After a six-year hiatus, Adele has finally returned with a new song, “Easy On Me.” It’s the first single off the U.K. pop powerhouse’s upcoming fourth album, 30, which is set to be released on November 19. In a post on her Instagram, Adele revealed she began working on 30 almost three years ago but wasn’t emotionally ready to release the project until now. “I feel like I’ve finally found my feeling again,” she wrote. “I’d go as far as to say that I’ve never felt more peaceful in my life. And so, I’m ready to finally put this album out.”
Produced by and co-written with longtime collaborator Greg Kurstin, “Easy On Me” was the first track Adele made for the album. The song addresses Adele’s 2019 divorce from Simon Konecki, with whom she shares a 9-year-old son, Angelo. In an interview with British Vogue, Adele said she wanted the song to serve as an explanation for her son as to why she chose to leave Konecki and split up his family. “I just felt like I wanted to explain to him, through this record, when he’s in his twenties or thirties, who I am and why I voluntarily chose to dismantle his entire life in the pursuit of my own happiness,” Adele said. “It made him really unhappy sometimes. And that’s a real wound for me that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to heal.”
In the first verse, Adele recalls how her marriage fell apart after the two stopped communicating. “I was just going through the motions and I wasn’t happy,” she told Vogue. To invoke that feeling, Adele offers the metaphor of a depleted river.
There ain’t no gold in this river
That I’ve been washin’ my hands in forever
I know there is hope in these waters
But I can’t bring myself to swim
In the chorus, Adele seemingly blames age, in part, for the dissolution of her relationship. The singer gave birth to her son Angelo at age 24 and officially tied the knot with Konecki four years later, in 2016.
Go easy on me, baby
I was still a child
Didn’t get the chance to
Feel the world around me
Despite her best efforts, Adele realizes in the second verse that the relationship is beyond repair.
There ain’t no room for things to change
When we are both so deeply stuck in our ways
You can’t deny how hard I have tried
In the bridge, Adele addresses her son and his hurt directly.
I had good intentions
And the highest hopes
But I know right now
It probably doesn’t even show
“Easy On Me” arrived alongside an emotional black-and-white music video, in which Adele leaves behind a former home.
You can check out all the lyrics to “Easy On Me” on Genius now.
