This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
He left no time to regret
Kept his dick wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
I go back to us
I love you much
It's not enough
You love blow and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
I go back to
I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to black
Kept his dick wet
With his same old safe bet
Me and my head high
And my tears dry
Get on without my guy
You went back to what you knew
So far removed from all that we went through
And I tread a troubled track
My odds are stacked
I'll go back to black
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
I go back to us
I love you much
It's not enough
You love blow and I love puff
And life is like a pipe
And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
Black
I go back to
I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to
We only said goodbye with words
I died a hundred times
You go back to her
And I go back to black
Lyrics submitted by Nyra, edited by tk2x, scorpio1644, Deborah66, hannahsoooo
Back to Black Lyrics as written by Mark Ronson Amy Winehouse
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Hipgnosis Songs Group
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It about her ex blake (the name she had tattoed on her chest) who when they met was with another girl, they toyed with each other for a while and when he left the other girl they hooked up and fell in love, she even says that she would have" died for him or died with him" but then when she "fucked up" they broke it off (and she still loved him) he went back to his ex-girlfriend and she went spiraling out of control and felt helplesss she's said in interviews that she still loves him and he had said that he still oved her also and thinks they will eventually end up together.
But yeah, fucking exes blow.
It's interesting how this song can go either way...you can see it from the POV of the girlfriend chastising her guy for going back to an ex or an affair...or you can see from the POV of the mistress chastising the guy for going back to his girlfriend/wife
"I love you much It's not enough You love blow and I love puff And life is like a pipe And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside"
I think this bit is referring to how, when she first got together with Blake, she wasn't as aware or experienced with drugs, but he was. He loved 'blow' (coke) which is a lot harder than 'puff' (weed). Compared to him, she was a lot more naïve and he should have taken care of her. I think she then goes on to say 'Life is like a pipe' referring to a crack 'pipe', as she may feel this is the only metaphor he will understand, as drugs was at the core of their relationship, and a huge part of his life: it was all he knew. She says this to show how, life is like a 'pipe', and she's just a small vulnerable thing trying to make her way through. I think she's saying how he's put her through so much, and introduced her into so much that she can't believe he's turned away now and left her on her own. Seeing as she's so small and unfamiliar to all this stuff without him.
I'm so upset she's gone. She was effortlessly talented. And I couldn't wait to hear what she would've come up with next. It's a true tragedy.
@ChloeHowells This particular lyric in this song guts me when I hear it, and I like your interpretation. I miss her too, hard to believe it's nearly 9 years now...
i think this song is basically about a man's love for cocaine ('her') and her love for heroin ('black', as in black tar).
"And I tread a troubled track, my arms are stacked I go back to black"
i'm not sure what to make of this, but i think it's significant. her arms stacked...does this mean shooting up? stacked with tattoos to cover her track marks...? (has anyone noticed that when miss winehouse looked more healthy & voluptuous she had very few tattoos, and now that she looks so unhealthy and skinny she almost has full sleeves?)
"you go back to her and i go back to black" her = cocaine, as already described
so...not sure if this means the two drugs drove them apart, if his drug use brought her to her own demise with heroin, or what just my thoughts.
@o m f g its leti Her "odds" are stacked, not "arms". but I still think your pretty spot on, she was probably more of an alcoholic, pothead and heroin preference of downers. Basically at odds with the uppers her lover preferred.
I think "you love blow and i love puff" means more than "drug choice".
Amy stated her ideas and their situation metaphorically with drug feelings.
When he blows coke, he just wants to sex with some girl who is not a special girl, just a girl. But if you smoke-puff a joint, you feel deeper, you miss your lover even if he/she is with you.
So it means; for he, sex is more important than love, but for amy, it's not. Amy is saying: "i want you and i love you so" with this metaphorical lyrics.
The sound and the lyrics of the song have got melancholy. Amy writes songs more deeper than just directly drug references.
Do you think, the only problem is their drug choices? I don't think so...
good insight :)
This is a very emotional song especially for those who can relate. Very well written and I just love it! It's about falling in love with someone and being together and then them going back to their girlfriend and just leaving everything you've been through. It's a sad song about losing someone and going back to that dark place you were in before you got them. In my opinion it could be that person was pining for them for a while and was in a very bad place in her life, so now that they've left she goes back to that heartache she was in before. Wanting what she can't have. She thought she got it but then they left her for someone else.
I might interpret this a little differently but that's ok.
The chorus in my opinion is very interesting.
"We only said goodbye with words I died a hundred times You go back to her And I go back to.....
I go back to us"
The line "We only said goodbye with WORDS" hmmm... they only said goodbye with words? so what I think is they broke it off verbally, but physically they were still together. "I died a hundred times" that's pretty obvious. It was painful, very very painful for her to stop their relationship because she loved him. So he goes back to her. her is probably someone he's been with before or they have feelings for each other. I think it hurts her how easy it is for him to just walk away from what they had, especially when he had told her how much he loved her before, and now he's jumping at his opportunity to get back with this girl he obviously loves - more than her. "You went back to what you knew So far removed from all that we went through."
Ok so the last line of this chorus "and I go back to us" OK so he goes back to her. and she goes back to "us"? basically this shows that she feels used. He goes back to his girl and she goes back to him, because she loves him and he knows he's playing her (or not able to commit or whatever) but she's so in love she' letting him have his girl and her at the same time. BACK TO BLACK. black is the emotional state she's in. That's what I gather anyway. well i can relate to it better like that way anyway, so whatever works. :) love this song yeah :)
Such a sad sad loss.
He left no time to regret (leaving her etc)<br /> Kept his dick wet (With the woman he went back to)<br /> With his same old safe bet <br /> (He kept his ex he went back 2as a backup in case didnt go right with amy)<br /> <br /> Me and my head high (to appear like its not affecting her,trying to cope)<br /> And my tears dry (cried so much till she couldn't cry anymore)<br /> Get on without my guy (trying to move on without him)<br /> You went back to what you knew (he knew his ex well that he went bak 2, a girl that he knew wood get bak together with him)<br /> <br /> So far removed from all that we went through (He put everything amy and him had, memories etc, in the back of his mind like it all never happened;heart on his sleeve)<br /> <br /> And I tread a troubled track (Shes saying from the shock of it, she knows she's gonna head towards a life of drugs and drinking)<br /> <br /> My odds are stacked (she can't lean to no other choice)<br /> I'll go back to black (she'll head back to depression which leads to drinkn and drugs)<br /> <br /> We only said goodbye with words (said goodbye with no emotions,much thought,etc)<br /> I died a hundred times (reality hit her which brought her to despair, could also refer to drug use and 'killing herself' to not feel the pain, as in the drugs take it away)<br /> You go back to her (self explanitory)<br /> And I go back to.....<br /> I go back to us (She thinks back to the memories they shared)<br /> I love you much <br /> It's not enough (all the love she could offer wasn't enough to make him stay)<br /> You love blow and I love puff (He loves cocaine,which could also infer the possibility he did that with his ex, and amy,loves pot whicj may not seem too thrilling to him;could be why he left)<br /> And life is like a pipe (everything n life like a pipe nevver lasts and burns/fades awya)<br /> And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside (in terms of a 'bad penny' someone or something undesireable,Also the 'penny rolling up the walls' could signify her unstable emotional state. If the penny rolls up, it has to roll back down. Which may signify the up and down highs and lows that you have when you take drugs.)<br /> <br /> We only said goodbye with words<br /> I died a hundred times<br /> You go back to her<br /> And I go back to<br /> <br /> Black, black, black, black, black, black, black,<br /> I go back to<br /> I go back to<br /> <br /> The constant black at the end-in her live concert she says wat it means there, <br /> what can i say (black) life was so exciting (black) smile was so inviting (black)then he kissed me on the cheek (black)with his fingertips (black)sio i bled (black)<br /> saying that like basically is ndull, shes in despair, not worth living when shes cast into his shadows cuz he was her light.<br /> This is what i make of the song because I'm in same situation other than drugs and drinking.but someone who was far gone in it he was the only one she felt saved her from drowning herself in the darkness.I really felt for her because of this song<br /> <br />
or another messed up version i picked out is:<br /> <br /> He left no time to regret<br /> Kept his dick wet<br /> With his same old safe bet<br /> Me and my head high<br /> And my tears dry<br /> Get on without my guy<br /> You went back to what you knew<br /> So far removed from all that we went through<br /> And I tread a troubled track<br /> My odds are stacked<br /> I'll go back to black<br /> <br /> (he was quick to cheating,thus no time to regret)<br /> (she kept her head high sucking it up cuz she knew about it)<br /> he went bak to drugs,what he knew,and nothing else mattered is y he was so far removed)<br /> (she was on a troubled track because she was stuck between a rock and a hard place cuz she loved him but didn't like that he was cheating and going back to black is solitude-hiding her heart instead of having the light of his love)<br /> <br /> We only said goodbye with words<br /> I died a hundred times<br /> You go back to her<br /> And I go back to.....<br /> I go back to us<br /> <br /> (only said goodbye with words cuz they argued and said things that pushed her away from loving him with everything she had like in the past, she died a hundred times because of his words, lies, etc, then she goes 'bak to us' cuz when he's with her, she loves him too much to leave.)<br /> <br /> I love you much<br /> It's not enough<br /> You love blow and I love puff<br /> And life is like a pipe<br /> And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside<br /> <br /> (she loves him so much but its not enough to keep him with only her, cocaine is a drug that usually involves sexual activity, so she sang he loves blow and she likes pot, pot is much milder than cocaine in the 1st place. life is like a pipe as i said earlier is because everything in life(the pipe) it never lasts, burns away/fades. again with the penny rolling up the pipe-in terms of a 'bad penny' someone or something undesireable,Also the 'penny rolling up the walls' could signify her unstable emotional state. If the penny rolls up, it has to roll back down. Which may signify the up and down highs and lows that you have when you take drugs.)<br /> <br /> <br /> We only said goodbye with words<br /> I died a hundred times<br /> You go back to her<br /> And I go back to<br /> Black, black, black, black, black, black, black,<br /> I go back to<br /> I go back to<br /> <br /> but again between the "blacks" in her live song; The constant black at the end-in her live concert, <br /> what can i say (black) life was so exciting (black) smile was so inviting (black)then he kissed me on the cheek (black)with his fingertips (black)sio i bled (black)<br /> <br /> how it all started it was like a fairy tale, the kiss on the cheek with his fingertips he probably beat her up thus the last part so i bled black. or he just said he loved her touched her face like nothing was going on even tho she new and the bleeding black is the sorrow and pain she felt from him never telling her the truth and saying he loved her
My take on this is:
In the first verse it is a man leaving her for another woman and not a coke habbit, now what i cant decide is whether "Black" represents a state of depression or whether "Black" represents Heroin, I always thought the line "I tread a troubled track, My odds are stacked" said "I tread a troubled track, My arms are stacked" i.e. injected/stacked full of Heroin.
I think that later on when she says "I love you much, It's not enough, You love blow and I love puff" she means that they both love weed but thats not enough to keep them together.
The line "And life is like a pipe, and I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside" i am certain she means that no matter how many times a penny were to roll up the wall of a pipe it will never escape and will always fall back to where it started off!
When you watch the video it is of her burying her heart because at the end it actually says "RIP Amy Winehouse's heart" so either way she obviously felt/feels dead inside!
I see the blow/puff line differently. She says "I love you much, It;s not enough" just before that. I think what she is that she has a weed habit and he a coke habit. <br /> It just hit me. She could be saying that she has a weed habit, which isn't good, but he has a coke habit which is much worse. She already has drug and other issues and is drowning on her own. If she is with him and he keeps up the coke use, she can't be with him because he'll take him down with her (because she is vulnerable like that). <br /> <br /> to piggyback on your pipe interpretation, that's her way of saying because of her own issues, she "treads a troubled track". She is the penny rolling up a wall that will fall again. Again, his issues are worse than hers, so if she stays with him, it will be bad for her. So, she loves him but can't be with him because they aren't good for each other. But if she stays and he goes to his drug use (go back to her), she will become depressed and go back to black.
this is exactly my interpretation!!! :):) really well noticed on the vid, as it could be mistaken for her lover dying, or she could be burying him, and also her heart?! x
amazingly well written
these are not the right lyrics. the lyrics are as follows ---
He left no time to regret - Kept his dick wet - With his same old safe bet Me & my head high - & my tears dry - Get on without my guy I tread a troubled track - My odds are stacked I go Back To Black
We only said goodbye with words, I died a hundred times You go back to her and I go back to..
Us - I love you much - It's not enough - You love blow & I love puff & life - Is like a pipe - & i'm a tiny penny rollin' up the walls inside
We only said goodbye with words I died a hundred times You go back to her & I go back to
etc etc...the rest is right. love this song.