Amy

Song Meaning

"I saw a video of [the late R&B artist Amy Winehouse] singing and playing guitar. I didn’t realize how great a guitar player she was. And that inspired me to write that song, kind of sending my condolences." -- Billie Joe

"I felt like there was this connection between R&B of the past and R&B of the present. What [Amy Winehouse] did, her knowledge of old music and old Motown, it's something in the chain of music that is gone forever. She never got the help she needed. I know what it's like to go down a really dark path and I have had good people around me to help me survive. Maybe that's why I was able to relate to [her]." -- Billie Joe

As the closing track on ¡Dos!, this song brings an abrupt and poetic end to the crazy party that has dominated the album. The narrator reflects on what Amy [Winehouse] used to be, and what she experienced towards the end of her life. He wishes that he had been given a chance to know her, and that she wouldn't have moved on. The narrator also mentions her drinking problem, which she was never able to fully escape from. In remembering Amy Winehouse, the narrator closes out the crazy party theme by detailing the ill effects that this intense partying can have on one's physical and emotional self. She, to him, is the perfect example of a good time gone wrong, and a unique soul tragically lost forever.