4 replies to this topic

[KCAmy]

Disclaimer here: "Rehab" is clearly not my favorite Amy song--gimmicky, and most closely associated with Amy for the worst possible reasons, and I think it singlehandedly did the most damage to her public image and maybe her inner self as well, despite it being one of her biggest hits.  And I do recognize that it's a helluva catchy and clever song, but still, isn't all that bravura just a front for deep, deep denial?

 

I'm late to the game, but I just found the link to a demo of Rehab: 

 

What I found interesting was the transposition at about 2:29 of the familiar words from the B2B recording, "I don't never want to drink again" into this earlier "I don't wanna never drink again" on the demo, which I think makes so much more sense, is more honest, and much sadder.

 

I don't never want to drink again (from the B2B recording)  I always interpreted as hyperbole, I will swear off drinking altogether, I was just lonely…(ooh, I just need a friend), I'll never do it again….

 

Now in this demo version, she sings, "I don't wanna never drink again", which I interpret as, I don't want to give up drinking completely and forever, no way, which makes her obstinate refusal to go to rehab --or at least to just listen to the guy talking to her at the intake-- all the more understandable. 

 

Amy was a brilliant poet/songwriter, and she took her choice of words seriously. Even when she was kidding around, as seen in this hilarious little interview with Huey Morgan following the 2008 Brit Awards: 

 

At 1:25, she insisted that she was her own worst enemy, and even after Huey suggested that the expression was being your "own worst critic"--Amy held on to the idea of being her "own worst enemy." She knew what she meant, and she said what she meant.

[TBR]

I think both lyrics from the demo and the final recording are meant as the same; she doesn't want to give up drinking. She doesn't think she needs to give up drinking entirely, she just needs a friend/support. ie. She doesn't want to never drink again.

[Soul Power]

I think both lyrics from the demo and the final recording are meant as the same; she doesn't want to give up drinking. She doesn't think she needs to give up drinking entirely, she just needs a friend/support. ie. She doesn't want to never drink again.

I agree. That's how I always interpreted that phrase; she literally does not never want to drink again (which is what is expected in rehab; total abstinence).

 

I overlooked/underrated this song when I first got into Amy (that seems like an understatement...more like Amy first hijacked my life, or something).  Anyway it's grown on me in a big way...in concert, this kicked serious ass, and as a musician I have to respect those chord changes she uses: simple & brilliant at the same time.  Love it!

[KCAmy]

Thank you for your thoughtful responses, @TBR and @Soul Power. I spend lots of time thinking about what lyrics mean; in interesting songs, just like in poetry, when there's a little mystery, it's challenging and fun to figure it out. For years, I never quite understood the line in "Brother" where Amy gently admonishes her older brother for living life like it's so run through...what could that mean? Then recently I read (I think on this forum) a comment about this line--she's actually singing "when you live life like it's a run-through"--in other words, like it's a dress rehearsal. Oh, NOW the line make sense to me, and the song is suddenly coherent to me.
Some of my favorite lyrics have a joke or funny phrasing. In Mr. Magic, "I'm blue without my green." I saw the lyric written out on another website as "blue with a migraine"--and I'm sure that's not what Amy wrote or sang.
I absolutely love the line about "sitting on the royal flush" in "Between the Cheats"--I detect a little bit of potty humor mixed into that gambling imagery, and it just makes me smile whenever I hear it!

[HelloSailor]

I think at the time, the prospect of not drinking for 70 days in rehab, and then going back out into Camden life and being sober was just inconceivable for Amy. She was about 21 years old at the time, and socialsing without alcohol, especially in the UK, is near impossible. I imagine she just couldn't picture herself in that scene, not being "normal" (by normal I mean being able to have a few drinks with her mates). So for me, those lyrics definately mean that she doesn't want to never have a drink again, she just wants to be able to control her drinking, on her own terms, and wait for this 'temporary' binging to pass (she managed to convince herself, and her dad, that it was just while she was getting over this beak-up).