Adele took the world by storm after announcing the release of her fourth album back in October. After months of twiddling our thumbs, at exactly midnight on November 19th, her album 30 was in the hands of all the Daydreamers in the world. Adele mentioned that the inspiration behind the album was her divorce with Simon Konecki, as well as the challenges she faces with motherhood. Let’s dive into the carefully written song of 30.

“Strangers by Nature” is the first song off the track, making it 30’s opener, as it definitely sets the sorrowful—yet beautiful—feeling for the rest of the album. When being interviewed for Apple Music, she announced that “Strangers by Nature” was written as a letter to herself, in addition to letting the world know she is in the right place again to be vulnerable. Adele told Rolling Stone Magazine that she was ready to give this song away, or have another singer sample it, due to its length.

“Easy on Me” is the lead single off the track. It is the first song she released back on October 15th, after her six-year long hiatus. In Adele’s BBC Radio 1 interview, she revealed that it was the first song she wrote for the album, also intending for it to be the most raw. The song is about her divorce with Simon, and the lessons she learned about being a family. Further after “Easy On Me” was released, the single holds the record for being the most streamed song in 24 hours, with about 24 million streams.

“My Little Love” is the third song off the track, and without a doubt will make you grab a pint of ice cream, sweatpants, and cry while you listen to it. “My Little Love” is about Adele telling her son, Angelo, who she really is outside of their relationship. Adele included voice recordings of her and Angelo throughout and she told Vogue, for her cover story interview, the outro is a recording of a voicemail she sent to her friend.

“Cry Your Heart Out” is the fourth song off the track. It calls for a more reggae feel, giving the song an additional rhythmic and whimsical touch. In an interview with Apple Music, Adele said that the song describes how she felt after her divorce with Simon Konecki, lyrically talking about depression. Along with the title of the song, she is ultimately letting people know that crying your heart out is healthy for recovery.

“Oh My God” is the fifth song off the track. This song in particular is about Adele taking the first step back into the world, after overcoming her depression, but having trouble allowing herself to do so without shame. Adele also points out that this is the first time in her life that she has been single, after becoming famous.

“Can I Get It” is the sixth song off the track, and in all likelihood, the biggest pop production song on the tracklist. “Can I Get It” is about Adele wanting to dive into a real, and passionate, relationship instead of casual dating. In her interview for RollingStone magazine, she said that while living in Los Angeles, she noticed that casual dating is the main scene there. She also said in the interview that casual dating isn’t good for her and she needed to leave Los Angeles. 

“I Drink Wine” is the seventh song off the track. The song is about deflating your ego to finally let someone else love you, as the lyrics say ‘I hope I learn to get over myself’. ‘I Drink Wine’ was one the tracks Adele sang on her CBS special, back in November, before the release of the whole album. People remember how she accomplished it show-stoppingly well.

“All Night Parking” is the eighth song off the track, the interlude, in addition to being the shortest song on the entire tracklist, stopping at 2 minutes and 41 seconds. This song was written about Adele’s success in finding love again, but it being long distanced, and ill-fated from the very beginning. In the Rolling Stone interview, Adele said that she quickly found love again, and thought it was nice to feel loved by someone yet another time, she knew it was never going to work due to the long distance.

“Woman Like Me” is the ninth song off the track. Adele wrote this song when she felt the most angry about her divorce, making it almost sound like a diss song. She not only directs her aversive feelings towards her ex husband, Simon Konecki, but also reflects on what she has learned through all of her hardships.

“Hold On” is the tenth song off the track, known for being an emotional rollercoaster, and including some of Adele’s friends from home as the backup choir. In Adele’s Vogue interview, Adele talked about how she had asked her friends to sing “Just hold on” towards the end of the song. She told the interviewer, “The thing that they’re all singing is what my friends used to say to me. That’s why I wanted them to sing it, rather than an actual choir.”

“To Be Loved” is the eleventh single off the track, tying with “Love is a Game” for being the longest song on the tracklist. Lyrically, the song is simple and beautiful, but portrays such a deep message. Adele wrote the song about the rocky roads in life she came across the past couple of years, and her needing to put the more important things, before anything else. Adele actually sang “To Be Loved” in her own home, only a couple days before the release of the album, 30.

“Love Is A Game” is the twelfth single off the track, concluding the new album, and giving a jazzy, mid century romance ambiance. Interviewer, Giles Hattersley, reported that Adele believes this song should’ve been the song to end the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. But it also expresses the “end” of her chapter, which was the album. Like an epilogue finishing a very emotional and beautiful story.