Adele Writer(s) Adele, Dan Wilson Producer(s) Rick Rubin Length 4:03 21 track listing "Turning Tables" "Set Fire to the Rain" This box: view • talk

"Don't You Remember" is the fourth track from Adele's second studio album, 21. It was written by Adele and Dan Wilson. It was produced by Rick Rubin, who produced several songs on the album. "Don't You Remember" was originally planned to be the first track on 21 rather than the fourth, replacing "Rolling in the Deep" as the first track on the album. ^[1]

BackgroundEdit

The song is viewed as a more country-style ballad, and was added to the album late when a more contemplative Adele (who had been struggling with her emotions toward her ex-boyfriend who inspired most of the songs on the album) became increasingly aware of how her bitterness towards the break-up negatively coloured her perception of her former lover. In an interview, the singer stated, "I managed to step out of the bitter mode that I was in when I was writing the record and I suddenly got really ashamed and disgusted with the manner that I was portraying someone who was really important to me... and I felt really childish that I had made him out to be a complete twat." ^[2] Adele added that it was "just trying to remember why you loved someone in the first place." ^[3]

The song is an admission of her own shortcomings ("I know I have a fickle heart/And a bitterness/And a wandering eye/And a heaviness in my head"), as well as a plea to her ex-spouse to remember why he initially fell in love with her. She has also stated that the song is also about wondering if her ex-lover felt bad about why he dumped her, and she said that her feelings toward her lover were important, because she would begin to lose it if he did not text her back within 10 seconds. (She had laughed after saying this.) She has also stated that sometimes when she hears the song, it is like discovering music for the first time. ^[4]

Adele later explained the song's meaning to The Sun:

During the writing of the song, the Lady Antebellum song "Need You Now" was all over the radio and exposed Adele to more country music (originally being exposed to the genre by her tour bus driver). The song, which she later covered with Darius Rucker and included on the deluxe edition of 21, inspired her to write "Don't You Remember" in a lot of ways. When she was interviewed about the song and the inspiration behind it, Adele said:

CompositionEdit

"Don't You Remember" was written in the key of E♭ Major, according to Musicnotes.com. ^[7] It follows a basic chord progression of E♭ - A♭ - C - E♭ in the verses and E♭ - E♭ - A♭ - F - B♭ - E♭ - A♭ - E♭ - E♭ - A♭ - F - B♭ - E♭. It ends in a key change to B♭ Major for the bridge and final chorus. ^[8][9]

Live performancesEdit

Adele performed this song on May 3 at Jools Holland along with the tracks "Rolling in the Deep", "Set Fire to the Rain" and "Take It All". The song was also included on Adele's second tour, Adele Live, in order to promote 21. ^[2] A live performance of the song from the Adele Live tour was included on her live DVD / CD, Live at the Royal Albert Hall. A live / acoustic version from her performance at Largo was included in the Target deluxe edition of 21, along with live / acoustic versions of "Someone Like You" and "Turning Tables" and a live performance of "Need You Now" with Darius Rucker.

LyricsEdit

ReferencesEdit

1. ↑ http://www.adele.tv/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=39161&start=110
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/21_(Adele_album)
3. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKAQ4baruqc
4. ↑ http://www.adele.tv/trackbytrack/archive/
5. ↑ http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=21902
6. ↑ http://www.cmt.com/news/country-music/1657301/adele-inspired-by-lady-antebellums-need-you-now.jhtml
7. ↑ http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0091335
8. ↑ http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/a/adele/dont_you_remember_crd.htm
9. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqvSqeqORXo