If there was one talent that Amy Winehouse was prized for above all others, it was her ability to speak through music. Inspired by her father Mitch's jazz records, Amy began writing from an early age and her lyrics were intensely autobiographical from the outset. From relationship problems to heartbreak (many to do with her one-time husband, Blake Fielder-Civil), messed-up ex-boyfriends and her own struggles with drink and drugs, her songs were infused with a sense of gritty realism that belied her age and background. Little wonder that the more complicated her personal life became, the more successful she was as an artist: people worldwide could not help but be seduced by her at times painfully frank songwriting. Following her tragic death at the age of 27, we look at Amy's life in her own words - according to some of her most famous lyrics.

"We only said good-bye with words, I died a hundred times / You go back to her, and I go back to... / I go back to us"
Back To Black

"They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, 'No, no, no' / Yes, I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know"
Rehab

"When you walk in the bar, and you dressed like a star, rockin' your F me pumps / And the men notice you, with your Gucci bag crew, can't tell who he's lookin' to."
F*** Me Pumps

"It's bricked up in my head, it's shoved under my bed / And I question myself again, "What is it about men?" / My destructive side has grown a mile wide / And I question myself again, "What is it about men? What is it about men?"
What Is It About Men

"I'm my own man so when will you learn / That you got a man but I got to burn / Don't make no difference if I end up alone"
Addicted

"Today my bird flew away, gone to find her big blue jay / Starlight before she took flight, I sung a lullaby of bird land everynight / I sang a lullaby every night, sang for my Ava every night."
October Song

"Amy, Amy, Amy, although I've been here before / Amy, Amy, Amy, you're just to hard to ignore / Masculine you spin a spell, I think you'd wear me well / Amy, Amy, Amy, where's my morel parallel?"
Amy, Amy, Amy

"Cupid, draw back your bow / And let your arrow flow / Straight to my lover's heart / For me, nobody but me"
Cupid

"I can't wait to get away from you / Unsurprisingly you hate me too / We only communicate when we need to fight / But we are best friends... Right?"
Best Friends

"I cheated myself like I knew I would / I told you I was trouble, you know that I'm no good"
You Know I'm No Good

"I love you much / It's not enough / You love blow and I love puff / And life is like a pipe / And I'm a tiny penny rolling up the walls inside"
Back To Black

"There's so much that I could never say to your face / Bye, bye now / You should know the world and all its ways so find your place / How do I find words that do not condescend / When she bore you before me / 'Cause she doesn't need a child, she needs a friend / A son not a sob story"
Brother

"I wish I could say no regrets / And no emotional debts / Cause as we kiss goodbye the sun sets / So we are history / The shadow covers me / The sky above a blaze that only lovers see"
Tears Dry On Their Own

"This face in my dreams seizes my guts / He floods me with dread / Soaked in soul / He swims in my eyes by the bed / Pour myself over him / Moon spilling in / And I wake up alone"
Wake Up Alone

"What do you expect? / You left me here alone / I drank so much and needed to touch / Don't overreact - I pretended he was you / You wouldn't want me to be lonely "
I Heard Love Is Blind

"I cannot play myself again / I should just be my own best friend / Not f*** myself in the head with stupid men"
Tears Dry On Their Own

"The Moschino bra you bought me last Christmas / Put it in the box, put it in the box / Frank's in there and I don't care / Put it in the box, put it in the box"
Take The Box

"I don't ever wanna drink again / I just ooh I just need a friend / I'm not gonna spend ten weeks / Have everyone think I'm on the mend"
Rehab

"There is no greater love / In all the world, it's true / No greater love / Than what I feel for you"
(There Is) No Greater Love

"Though I'm rather blind / Love is a fate resigned / Memories mar my mind /Love is a fate resigned / Over futile odds / And laughed at by the gods / And now the final frame / Love is a losing game."
Love Is A Losing Game