In the lead-up to Adele’s brand-new album 30, one of the songs that fans were most excited about was “I Drink Wine.” It’s a wonderfully direct and evocative title—especially given the LP’s themes of heartbreak and divorce—but the song actually isn’t about self-medicating. Not strictly, anyway.
Adele wrote the song with producer Greg Kurstin and premiered it last Sunday on her CBS special Adele: One Night Only. Brittany Spanos, who profiled Adele for Rolling Stone earlier this month, says the song is about “shedding one’s ego.” In the opening verse, Adele complains about how the pressures of the world can turn us into people we barely recognize. She also mentions wine for the first and only time in the song.
When I was a child, every single thing could blow my mind
Soaking it all up for fun, but now I only soak up wine
They say to play hard, you work hard, find balance in the sacrifice
And yet I don’t know anybody who’s truly satisfied
Then comes the chorus, where Adele puts some of the responsibility on herself.
So I hope I learn to get over myself
Stop tryin’ to be somebody else
“I took everything so personally at that period of time in my life,” Adele told Rolling Stone, “so the lyric ‘I hope I learn to get over myself’ is like [me saying] ‘Once I’ve done that, then maybe I can let you love me.’”
Moving into the second verse, Adele continues to question her own response to external stressors.
Why am I obsessin’ about the things I can’t control?
Why am I seekin’ approval from people I don’t even know?
In the pre-chorus, Adele offers a bit of levity in the form of sassy, ’60s-inspired background vocals.
You better believe for you, I’ve cried (I’ve cried, I’ve cried)
High tides (High tides, high tides)
’Cause I want you so bad, but you can’t fight fire with fire, oh
“It made it less intimidating,” Adele said of the backup vocals. “Because some of the things I’m talking about really hit home for a lot of people.”
You can check out all the lyrics to “I Drink Wine” on Genius now.
