I Drink Wine (song)

“I Drink Wine”
Song by Adele from the album 30
Length	6:16
Label	Columbia Records
Writer(s)	Adele Adkins, Greg Kurstin
Producer(s)	Greg Kurstin
30 track listing
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“Can I Get It”	“All Night Parking”
Audio

“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. The song’s title was trending worldwide on Twitter following the track list announcement.

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 be released as the album’s third single.

Background and composition

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. 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.

Initially, the title of “I Drink Wine” was a joke, but Adele ultimately decided to keep it. The song was originally 15 minutes long before Adele’s record label asked her to cut it down to six minutes.

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. Adele also sang it during her ITV concert special, An Audience with Adele, and the 2022 BRIT Awards. The latter performance was released as a digital single on February 9, 2022 exclusively through YouTube Music.

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