2021 is the year of music’s resurrection after being trampled by the pandemic throughout 2020. To prove this, even Adele is coming back with new music, and this is her first music since 2015. Adele teased a snippet of the “Easy On Me” single and music video, which, by the looks of it, is going to be a heartbreak anthem.
Adele has released three studio albums so far, titled in correspondence with her age at the time of each albums’ composition. As such, her 2021 album is going to be titled ’30,’ although the singer turns 33 this year. This tells us that Adele’s new album has been years in the making behind the scenes. Her last album, ’25’ spawned her most iconic song “Hello.”
In an interview with Vogue magazine, Adele explained her feelings about the new album; “It’s sensitive for me, this record, just in how much I love it. always say that 21 doesn’t belong to me anymore. Everyone else took it into their hearts so much. I’m not letting go of this one. This is my album. I want to share myself with everyone, but I don’t think I’ll ever let this one go.”
Adele teased a snippet of “Easy On Me” and its music video on October 5, 2021, only ten days ahead of the release. In the snippet, we see Adele inserting a cassette into her car’s cassette player, turning the volume up, and cruising through a country road. From the backseat of her car flies off music note sheets, and Adele has no care in the world for those. She nonchalantly runs her hand through the passing wind around the car. The music of the song seems to be piano-heavy.
In an interview with Vogue magazine, Adele revealed the chorus of the song;
“Go easy on me baby
I was still a child
Didn’t get the chance to
Feel the world around me.”
Listen to “Easy On Me” by Adele
Buy “Easy On Me” Single on Apple Music & Amazon
Adele “Easy On Me” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Verse 1
In the first verse of the song, Adele compares her crumbling relationship to a river. She says she cannot find more gold in this river anymore. What once used to be her everything — her source of life, joy, and the most precious thing in the world, now has turned into something that consumes her.
I know there is hope in these waters
But I can’t bring myself to swim
When I am drownin’ in the silence
Instead of swimming in these waters, Adele drowns. It is not that she cannot swim, but rather she cannot make herself want to swim in these waters anymore. What kept her afloat in these waters is weighing her down now. The relationship is not what it used to be.
The song could very well be referring to Adele’s divorce from her ex-husband Simon Konecki. The legal proceedings were finalized early in 2021, although the divorce filings were made as early as 2019. The court rulings finalized with joint custody of their 9-year-old son.
In the lyrics of the song, however, Adele tries to remain hopeful. She says there is life in these waters still. But the river has to slow down for her to be able to float. If her husband kept on shutting her out, the relationship was not going to live.
Verse 2
In these lyrics, Adele says that she tried to change her ways to make things work with her husband for the sake of their child. But they were both deeply stuck in their own ways and it sounds as if he did not want to meet her halfway. She did the best she could to change her ways. She did change a lot. But it was not enough. She gave up on what made her happy for the happiness of her husband and her child. But it was not enough.
I changed who I was to put you both first
But now I give up
There is so much a person can change before they start to break. Adele quit before that. It was getting to the point that any more effort was not simply worth it.
Adele certainly feels guilty about the effect of their divorce on her son. In the same interview with Vogue magazine, Adele explained that her ’30’ album was going to be about explaining her divorce to her 9-year-old.
Chorus
In the hook of the song, Adele seems to address her son. She asks him to go easy on her for taking the decision to split from his father. It will definitely complicate things for the child and rob him of the opportunity to grow between the love of both his parents under one roof. For this, Adele is sorry. But there certainly are limits to what and how much one can sacrifice.
Bridge
In the bridge of the song, Adele explains that she had the best intentions for all her family members and herself. Maybe forcing themselves to live in this shamble of a relationship would be more damaging to everyone than getting divorced. Maybe loving their son from afar is the best of a worse situation. But Adele recognizes that no matter how hard she tried or what good intentions she had, there still is a chance that she turns out to be the ‘bad guy’ in this whole scenario. The public only sees the divorce. They do not see the struggles and the efforts to make it work. Adele won’t be surprised if the blame for the failure of her marriage falls on her! Society loves to do that.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics on Genius.