{"id":4551,"date":"2023-04-11T09:00:17","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T13:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/?p=4551"},"modified":"2024-02-08T09:57:18","modified_gmt":"2024-02-08T14:57:18","slug":"arachnophonia-amy-winehouse-back-to-black-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/parsons\/2023\/04\/arachnophonia-amy-winehouse-back-to-black-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Arachnophonia: Amy Winehouse “Back To Black”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Editor\u2019s note:<\/strong> Arachnophonia<\/a> (\u201cArachno\u201d = spider \/ \u201c-phonia\u201d = sound) is a regular feature on our blog where members of the UR community can share their thoughts about resources from the Parsons Music Library<\/a>\u2018s collection.<\/p>\n

All links included in these posts will take you to either the library catalog record for the item in question<\/a> or to additional relevant<\/a> information from<\/a> around the web<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s installment of Arachnophonia<\/a> is by student manager Amy (class of 2025) and features Amy Winehouse’s 2007 album Back To Black<\/strong><\/a>. Thanks, Amy!<\/em><\/p>\n

Amy Winehouse<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Back To Black<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Amy<\/p>\n

Amy Winehouse\u2019s album Back to Black<\/em><\/a> has been my top album since I was 16. Not only is the unique quality of her voice astounding but her lyrics perfectly encapsulate the realities of an abusive relationship. <\/p>\n

Back to Black<\/a><\/em> was Winehouse\u2019s sophomore album and the title track, “Rehab<\/a>,” suggested the album would be nothing like its predecessor Frank<\/a><\/em> (released in 2003). Frank<\/em> sounded as if Winehouse had taken the lyrics of an artist like Michael Bubl\u00e9<\/a> and added a bit of hip-hop to it, the most notable piece was her voice. <\/p>\n

These raspy painful notes that begin “Rehab<\/a>,” a Top 10 hit in the UK and US, point to the three years between Frank and Back to Black being far from easy. After Frank debuted, Winehouse began a very topsy-turvy relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil, a music video assistant. Fielder-Civil has come forward and admitted to being Winehouse\u2019s introduction to hard drugs. The two would get into physical and verbal altercations in public, the catalysis of this being Fielder-Civil leaving Winehouse at one point for his ex-girlfriend. <\/p>\n

Fielder-Civil leaving was the inspriation for the song “Back to Black<\/a>.” It described the dark moments of depression she felt after he left. It also described how she went back to abusing alcohol after he left because she didn\u2019t have anything else to cope with. <\/p>\n

Another of her famous singles \u201cLove is a Losing Game<\/a>,\u201d a long metaphor for love being an unfair game, the song, while quite simple with lyrics like \u201cKnow you\u2019re a gambling man\/ Love is a losing hand,\u201d is considered to be one of Winehouse\u2019s most powerful songs because of its deep meaning. <\/p>\n

My personal favorite song, \u201cTears Dry on Their Own<\/a>\u201d is an anthem for those who need the hard truth: it is time to get over it. In an interview with BBC, Winehouse described her inspiration for the song: \u201cI was with someone that I couldn\u2019t really be with and I knew it wouldn\u2019t last. But I think because I knew it couldn\u2019t last, it\u2019s kinda like saying, \u201cI\u2019m upset, but I know I\u2019ll get over it, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n

After a stint in rehab and an arrest for marijuana possession, Winehouse won five Grammy Awards in 2008, an award ceremony she was not able to attend as the US denied her visa on grounds of use and abuse of narcotics. That same year, Back to Black<\/a><\/em> was said to be the second-highest selling album in the world. Winehouse died of accidental alcohol poisoning on July 23, 2011. <\/p>\n