Critics have debated the ethics of loving Back to Black . Is it exploitation to cherish music born from such obvious suffering? Or is it reverence to recognize that Winehouse turned her pain into a gift for the world?
This is the apology without the amendment. Over a sultry, hip-hop-influenced beat, Winehouse admits to infidelity. "I cheated myself / Like I knew I would." The song is a portrait of a serial self-saboteur. She knows she isn't good for anyone, yet she craves the comfort of a lover. It is brutally honest and uncomfortably sexy.
: The lyrics were almost entirely inspired by her volatile relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil