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.