Between The Cheats

Album: Lioness: Hidden Treasures (2011)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This Amy Winehouse composition was recorded in London in May 2008 for potential inclusion on her third album. Tragically the English songstress passed away before the LP was completed, but it was included on her postosthumous long player, Lioness: Hidden Treasures. According to frequent Winehouse cohort Salaam Remi, who produced the song, the track's heavy doo wop influence, "shows one of the main directions in which she was heading."
  • Speaking with Billboard magazine, Remi explained that Winehouse came to him after a much-publicized opportunity to record the theme for the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace fell apart. "She was a bit upset," by the whole episode and told Remi she had this new song "with the lyrics written down." He continued: "She picked up a guitar and gave me her first chord. I asked what she wanted it to sound like and she said, 'doo wop.' I said give me 20 minutes. Amy took her time writing her lyrics. They meant everything to her; she was single at the time. It was one take."
  • Remi said to NME regarding the song's meaning: "She was talking about a relationship, what went on between the cheaters. It was her classic wordplay to link it back to between the sheets."
  • Amy Winehouse spent 10 days in Miami in 2005 laying down a string of songs with Salaam Remi at his Instrumental Zoo Studios. One day, he asked Winehouse if she had anything else she'd been working on and the singer opened her book to show him a lyric titled "Between The Cheats."

    "She grabs the guitar, and she starts playing around with it," he recalled to Mojo magazine. "She starts mumbling, a little bit with the lyrics. So, I played a little bit of piano, a little bit of guitar. Put bass and the drums on it. Then she goes in the booth and she basically sang the song."

Comments: 1

  • Vera from Virginia Beach, Va. UsaSo Beautiful. So sad. So Tragic.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Meshell Ndegeocello

Meshell NdegeocelloSongwriter Interviews

Meshell Ndegeocello talks about recording "Wild Night" with John Mellencamp, and explains why she shied away from the spotlight.

Elton John

Elton JohnFact or Fiction

Does he have beef with Gaga? Is he Sean Lennon's godfather? See if you can tell fact from fiction in the Elton John edition.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Astbury of The Cult

Ian Astbury of The CultSongwriter Interviews

The Cult frontman tells who the "Fire Woman" is, and talks about performing with the new version of The Doors.