I Drink Wine (song)

“I Drink Wine”
Single by Adele from the album 30
Released	October 26, 2022
Length	6:16
Label	Columbia Records
Writer(s)	Adele Adkins, Greg Kurstin
Producer(s)	Greg Kurstin
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“I Drink Wine” is a song by British singer-songwriter Adele, taken from her fourth studio album, 30. The song was written by Adele with Greg Kurstin and serves as the seventh track on the album. Its title was confirmed on November 1, 2021, when the album’s track listing was revealed online. A piano ballad with gospel influences, “I Drink Wine” is reminiscent of church music and incorporates a piano and organ in its instrumentation. The song is about letting go of one’s ego and addresses Adele’s divorce from Simon Konecki, comprising arduous realizations about the condition of her marriage and life.

“I Drink Wine” received generally positive reviews from music critics, some of whom viewed it as one of Adele’s best songs and a career highlight. The song’s production and lyrics were also the subject of commentary. It reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Sweden, and entered the charts in various other countries.

Adele considered releasing “I Drink Wine” as the lead single from 30, but ultimately opted to release “Easy On Me” instead. It was intended to be the album’s second single, but was again scrapped in favor of “Oh My God.” Shortly after the release of the album, Adele revealed that a music video was filmed for “I Drink Wine,” prompting speculation that it would be released as the album’s third single. A live version from the BRIT Awards was released as a digital promotional single through YouTube Music on February 9, 2022. The video for “I Drink Wine” was released on October 26, 2022, with the song being sent to radio stations the same day.

Background

Adele first discussed “I Drink Wine” in an interview with Rolling Stone for their December 2021 issue. “I took everything so personally at that period of time in my life,” she said of the time in her life immediately following her divorce from Simon Konecki, “so the lyric ‘I hope I learn to get over myself’ is like [me saying], ‘Once I’ve done that, then maybe I can let you love me.’ ” It was written for Adele and one of her friends, with many of the lyrics focusing on Adele’s desire to be more present in the friendship.

Title

Initially, the title of “I Drink Wine” was a joke, but Adele ultimately decided to keep it. The song’s title was trending worldwide on Twitter following the track list announcement.

Composition

“I Drink Wine” was produced and engineered by Greg Kurstin, who also co-wrote the song with Adele. Kurstin plays the bass, mellotron, piano, Hammond organ, percussion, keyboards and electric piano on the studio recording of the song, while David Campbell plays the strings. Described as a song about “shedding one’s ego,” “I Drink Wine” drew inspiration from the work of Elton John and Bernie Taupin in the 1970s, as well as that of Barry Manilow.

“The reason why I feel like it’s an integral part of the record is because it’s the beginning of me starting to really dig deep in myself and ask myself real questions and be able to focus my energy a little bit more,” Adele said of “I Drink Wine,” which was largely influenced by her struggles with anxiety in the wake of her divorce. “That song is basically like 50 questions I’m asking myself. It felt like it was the beginning of me coming out.”

According to Rolling Stone, Adele channeled different characters into her recordings for the song’s background vocals, which she said “made it less intimidating, because some of the things I’m talking about really hit home for a lot of people.” The voice note that appears at the end of the song was included at the suggestion of Adele’s friend Jedidiah Jenkins, who told her to start recording her moments of self-doubt. This concept is also explored earlier in the album on “My Little Love,” which includes voice notes from both Adele and her son Angelo.

The song was originally 15 minutes long before Adele’s record label asked her to cut it down to six minutes.

Release and promotion

Initially, “I Drink Wine” was one of three songs — alongside “Easy On Me” and presumably “Oh My God” — that was considered for the album’s lead single, before Adele decided on “Easy On Me.” It was expected to be released as the album’s second single, but was replaced by “Oh My God.” However, in December 2021, Adele confirmed that a music video for “I Drink Wine” had already been shot, prompting speculation that it would eventually be released as the album’s third single. Shortly after the release of “Oh My God,” Adele announced the postponement of her Las Vegas residency, effectively halting any subsequent promotional plans for 30.

A September 2022 interview with Elle alluded to “at least one unreleased music video for 30 in the queue,” furthering conjecture that the “I Drink Wine” video may still be released. The following month, Adele Access began teasing the video’s release on Twitter. Several fans were invited via social media to attend the video’s official premiere on October 25 in Los Angeles, where Adele herself appeared to introduce the video and answer questions from fans. Shortly thereafter, the release for both the video and single were confirmed for the following day. A widespread single release for the song was set for November 4, 2022.

The video was directed by Joe Talbot, who Adele was inspired to work with after watching his directorial debut, The Last Black Man in San Francisco. It features Adele floating down a river in a gold Valentino dress while drinking a glass of wine. A shot from the video featuring Adele holding a glass of wine was used as the artwork for the song’s single release.

Live performances

The artwork for the live version of “I Drink Wine,” taken from the 2022 Brits.

“I Drink Wine” was performed live for the first time during the taping of Adele’s CBS special, Adele One Night Only. She also performed it for her ITV concert special, An Audience with Adele, and at the 2022 BRIT Awards; during the latter performance, she wore the same Valentino dress that she wore in the song’s then-unreleased music video. This performance was subsequently released as a digital single on February 9, 2022 exclusively through YouTube Music. “I Drink Wine” was later included in the setlist for both of Adele’s headlining shows at BST Hyde Park in July 2022.

Lyrics

How can one become so bounded by choices that somebody else makes? How come we both become a version of a person we don't even like? We’re in love with the world but the world just wants to bring us down By putting ideals in our heads to corrupt our hearts somehow When I was a child every single thing could blow my mind Soaking it all up for fun but now I only soak up wine They say to play hard, you work hard, find balance in the sacrifice And yet I don’t know anybody who’s truly satisfied You better believe I’m trying (trying, trying) To keep climbing (climbing, climbing) But the higher we climb feels like we’re both none the wiser So I hope I learn to get over myself Stop trying to be somebody else So we can love each other for free Everybody wants something, you just want me Why am I obsessing about the things I can’t control? Why am I seeking approval from people I don't even know? In these crazy times I hope to find something I can cling onto ‘Cause I need some substance in my life, something real, something that feels true You better believe for you I’ve cried (I’ve cried, I’ve cried) High tides (high tides, high tides) Want you so bad, but you can’t fight fire with fire Oh-oh, oh-oh I hope I learn to get over myself Stop trying to be somebody else Oh, I just want to love you, love you for free ‘Cause everybody wants something from me, you just want me Listen, I know how low I can go, I give as good as I get You get the brunt of it all ‘cause you're all I’ve got left I hope in time (hope in time) we both will find (we’ll both find) peace of mind Sometimes the road less traveled is the road best left behind So I hope I learn to get over myself Stop trying to be somebody else Oh, I just want to love you, love you for free, yeah ‘Cause everybody wants something from me, you just want me You better believe I’m trying (trying, trying) To keep climbing (climbing, climbing) But the higher we climb feels like we're both none the wiser