Released: 2011
Pop queen Adele delivers a roller-coaster of emotions with her melancholic anthem “Someone Like You.” The song is like a heartfelt open letter to a past love, probing into the realm of love, loss, nostalgia, and moving on.
She kicks off with “I heard that you’re settled down, that you found a girl and you’re married now”, setting the stage for a narrative of lost love. This ain’t no joyous serenade; Adele’s singing about the bittersweet feels when you learn that your ex has moved on. “Old friend, why are you so shy?”, she asks. This shy talks to a timeline, a hint at the distance that now exists where there once was intimacy.
“I hate to turn up out of the blue, uninvited, but I couldn’t stay away, I couldn’t fight it.” This isn’t a real reunion; Adele’s not knocking on doors. She’s dishing out her emotional tug-of-war, her longing versus her rationale. The words “uninvited” and “couldn’t fight it” hit home the fact – you can’t control when the past comes knocking.
Her chorus, “Never mind, I’ll find someone like you, I wish nothing but the best for you, too,” is iconic. She’s letting him know that, even though she’s hurting and hoping to find another like him, she’s also well-meaning. “Someone like you” underscores both her wish to replicate the love she lost and the daunting task she faces to find a similar bond.
Adele then takes us back to the “time of our lives” before pivoting back to the chorus, emphasizing her resolve to let go. This cycle of remembering and moving on reflects the very nature of heartbreak.
Nothing compares, no worries or cares, regrets and mistakes, they’re memories made – here Adele is acknowledging that what happened, happened. Mistakes aren’t just baggage, they’re lessons learned. “Who would have known how bittersweet this would taste?” – Adele’s surprise at her own emotional response is brutally honest.
By repeating the chorus, Adele hammers home her resilience. Yet, her vulnerability shines through in her plea, “Don’t forget me, I beg”. She’s assertive with her “I’ll find someone like you,” but there’s a plea, a hope, that she’s not just a forgotten chapter.
She ends with the refrain, “Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead,” a gut punch that illustrates love’s beautiful complexity – it can either be the most incredible feeling or the most hurtful one.
“Someone like You” is Adele at her finest – raw, genuine and unapologetically emotional. Its universal appeal lies in its relatability. Love’s a bumpy ride, and sometimes you need a soundtrack to your heartbreak. And that’s what Adele delivers, in spades!
