Hello, Adele
When Adele was 18 years old, she fell in love with Alex. Alex was
not her first boyfriend, but he was her first serious boyfriend.
Alex was a photographer who was ten years older than Adele. He
showed her photos of beautiful places, and she got interested in traveling.
He talked about books, and she began reading fiction. He read poems to
her, and she began writing poetry. Adele says, “He put me on the road I’m
traveling on.”
Adele and Alex were happy together for one year. Then they began
to argue. Usually they didn’t argue over big things -- they argued over
small things -- but they argued a lot. They were both unhappy, and they
decided to break up.
Six months later, Adele heard that Alex was engaged to someone
else. She was heartbroken. She knew that Alex wasn’t right for her, but
she still loved him. She wrote songs about her feelings. One of those
songs was “Someone Like You.”
During the next four years, Adele didn’t write any songs. She fell in
love with someone else, had a baby boy, and bought a house. Then, when
she turned 25, she began writing songs again.
One of Adele’s new songs was “Hello.” The song is about a woman
who is trying to reconnect with an ex-boyfriend. Is it another song about
Alex?
Adele says it isn’t. A song can mean different things to different
people. For Adele, this song is about trying to reconnect with herself.
Adele says, “When I was 7, I wanted to be 8. When I was 8, I want-
ed to be 12. When I turned 12, I wanted to be 18. I always wanted to be
older. I wanted to be shorter, too. I was 5’9”, but I wanted to be 5’7”. I al-
ways wanted to be someone else.”
Now Adele doesn’t want to be anyone else. She is happy with who
she is--a mother and one of the most successful singers and songwriters
in the world. In the song “Hello,” Adele is saying hello to Adele.
Copyright © 2015 Sandra Heyer. All rights reserved. Permission granted to reproduce for
classroom use.