You Know I'm No Good

This song is fantastic.

Verse 1: a fight breaks out in the bar when her boyfriend confronts one of the gus she's sleeping with on the side.

Verse 2: she's sleeping with her ex-boyfriend, but she can't get off unless she thinks about her current man. How romantic. Her boyfriend says it's okay for now, but it'll have to stop when they get married. She cries for him because she knows she'll never be faithful.

Verse 3: she and her boyfriend have worked things out, but then he notices a carpet burn on her skin and knows she's been getting it on with another dude. Instead of making a big deal out of it, he just shrugs, which actually makes her geel even worse.

I love how the song is less about her feeling bad about her behavior, and more about her just feeling bad for her boyfriend.

I think the middle of the second verse is -- Run out to meet you . . . chips and pitta . . . you say “were we married?” . . . cuz you're not bitter

I think "Kyomara" is right on about the first verse. But the second verse I see this way -- she's temporarily separated from the guy in the first verse and when she's with an old boyfriend she can't get off unless she thinks about the "first verse" guy. She goes out to meet "first verse" guy for a bite to eat and he has finally forgiven her infidelity. He says, hey, it’s not like we were married and you broke our wedding vows so I guess I can get over it. She swears she'll be faithful from this point on (There will be none of him no more) because she was so heartbroken about their break up (I cried for you on the kitchen floor).

In the third verse, they go away on a trip. Everything's going great. They are getting along just like they used to. Then he notices her carpet burn and realizes she's been at it again with another guy. He shrugs, like it doesn't matter. He expected this from her and she doesn't mean that much to him anyway. The fact that he doesn't care, or pretends he doesn’t care, wounds her deeply.

I agree with "bald_head_ted." Part of her sorrow and regret in this song stems from knowing she might have had a future with this guy but for her self-destructive infidelity. She truly loves the guy; she just can’t seem to stop cheating.

And I think she really does feel horrible for her actions, but she tries to dodge a little of the blame by saying "You know that I'm no good." That is, the guy knew what he was getting into.

Difficult to believe she's actuallly no longer with us. Another talented musican gone due to excess and dependence. Very sad. As for the song, it's good. Not sure if A.W. wrote all or some of her own music, but many of her songs are quite good. This one sounds like a pat on the back to oneself for behaving poorly. It doesn't sound like a genuine "I'm sorry I let you, but mostly myself down"; rather, it sounds like a long-winded excuse....like, I don't trust myself to be strong and better, so I'll toss in the towel and make the most of my behavior. It's easier to mess up and apologize than it is to gather up the courage to change. It's a cowardly song, but it's excellent. RIP Amy.

yeah i was gonna say, it's 'tanqueray' not 'takeaway'.

"Who truly stuck the knife in first?"

Like, "who really did wrong first? Is it really my fault? Because you hurt me too." I don't know how else to explain it.

"He's in a place but I can't get joy"

Like he's really enjoying the sex and he's caught up. (in a place) "In a place" means in his own little world, not noticing anything else. Kind of like "in paradise". But she's not really enjoying it because she's thinking about her current boyfriend whom she's cheating on.

Just wanted you help y'all because I know Amy's grammar isn't the best. Still love her though. She has an awesome voice.

LOL! "Sniffed me out like I was takeaway" would have been hilarious! I thought it might be a kind of perfume. Thanks for the help with that one, Ellie. Not my style of music at all, but I love this song. I relate to it, I guess is why.

What's 'lickle'?

quite a few mistakes here, but a pretty strong effort to decipher the lyrics. "You're rolled up sleeves and your skull t-shirt", "sniff me out like I was Tanqueray", "Upstairs in bed with my ex boy, he's in the place, but I can't get joy. Thinking of you in the final throws. This is when my buzzer goes", "Went out to meet your chips and bitter", "Then you notice lickle carpet burn, my stomach drop, yeah and my guts churn"...at least that's what I hear anyway. If anybody has the actual liner notes, what's that line after "you shrug, and it's the worst"?

cough "chips and pitta

I'm surprised by all the question marks surrounding the word likkle. I was more wondering about the carpet burns. In the context of the song u would think of scraped up knees from sex on the floor, but then yesterday i saw the video clip. When she sings this, the guy checks the inside part of her elbow, where smack users usually inject their thing. Carpet burns could then be the marks that heroine users often have there. Agree with everyone here though, one hell of a great song!