Amy Winehouse: Rehab Meaning

Song Released: 2006

Rehab Lyrics

They tried to make me go to rehab
I said no, no, no.
Yes I been black, but when I come back
You wont know, know, know.

I aint got the time
And if my daddy thinks im fine
Hes tried to make me go to rehab
I wont go, go, go.

Id rather be...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   Jan 14th 2008 !⃝

   When she mentions her "daddy" in the song she does actually mean her father (Mitch Winehouse), and not her man/husband (Blake Fielder-Civil) as the other interpretation is implying.
   Stories of Amy's drug abuse only hit the newspapers after the success of the album that this song is from, so it isn't about her being a "typical junkie" and needing to go to rehab because of hard drugs as the other interpretation also suggests. I imagine this may be because the interpreter knows only what the tabloid reports say about Amy and not her personal and/or songwriting history.
   The album 'Back To Black', including this song, is about Amy's break up with her then-boyfriend (who is now her husband), after which she suffered from depression and turned to alcohol. Her record/management company advised her to go to rehab but her father didn't think she really needed to at that time, and after telling her producer (Mark Ronson) of that story, the tale turned into lyrics and the famous "they tried to make me go to rehab/I said no no no" line came about.
2. anonymous

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   Jan 16th 2021 !⃝

   Das Lied ist von Amy Winehouse selbst geschrieben und von Mark Ronson produziert worden. Der Song handelt von ihrer Weigerung, eine Rehabilitationsklinik aufzusuchen, nachdem sie von ihrem Plattenlabel und von ihrem Vater dazu ermutigt worden war. Der Song handelt aber nicht über den Kokain, Heroin etc. Konsum, sondern über ihren Alkoholproblem.
   Schade das wir einen Ausnahmetalent wie Amy Winehouse verloren haben. Es ist bald 10 Jahre her das sie verstorben ist, aber sie bleibt ihn meinen und in vielen Millionen anderen Herzen für immer drin. Sie war eine Legende und wird es auch für immer bleiben. Die Zeit vergeht so schnell, aber ich werde ihre Musik auch im Jahr 2050 hören!
3. Louie

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   Feb 26th 2020 !⃝

   Amy is simply saying this, "To Hell with stopping drinking--I'm not gonna quit."
   Drinking was her coping mechanism and she did not have another way to deal with life.
4. anonymous

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   Oct 2nd 2012 !⃝

   mr hathaway refers to donny hathaway. an amercian soul singer, a huge inspiration to amy.
5. anonymous

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   Jul 30th 2011 !⃝

   Has she ever been blackballed and when she comes back they'll know, know know how great her talent is. I'm not a big fan of Amy Winehouse, but when I heard Rehab I enjoyed the beat it harkens back to the 60-70s flavor and I could see how she was influenced by Ray Charles and Donny Hathaway.
6. anonymous

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   Jul 28th 2011 !⃝

   So who is Mr. Hathaway?
7. anonymous

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   Jul 26th 2011 !⃝

   I think the interpretation of this song being high to the point of being blacked out... which represent death and being completly out of it.... However, once she comes back you want know...
8. anonymous

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   Jul 24th 2011 !⃝

   Well, I guess we all know now that it wasn't metaphorical....she died from her addiction. It is very tragic!
   
   Probably as a young, sassy, talented artist, she truly didn't feel she needed something as slow and patient as a rehab treatment. Took too long.
   
   When kids are immature and addicted, it just doesn't seem anything can be done until they're ready to learn...
9. aquamaddie

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   Apr 26th 2010 !⃝

   This song is about a heavy addict who doesn't want to go to rehab because she feels justified in her substance abuse and she feels like she can function without rehab. Plus she just doesn't feel like wasting 10 weeks of her life on something she doesn't really wanna do.
10. anonymous

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    Mar 11th 2009 !⃝

    Everyone wants her to go to rehab but she says NO!
11. anonymous

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    Aug 13th 2008 !⃝

    The song is about when Amy messed things up with her boyfriend, Blake(who she is married to now). The other songs on the album tell the story of how she messed up and how he cheated on her also. But whenever she broke up with Blake, she turned to drink and became a manic depressive. Her record company tried to make her go to rehab but she wouldn't and her father didn't think she needed to either. When she told this story to Mark Ronson he suggested they write a song about it. A thus 'Rehab' was born! It's a modern classic.
12. anonymous

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    May 4th 2008 !⃝

    ACTUALLY.
    
    After Amy's first album Frank (2003) was released her Manager suggested she go to rehab for her DRINKING. She was on and off with her boyfriend at the time which is why she thought she would lose her baby. She went to a rehab facility and checked out 15minutes later because she did not feel she needed it and her father advised her to get rest and lay off the liquor.
    
    Obviously her father was wrong but the song is about her alcohol use not drug use.
13. anonymous

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    Feb 22nd 2008 !⃝

    Well, obviously the song is about a person who has had others "intervene" to get them into Rehabilitation because they think that person is abusing some drug. This is a great song because it shows how someone can be abusing, for instance alcohol, for their depression as they get over a trauma. It doesn't mean they are life-long abusers, just that they are using a crutch "right now". Whether that abuse might get worse or not is not the issue the person wishes to discuss. Yes, they are "feeling black", but going to a hospital situation is not going to fix the pain. It just won't. The song also hints that there was at least one professional consult, implying a long-term depression.
    
    But basically, it's a love song. I like it.
14. debrah

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    Dec 30th 2007 !⃝

    Okay... Here are the facts...not a judgment just the facts. Amy is a junkie. The people around her want her to go to rehab as she is in a downward spiral. Amy does not see it that way at all. Amy is in denial as most addicts are. She does not feel that she needs rehab. She latches on to the illusion that her "daddy"(her man,)thinks she is just fine. She just wants to hang out with her man,("daddy")and do more drugs. It really is not a cryptic song. She tells it pretty plainly.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway

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