What Is It About Men Lyrics
Understand, once he was a family man
So surely I would never, ever go through it firsthand
Emulate all the shit my mother hates
I can't help but demonstrate my Freudian fate
My alibi for taking your guy
History repeats itself, it fails to die
And animal aggression is my downfall
I don't care about what you got, I want it all
[Chorus]
It's bricked up in my head, it's shoved under my bed
And I question myself again, "What is it 'bout men?"
My destructive side has grown a mile wide
And I question myself again, "What is it 'bout men?
What is it 'bout men?"
[Verse 2]
I'm nurturing, I just wanna do my thing
And I'll take the wrong man as naturally as I sing
And I'll save my tears for uncovering my fears
Our behavioural patterns that stick over the years
[Chorus]
'Cause it's bricked up in my head, it's shoved under my bed
And I question myself again, "What is it 'bout men?"
Now my destructive side has grown a mile wide
And I question myself again, "What is it 'bout men?"
Ooh, it's bricked up in my head and it's shoved under my bed
And I question myself again, "What is it 'bout men?"
My destructive side has grown a mile wide
And I question myself again "What is it 'bout men?
What is it 'bout men?"
About
“What is It About Men” is a personal, gut-spilling song about Amy’s feelings towards her own father. She feels she’s bound to end up becoming a mistress to a married man in the future, the same way her father had a mistress while growing up. She feels it’s her “fate” to repeat the cycle and do this herself to another man’s family because of her father.
During her performance at the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2004, while addressing the audience, she confirmed that the song was indeed about her father. However, she had admitted to The Guardian a year earlier in October 2003 that the song was one she felt was too personal to perform, adding:
Writing it made me realise a lot about myself and why Dad cheated. I’ve grown to realise he’s not a big bastard, just a man with a dick.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
It’s me trying to work out my dad’s problems with sticking with one woman, trying to make sense of why he did certain things. I completely understand it now. People like to have sex with people. I don’t begrudge my dad just because he has a penis. What’s the point?
– Winehouse via The Guardian (February, 2004)
When asked about his influence on the song by The Guardian in February 2004, Winehouse’s father Mitch said:
I think it’s only the first part that’s specifically about me. The rest of it is more generally about what rats men are. But the song’s given me pause for thought, because the divorce obviously coloured her view of men.
- 3.Cherry
- 4.Know You Now
- 9.In My Bed
- 10.Take the Box
- 11.October Song
- 12.What Is It About Men
- 13.Help Yourself
- 14.Amy Amy Amy
- 15.Outro
- 16.Brother
