Halftime

Album: Lioness: Hidden Treasures (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • This tale of heartache and pride was part of Winehouse's repertoire when she first met Salaam Remi, with whom she worked with on both Frank and Back to Black. Recorded in August 2002 during the sessions for Frank, it missed the cut for the record. However, it did give that album its title, when Winehouse name checks Ol' Blue Eyes in the lyrics (" … and when Frank Sinatra sings, it's too much to take … he pacifies my ache.")
  • Remi said of the song to NME: "The lyric goes back to 'halftime,' like she would be learning in music class, but she took that idea and turned it into a song for her. Now it feels like Erykah Badu or Jill Scott."
  • Winehouse had talked to Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of the Roots about working together, so when it was decided to include this track on the late singer's posthumous album, Lioness: Hidden Treasures, Remi invited Questlove to add a drum part. This he did using Winehouse's 2002 vocal track.

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