Winehouse Lyrics Added to Cambridge Exam

Though Amy Winehouse herself would probably be kicked off of a world class campus in under an hour, her lyrics will be a part of one university’s history. Cambridge, one of the world’s oldest universities, is using Winehouse lyrics in a final exam question alongside the words of Bob Dylan, Billie Holiday and Sir Walter Raleigh, NME reported Wednesday.

The question asks students to compare Raleigh’s “As You Came From the Holy Land” to either Dylan’s “Boots of Spanish Leather,” Billie Holiday’s “Fine and Mellow,” or Winehouse’s “Love is a Losing Game.” Extra credit for having a drinking problem was not reported.

It’s somewhat fascinating to me when an element of modern popular culture is elevated to classical status, because it reminds me that the people who produced the classics we were required to read in sophomore English were probably just drunken, crazy wrecking balls themselves when they produced their greatest work. The fact that they sat down and wrote expressive literary content that appealed to people is probably the only thing that distinguishes them from the wasted douche who grabbed your girlfriend’s ass in the bar last night. It’s pretty accepted, especially in music, that the most talented creators are also the most troubled.

That being the case, it’s a relief to know that while entertainment writers like me are having fun making Amy Winehouse look like a slobbering gargoyle who decks Moroccan musicians over pool tables, the world’s academic minds are still taking her seriously. At least until she applies for a scholarship.