"What Is It About Men -- Amy Winehouse"


There will never be another Amy and there will never be another album quite like Frank. At only 20, the rawness and often darkness of Amy's music had been realized and strongly developed. To me one of the most thought-provoking track's on the album is What Is It About Men. 

The song is written about the break up of Amy's parents marriage, the result of her father's infidelity. 

Here are the opening lyrics:

Understand once he was a family man
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

It seems as though Amy is expressing the notion that she too was destined to fall into the type of relationship that resulted in heartbreak and separation. Unfortunately she was correct, foreshadowing her drug-fueled marriage and divorce from Blake Fielder-Civil. 

In 2008, Amy interviewed with Mojo magazine, where she spoke about the process of writing this song and how she later viewed her parents relationship,"I don't know what my mum feels about it, but I felt it was important to write that song. I was 9 or 10 when my dad left. My mum was upset every night, falling apart. I thought she was weak until I realized that my dad was the weak one, 'cos he couldn't make something work. My mum was the strong one."

The song continues with Winehouse commenting on her own negative tendencies when in a relationship.

I'm nurturing, I just wanna do my thing
And I'll take the wrong man as naturally as I sing
And I'll save my tears for uncovering my fears
For behavioral patterns that stick over the years

As heartbreaking as the lyrics may be the song does such a great job of handing a difficult subject poetically, and not at the expense of the music. The melody and instrumental accompaniment, though simple, are crucial to sustaining the mood of the song. 

Do you have a favorite Amy Winehouse track?