tonight
Drowning in me, we bathe under blue light

He's fierce in my dreams, seizing my guts
He floats me with dread
Soaked in soul
He swims in my eyes by the bed
Pour myself over him
Moon spilling in
And I wake up alone
And I wake up alone

And I wake up alone
And I wake up alone

Overall Meaning

The song "Wake Up Alone" by Amy Winehouse tells the story of a woman who is struggling to cope with the absence of her lover. During the day, she tries to keep herself occupied with work and chores so that she does not have to think about him. She has grown tired of crying and has started to distract herself from her own emotions. Although she puts up a strong front during the day, her nights are filled with dreaming about her lover. In her dreams, he consumes her and she is left feeling alone and melancholic when she wakes up in the morning.

In the second verse, Winehouse uses vivid imagery to convey the depth of her emotions. She describes how her lover "floats [her] with dread" and "swims in [her] eyes by the bed." She uses the metaphor of pouring herself over him, like a liquid, emphasizing the intensity of her feelings for him. She expresses her desire to be restless, to keep moving to avoid the pain of missing him. The song ends on a somber note, with Winehouse waking up alone once again, unable to escape the pain of her lost love.

Overall, "Wake Up Alone" is a poignant and deeply emotional song that explores the complexities of heartbreak and the struggle to move on from a lost love.

Line by Line Meaning

It's okay in the day
During the day, things seem fine.

I'm staying busy
I'm keeping myself occupied to avoid thinking about my problems.

Tied up enough so I don't have to wonder where is he
I'm so preoccupied with other things that I don't have time to worry about where he is.

Got so sick of crying
I've cried so much that I can't bear to do it anymore.

So just lately
Recently, things have been different.

When I catch myself, I do a one-eighty
I change my behavior to avoid falling into old patterns.

I stay up, clean the house
I keep myself busy by cleaning the house and staying up late.

At least I'm not drinking
Even though things are tough, I'm not turning to alcohol to cope.

Run around just so I don't have to think about thinking
I keep myself busy so I don't have to think about the things that are bothering me.

That silent sense of content
There's a feeling of contentment that comes with being alone and at peace with oneself.

That everyone gets
This feeling isn't unique to me, everyone experiences it.

Just disappears 'soon as the sun sets
This feeling goes away as soon as night falls and I'm alone again.

He's fierce in my dreams, seizing my guts
In my dreams, he has a strong emotional hold over me.

He floats me with dread
Even though I'm anxious around him, I can't stop thinking about him.

Soaked in soul
Our relationship is rife with emotions and feelings.

He swims in my eyes by the bed
I can't escape him, even in my own thoughts before I go to sleep.

Pour myself over him
I give myself completely to him, both emotionally and physically.

Moon spilling in
The moonlight sets the mood for the intimacy.

And I wake up alone
But every morning when I wake up, I'm still alone.

If I was my heart
If I had to describe what's in my heart.

I'd rather be restless
I would prefer to be restless than to feel nothing at all.

The second I stop, the sleep catches up
When I'm still, my thoughts and emotions catch up to me and I can't avoid them.

And I'm breathless
I feel overwhelmed by my emotions and can't catch my breath.

'Cause this ache in my chest
I feel a physical pain in my chest from the emotions I'm feeling.

As my day is done now
When night falls and the day is over.

The dark covers me, and I cannot run now
Nighttime brings my troubles and worries to the forefront of my mind, and I can't escape them.

My blood running cold
I feel anxious and cold deep down in my body.

I stand before him (before him, I)
I'm standing in front of him, trying to connect.

It's all I can do to assure him (assure him)
I know that he needs reassurance from me, so I do my best to give it to him.

When he comes to me
When he seeks me out for intimacy.

I drip for him tonight
I give myself completely to him, knowing that I may regret it.

Drowning in me, we bathe under blue light
Our relationship may be toxic, but we can't help but be drawn to each other and bathe in the emotional intensity of our connection.

And I wake up alone
But every morning when I wake up, I'm still alone.