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.
What It Is About Men
Amy Winehouse Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So surely I would never, ever go through it first hand
Emulate all the shit my mother hated
I can't help but demostrate my Freudian fate
My alibi for taking your guy
History repeats itself, it fails to die
And animal agression is my downfall
I don't care 'bout what you got I want it all
It's bricked up in my head, it's shoved under my bed
And I question myself again: what is it 'bout men?
My destructive side has grown a mile wide
And I question myself again: what is it 'bout men?
It's bricked up in my head, it's shoved under my bed
And I question myself again: what is it 'bout men?
My destructive side has grown a mile wide
And I question myself again: what is it 'bout men?
The song "What Is It About Men" by Amy Winehouse is a poignant commentary on her personal experiences with men, particularly in the context of their destructive behaviour. In the lyrics, she reflects on her own tendencies to repeat history by emulating "all the shit my mother hated" and falling for men who are "family men" yet inevitably end up causing pain and disappointment. She questions the reasons behind this behaviour and seems to imply that it may be linked to some innate, animalistic aggression that ultimately leads to her downfall.
The line "It's bricked up in my head, it's shoved under my bed" suggests that these feelings and behaviours are deeply ingrained and difficult to overcome or express. Winehouse's lyrics convey a sense of frustration and self-awareness, as if she knows she is repeating patterns but can't help herself. The repeated line "And I question myself again: what is it 'bout men?" highlights her confusion and desire for answers.
Overall, the song is a powerful and vulnerable exploration of the complexities of relationships and human nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Understand once he was a family man
I know that he once had a wife and kids, so I thought I would never be in the same situation
So surely I would never, ever go through it first hand
I was convinced that I would never experience the pain of infidelity or abandonment that his family went through
Emulate all the shit my mother hated
I unconsciously repeat the same mistakes that my mother made in her relationships
I can't help but demostrate my Freudian fate
I am a prisoner of my own psychology, acting out patterns that were laid down by my early experiences
My alibi for taking your guy
I convince myself that it's not my fault that I'm attracted to men who are already in relationships
History repeats itself, it fails to die
The same destructive patterns keep repeating in my relationships, and I can't break free of them
And animal agression is my downfall
My primal desires and impulses are overpowering my better judgement, leading me down a self-destructive path
I don't care 'bout what you got I want it all
I'm so consumed by my own desires and needs that I don't care who gets hurt in the process
It's bricked up in my head, it's shoved under my bed
These issues are hidden away in my subconscious, and I try to ignore them rather than confronting them head on
And I question myself again: what is it 'bout men?
I am trying to understand why I keep making the same mistakes in my relationships, and if there's something inherent in men that keeps drawing me towards them
My destructive side has grown a mile wide
My self-destructive tendencies have become more and more pronounced over time
And I question myself again: what is it 'bout men?
I am continually grappling with this question, trying to figure out how to break free from these patterns and find healthier relationships
Lyrics © CALDERWOOD, INC., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHRIS DELROY, JACKSON DONOVAN, FELIX HOWARD, EARL SMITH, LUKE SMITH, PAUL WATSON, COLE WILBURN, GORDON OPHAREL WILLIAMS, AMY JADE WINEHOUSE
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