The story of Amy Winehouse’s is one of modern music’s greatest tragedies. Her life was cut short at age 27 after a battle with addiction. She released just two studio albums throughout her career. Though brief, she left a mammoth legacy behind and plenty of era-defining songs.
One of those timeless tracks is “Tears Dry On Their Own”. The doo-wop, jaunty heartbreak song is among Winehouse’s most beloved. She married a breakup with upbeat musicality in this song, delivering something truly unique. But that juxtaposition almost didn’t happen. It wasn’t the original intent of the song. However, a producer stepped in and led Winehouse in the right direction. In the end, “Tears Dry On Their Own” became indicative of Winehouse’s singular blend of genres and trademark wryness. Revisit the making of this track below.
The Original Version of Amy Winehouse’s “Tears Dry On Their Own”
One of the things that was so special about Winehouse’s music was her unique blend of ideas and energies. Though her music called to mind decades past, her lyrical content was stunningly present. She could sing about modern ideas of heartbreak over a 60s beat and somehow pull off both with little effort. “Tears Dry On Their Own” is just one example of this talent.
Featured on Back To Black, this was a track from a pre-album session with the producer Salaam Remi. “[This song] is about the breakup with Blake, my ex,” Winehouse once explained, nodding to her tumultuous relationship with Blake Fielder-Civil. “Most of these songs are about him. I shouldn’t have been in a relationship with him because he was already involved with someone else, a bit too close to home. The song is about when we split up and saying to myself: ‘Yes, you’re sad, but you’ll get over it.’ And I did.”
Because of the song’s touching subject matter, Winehouse originally paired the lyrics with a soft, tender beat. It was melancholic; a more traditional breakup song. Remi had other ideas. He found a backing beat for Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell’s “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, and thought it was the perfect sample for Winehouse’s track.
The New and Improved Version
Winehouse couldn’t make sense of the juxtaposition of sound with these candid lyrics. Remi eventually helped her see the light.
“I was sitting there, listening to it, and I was telling Amy, ‘Tears Dry’ could [work over] that,” Remi once said. “She just could not hear it. I almost had to sing it pretty much to get her to figure it out, and she still was frustrated. Being one-take Amy, that’s the most [outtake] swearing that I recorded of her, ever. But it was just really the whole idea of her singing very sad lyrics against an encouraging backing track. That juxtaposition, and also making it one of the faster records on the album, kind of gave it another spark.”
Remi was right in making this song the sneaky upper that it is. It plays well into the overall vibe of the album, which was subsequently produced by Mark Ronson. It’s a testament to Winehouse’s ability to deliver hard, devastating stories with a levity that brings listeners back again and again.
But if we really listen to this song and see past its anthemic musicality, a heartbreaking reality peeks through. There are some real startling truths in this song. Winehouse gets candid about the way she sees her life, singing lines like, “Even if I stop wanting you and perspective pushes through / I’ll be some next man’s other woman soon.” There is a real sadness in her point of view here, which makes her losing battle with drug addiction that much more tragic.
(Photo by John Shearer/WireImage)
The post The Tragic Story at the Center of a Beloved Amy Winehouse Hit, Which Features an Iconic Soul Sample appeared first on American Songwriter.
Go To Source | Author: Alex Hopper
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