As someone who doesn’t always love an album’s single, the beauty of “Easy On Me” made me so excited for 30 by Adele, except I’m sad to say I was a bit disappointed by the entirety of it. And that doesn’t mean it’s a bad thing, but it simply means it’s not the album for me. (Which is a bummer considering I turned 30 this year, and the album could’ve hit much harder than it did.)
While the vocals in 30 by Adele are undoubtedly impressive, the lyrics in certain songs don’t pack the punch I was hoping for. Still, I loved enough of it to at least highlight the parts that are a success.
“Strangers by Nature,” “My Little Love,” “Woman Like Me,” “Love is a Game,” “Can I Get It,” and “Hold On” stand out brilliantly alone with “Easy On Me.” Lyrically remarkable and vocally unbeatable, the songs capture lessons learned, and moments lived with the kind of brilliance only Adele can master.
It takes listeners through heartbreaks they might not have experienced while still making us feel every ounce of the emotions Adele lived through. Whether my favorite songs differ from yours, the truth remains, Adele can really do no wrong. Where “Easy On Me” is my obvious favorite still, “Woman Like Me” is climbing up the ladder quickly.
The lyrics for “Easy On Me” still own me, and I’m almost glad I haven’t written about it yet because I could take up the opportunity to do it now.
I know there is hope in these waters
“Easy On Me” in 30 by Adele
But I can’t bring myself to swim
When I am drownin’ in the silence
I mean…oof, it packs just as much as Wanda Maximoff’s “It’s just like this wave washing over me again and again. It knocks me down and when I try to stand up, it just comes for me again.” Because that’s it—that’s pretty much the essence of the last two years for all of us. The emotional pain so many of us experienced. The exhaustion we feel so deeply, the feelings we can’t put into words, the energy we feel draining from us. Those dark nights when it feels like we might actually choke because of how hard we’re crying—so many of us have been there. and yet, we’re still here. We couldn’t bring ourselves to swim, but the waves haven’t knocked us.
The experiences are dark and dreary, and they might not be over yet, but if we’re surrounded by gentle spirits guiding us through, words to help us cope, fiction, music, whatever it may be—we’ll make it out of the waters. The waves won’t last forever, but our strength will endure.
That’s 30 by Adele in a nutshell. It’s endurance, it’s a love letter to survival, it’s coming out of the waters, and it’s deliverance.
Listen to 30 by Adele below, and let us know which tracks are your favorite!