Adele just released her new album, 25, and the world is obsessed. Each track is an emotionally loaded powerhouse of feels. She had us at Hello, and kept us with:
1. Send My Love (To Your New Lover)
This more upbeat tune helps us move on from a relationship, wishing our ex nothing but the best and reminding us that we’re adults, we should act like them (sometimes). A great song to listen to if you need a reminder it’s okay to let go, and that people will move on. We can only look forward, so we might as well leave the past on a good note when we can.
2. I Miss You
“I Miss You” is all about being so caught up with someone that you miss them even when they’re still with you. It’s an intense love, and even if the person is still there, once the lights go out you feel like you’re already apart. For those of us who have been in a relationship like this, it brings up all the feels about distance and never feeling like there’s enough time with that special someone.
3. When We Were Young
This song is rumored to be about Adele reconnecting with her father, but regardless of who it is about, it definitely reveals a lot of caution, pain, reminiscence, and cherishing the good times. It’s sad because it insinutates that things aren’t currently as good as they once were, but it allows us a glimpse into the past, recalling good times with friends, loved ones, family, whoever we may have lost a connection with, and lets us relive those happier times, remembering “When We Were Young.”
4. Remedy
This song is for someone you really care about - for Adele, it’s about her child, but it could be your sibling, best friend, romantic partner, whoever. It promises to swim any ocean, and provide shelter to the loved one who needs it, and whenever we may fail or feel foolish, the “Remedy” in our lives will be sure to make us feel better.
5. Water Under The Bridge
This song is probably the one that I identify most with. It might be because when I took the BuzzFeed quiz, “Which New Adele Song Are You?,” my answer was this song, but regardless, the message rings true to me. It explores the confusion that comes with relationships, and how she can’t seem to understand how people could seem “meant to be,” and then drift apart. This is unfortunately something a lot of us encounter in life, but it helps to have a song to cry along to about it.
6. River Lea
Here, Adele references wanting to move on, but this element of her past, the “River Lea,” is in her roots and she carries it with her. This is much like how we all have past experiences that may impact or taint future choices or relationships that we have. It’s hard to let go, and it’s difficult to remember things about our past we wish we could let go. So Adele, we’re with you here. We all have our own River Lea.
7. Love In The Dark
There are many songs out there about the sadness and difficulty of being dumped, but this is actually a song about the difficulty of breaking up with someone else. Adele is really struggling here because this guy has been so good to her, but she just knows it’s not meant to be. It’s important to keep others happy, but first and foremost, our own happiness is top priority. As Adele perfectly puts it, “I want to live and not just survive.”
8. Million Years Ago
Keeping in similar theme with “River Lea,” “When We Were Young,” and “Water Under The Bridge,” this is another song that reminisces about the past and also brings up regrets. It reminds us that life changes, and the past is the past for a reason, and we must learn to cherish it for what it was, but be able to move on when the time comes. What we must try to do when looking back is not see all that we did wrong, or did not accomplish, but rather see how we have grown and what we made of ourselves.
9. All I Ask
This is another one where Adele hits almost too close to home. What if I never love again? When a relationship ends, part of the difficulty we have with letting go is the nagging question in our minds, will we ever find another one to make us happy, to love us? Adele needs to be held “like more than just a friend” one last time, just in case she never has that feeling again. Completely understandable, Adele.
10. Sweetest Devotion
To end it happily, Adele sings about finding the one who makes her happy. She may not have been ready for this relationship and commitment in the past, but now she is ready to explore this new, happy chapter with the one she loves. This “Sweetest Devotion” is something she feels suddenly, as it “hit [her] like an explosion.” Sometimes, we can’t find love until we stop looking, and it finds us. I think that’s a great message for those of us who are ready to give up hope.
Adele, you’ve taken the world by storm with 25. Thanks for giving us beautiful, beautiful music to cry to, whether we’re going through a breakup, need hope about the future, or are struggling to let go of our past. I already can’t wait for the next set of masterpieces you create, but in the meantime, I’ll be blasting 25 on repeat, keeping a box of tissues on standby the whole time.