Lots of songs have girls’ names in the title. Sometimes the names appear just in the lyrics, but people have been writing songs about girls for as long as people have been writing songs. Songs with Amy in the lyrics aren’t uncommon, and while some are obscure, many have interesting takes on all sorts of subjects.
Here are our top songs with Amy in the lyrics, even if they don’t all spell the name the same way.
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“Amy” by Green Day
Song Year: 2012
Although she was a singing sensation with hits and Grammys, Amy Winehouse dealt with personal demons related to addiction and died in July 2011. Green Day frontman Billy Joe Armstrong didn’t know her personally but respected her. “Amy” is an ode to the departed singer.
“Amy” by Elton John
Song Year: 1972
The rare song in a minor key that’s upbeat, “Amy,” tells of the unrequited love of a man younger than the object of his affection— she is likely a teenager, so our narrator seems like a kid, as if Amy is his babysitter.
In addition to featuring Sir Elton’s percussive piano stylings, that’s legendary French musician Jean-Luc Ponty on that kickin’ electric violin solo.
“Amie” by Pure Prairie League
Song Year: 1975
Though “Amie” came out as a single in ‘75, the album from which it came, “Bustin’ Out,” dropped in 1972. Talk about a slow burn. That same slow burn applies to the single itself. It barely cracked the top 20 and was never a smash hit, but now, decades later, is there a single person in the world who hasn’t heard this song at least once?
“When My Amy Prays” by Vince Gill
Song Year: 2019
Recording artist Amy Grant began her career as a Christian artist, racking up huge hits in the 1980s with her breakthrough album “Age to Age.”
Her husband, country superstar Vince Gill, does not have the same connection to the spiritual world. He wrote “When My Amy Prays” in tribute to his wife. He wants a deeper connection to the sacred and finds it in observing hers.
“Amy Amy Amy” by Amy Winehouse
Song Year: 2003
Amy Winehouse’s music hearkened back to Motown, and “Amy Amy Amy” has that same feel— old soul music for the old souls.
But it also feels like a response to the Police’s “Don’t Stand So Close to Me” in which a teacher can’t keep his mind from going to taboo places. This song reads like that student’s version of the story.
“If U Seek Amy” by Britney Spears
Song Year: 2009
Not about a person named Amy, “If U Seek Amy” carries a sophomoric pun in its title and lyrics. “If” sounds like the letter F, “U” is the letter U, and “seek” is homophonous to the letter C. Get it? Clever, Britney. And classy. No, really— Shakespeare and Joyce did it first.
“Amy, I” by Jack’s Mannequin
Song Year: 2011
A straight-up song about lost love, “Amy, I” depicts a narrator stuck in a metaphorical winter season. He’s shivering in the wake of the loss of his girl, and his reference to the ice under his feet about to crack tells us that he’s afraid he may not be able to make it through the experience.
He still imagines he sees her around and hears her in the house, but she’s gone.
“Amy's Song” by Switchfoot
Song Year: 1999
Switchfoot occupies a small niche in the rock music world— they’re a band of Christians, but not a Christian band. Think U2 and King’s X. They may sing songs about faith, God, and Christianity, but they don’t sit under the contemporary Christian music umbrella.
“Amy’s Song” tells of a woman whose Christian faith was an inspiration. She’s gone now, but she inspired the narrator to live a better life.
“Amy Hit the Atmosphere” by Counting Crows
Song Year: 1999
Many songs have multiple interpretations, and “Amy Hit the Atmosphere” fits in that category. Adam Duritz sings about a woman who got out of the gutter, the implication being that she was a drug addict.
Where it gets murky is how she got out. Did she overdose and die? Did she get clean? It’s hard to tell, and maybe there’s no answer. The music is wistful enough to be a celebration or a dirge. Either way, it’s a nice listen.
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