Revisiting Back to Black: Some Unholy War

This installment is part of a retrospective on “Back to Black,” the most acclaimed album of Amy Winehouse who passed away 10 years ago this July. I’ll revisit one track every month in order of their appearance on the album

Purely sexy, moody and indulgent, this track appears nearly at the end of Back to Black and gives one last look back at the worst of Amy’s toxic attachment to her husband Blake.

The songwriting is DIRECT, succinct and ruthless. Even as the shortest song on the album at just 2:22, it leaves a lasting flavor of both self-congratulation for being loyal paired with the guilt associated with turning back to your worst habit. This story here is reminiscent of picking a scab– weirdly satisfying but leaves you more damaged than you started.

Some have speculated that this track is about a suicide pact, and honestly, I wouldn’t put it past Amy Winehouse to write that. Her honesty was unflinching, no matter what.