BACK TO BLACK 2006 AMY WINEHOUSE – GIN & OLIVES
The gin is warm on the table, even though it should be cold. An olive floats in it like a small, green thought that you can't get rid of. Amy sits by the window, barefoot, the sky outside as grey as her voice when she's not singing. Back to Black plays quietly in the background, even though she knows every word by heart. Some songs you don't listen to – they just happen to you.
She picks up the glass and slowly turns it. The olive bumps against the rim, clacking softly. Bitter. Salty. Just right. ‘You don't drink to forget,’ she murmurs, ‘you drink to remember without screaming.’ The gin burns, but the olive catches it. Just like her songs: pain, but with attitude. Heartbreak, but spruced up. A broken heart in an evening gown. Outside, the lights come on. Inside, everything remains dark. She doesn't drink much. Just enough to measure the distance between herself and the memory. One olive. One glass. One song.
Back to Black Gin & Olives:
• 3 olives on a sprig of rosemary
• 5cl gin
• 30cl ginger ale