What does Rolling in the Deep mean?

Adele: Rolling in the Deep Meaning

Album cover for Rolling in the Deep album cover

Song Released: 2010


Rolling in the Deep Lyrics

There's a fire starting in my heart,
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark

Finally, I can see you crystal clear.
Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare.
See how I leave, with every piece of you
Don't...

  1. anonymous
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    Nov 22nd 2011 !⃝

    I think that the women found out that her husband was cheating and kicked him out of the house, she is going to make him pay for breaking her heart and she is empowered by her anger

  2. anonymous
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    Nov 20th 2011 !⃝

    Laying a ship bear goes back to the days of tall ships. When sailing ships engaged in battle, knocking down all of the masts on your enemy's ship "laid it bare". With out your sails you are defeated. The song warns that if you sell me out, I will defeat you

  3. anonymous
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    Nov 11th 2011 !⃝

    as she was really betrayed i see that Adele expressed herself through the way of singing , the music and the direction ... we could see the glasses that are pounding which express anger and furry , the water is by hat she refered "crystal clear " when she has just discovered his bitter reality ... the way she seats on the chair means how she was immobilized and chocked! and of course the general idea is that she promises revenge and that she deeply felt pain to the extent that makes her think abt a hard revenge...
    "we could have had it all and the way the direction concentrates on the a white tidy plan" means that she lived with him a beautiful dream but suddenly he ruined it all that as we see all this paper white plans have been burned and destroyed... in the end the video clip so simply represents itself and says all by a tidy way that is so clear to each one who concentrate well on the video

  4. anonymous
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    Oct 31st 2011 !⃝

    Basically she's sayin>> he got what he wanted and lost what he had!!!! Isnt that wht men often do when they have their eyes set on something but wht they dont realize is...its their instints to chase..straight dogs for real...

  5. anonymous
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    Oct 20th 2011 !⃝

    Adele said this song was abot her reaction to an insult, so basically told her life was going to be borin and rubbish

    its about the heat of the moment :).

  6. anonymous
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    Oct 3rd 2011 !⃝

    I think this song is a REVENGE song to an ex-lover who treated her poorly. (Think Taylor Swift, only better done!)

    First verse
    "There's a fire starting in my heart,
    Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark
    Finally, I can see you crystal clear.
    Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare.
    See how I leave with every piece of you
    Don't underestimate the things that I will do."
    She describes her burning anger at her realization of his true nature, how the anger is pulling her out of her depression and into action. She warns that if he tries to "sell her out" (blab her secrets or tattle in some way) she will "lay his shit bare." (i.e. Rip him to shreds, tell the world what he did, tell all of his secrets). He'll be sorry he ever messed with her - she will go there.

    Second verse
    "Baby I have no story to be told,
    But I've heard one on you and I'm gonna make your head burn.
    Think of me in the depths of your despair.
    Making a home down there, as mine sure won't be shared."
    This verse carries the whole gossip/secrets idea further. She warns him that she doesn't have any secrets or skeletons in the closet, but he does, and she's gonna tell the world. He'll be as miserable as she is, and she tells him to get used to it.

    Third Verse
    "Throw your soul through every open door
    Count your blessings to find what you look for
    Turn my sorrow into treasured gold
    You'll pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow."

    This is the redemption verse. Despite the threats of the first 2 verses, she wants him to redeem himself for the wrongs he did to her by being open to new experiences, counting his blessings, and learning from how he hurt her (i.e. turning her sorrow into gold). If he does that, he'll make up for what he did to her and have a better life, Karma-wise.

    Of course, interspered through these 3 verses is the chorus.
    "The scars of your love, remind me of us.
    They keep me thinking that we almost had it all
    The scars of your love, they leave me breathless
    I can't help feeling...
    We could have had it all... (you're gonna wish you, never had met me)...
    Rolling in the Deep (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
    You had my heart... (you're gonna wish you)... Inside of your hand (Never had met me)
    And you played it... (Tears are gonna fall)... To the beat (Rolling in the deep)

    Adele's lines seem to contradict the vengeful 3 verses by being romantic and reminiscing on their love and how it was perfect until he ruined it by playing with her emotions (playing her heart to the beat = playing her like a fiddle). The background singers, though, carry on the implicit threats of the verses. (i.e. you'll rue the day you ever met me.) I think Adele intended to indicate her vacillating mood toward this ex-lover: one minute threatening, the next minute crying over their lost love.

    As for what "rolling in the deep" means, I think it likely refers to these deep, vacillating, overwhelming emotions. But... I kinda like the idea (albeit remote) that it is a gang reference. "Rolling deep" literally means traveling with multiple gang members to protect you and simultaneously intimidate others, but figuratively it can mean going on the offense to defend yourself, or making a preemptive strike. This revenge song is as gansta' as Adele can get. And it certainly is a preemptive strike against her ex-lover, who she seems to think will try to expose some secrets about her and she decides to beat him at his own game.

  7. anonymous
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    Sep 20th 2011 !⃝

    Her love turned out to be a sociopath...

  8. anonymous
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    Sep 18th 2011 !⃝

    The song "Rolling in the Deep" is about a batshit-crazy, vindictive chick who can't move on from getting kicked to the curb by some guy who decided she was nuts and moved on. She is exactly the batshit-crazy type of chick that you never give your real name or identifying information to because, as she states in the lyrics, she is now coming to "lay [his] ship bare" and spread dirt about him just to be malicious and vindictive.

    The song is a warning to all men about these type of batshit-crazy "Fatal Attraction" type of chicks who think they are "special" and if you get tired of their crap and move on they will still try to make your life miserable so you have to experience their miserable life.

  9. anonymous
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    Sep 17th 2011 !⃝

    Since the first time i heard this beautiful song- i felt that 'rollin in the deep' meant to be 'thick as theives' so 2 speak, very close an inseperable. Also i felt it meant 2 have each other and kno it is true love, loving one another entirely etc. Adele said herself in a Rolling Stones interview that what she meant in this song by 'rollin in the deep' was (an im paraphrasing here)- that it is an adapataion of UK slang, to 'roll deep' wit someone means 2 have each others back.. NO matter WHAT. Perhaps as extreme to take a bullet for them. She had felt that in a previous relationship she had found that person who would be by her side no matter what life had in store.. but she was wrong. At least somethin good came out of it, this song! Adele is a true artist an i love her work.
    As far as the line 'an u played it 2 the beat' i have a somewhat different interpertation that what ive seen here. Im not discounting anyones, there really are some great minds at work here disecting these lyrics! They did a fabulous job an i can agree wit many of them. Anywyas, i feel that when she says 'beat' i put it into context like this. A beat of a heart (or song for that matter) is recurring, it has a plan, is not random, we expect it, we kno its ther. does that make sense? I feel like shes sayin- you played me (an my heart) to the T, u knew what u were doin the whole time. It was an executed plan, you had no confusion as to what u had in mind, an u played that sh*t perfectly to the beat.... i hope that makes sense an hope some will agree so i dont feel like a moron lol. At the very end (or close 2 it i think), she comes out with, 'and u played it..with a beatING'. Here i feel she is jus emphasizing the fact that he played her for a fool since the begging, an he did it HARD, He left her poor heart black an blue. To play someone for a fool is such a cold thing 2 do.

  10. anonymous
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    Sep 2nd 2011 !⃝

    Is it a love song yeah but wat I get from the video close to the end is those building being set on fire like shes saying we couldve had it all but we as americans torched it.
    Rollin in the deep well they do say money is the roat of all evil. So maybe that her way of saying rollin in the doe lol
    And the government has our hearts inside if there hands
    But they play to the beat
    But you played to the beat
    Now when I hear that I think of music vidoes, media,raido
    Stuff we all love
    But we might have to live without those things soon
    Idk just a other way to see it as
    :-)

  11. anonymous
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    Aug 30th 2011 !⃝

    Your song words rythym are truly inspiring and amazing to me. I would like to say bravo to you. I cant hear it enough. Truly makes me think how a man can be so ignorant to the fact that a women can feel so deep. We tell a man constantly how we feel and what we want and still duh!!! what? hey!!! once again. It is so easy. Just listen. We do tell you what makes us tick and what makes us happy.

  12. anonymous
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    Aug 29th 2011 !⃝

    You're all over-complicating it. The song is about a pez that got lost in one of her stomach rolls, when she was on the couch naked.

  13. anonymous
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    Aug 27th 2011 !⃝

    LP is better their cover is great all the people I know say it so it must be true. Some hate Linkin Park. one completely despises Chester's voice but when questioned about Rolling In The Deep, this was the reply:
    I'd rather listen Linkin Park's cover than Adele they suck.
    Oh and if you rate this as poor it just proves your one of the dipshits who listen Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, and those other pop and country morons. Real music is from Linkin Park, Puddle of Mudd, Breaking Benjamin, Coldplay, Oasis, Sum 41,Three Days Grace, Avenged Sevenfold, and Three Doors Down.
    Any Iron Maiden fans I'm sorry LP outdoes them. They are still good though. How this relates to Adele I'll never know I guess I am just pissed cause J.B. fans are dissin Crawling.

  14. anonymous
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    Aug 27th 2011 !⃝

    There's a fire starting in my heart. Reaching a fevered pitch and it's bringin' me out the dark...she is reaching the point that she is moving from sad and broken hearted to angry over the ending of their relationship and this anger is growing. Finally I can see you crystal clear. Go ahead and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare. See how I leave with every piece of you. Don't underestimate the things that I will do. She is realizing that he's a jerk and she is not blaming herself anymore. She's also saying go ahead say it's my fault cause I know the truth and I'll let people know that you are the bad guy here...not me. There is a tone of getting revenge or getting even in this. The Scars of your love remind me of us they keep me thinking that we could of had it all. The scars of your love they leave me breathless they keep me thinking we could of had it all. Rolling in the deep. You had my heart inside of your hands. But you played it to the beat. She is saying that her scars from the relationship still affect her because they run deep. But her love was deeper than his. She gave him her heart and he just played with it to make her think he loved her as much. Baby I have no story to be told. But I heard one on you and I'm gonna make your head burn. Think of me in the depths of your despair. Make a home down there cause mine sure won't be shared. She's saying again go ahead and try to blame me and bad mouth me cause its not true. She knows him and she knows how to get back at him. His head will burn again is her getting back at him by not letting him talk smack about her and like ears burning, she's gonna tell the truth and his whole head will burn. He will suffer because of this (depths of despair). She is saying she is done with him but she won't share her own despair. Throw your soul through every open door. Count your blessing and find what you look for. She's saying go ahead...run around sleeping with everyone you want trying to find what your looking for, but we could have had it all. In the end she is saying that karma will bite him in the ass. That she is moving on but he will end up being the one who lost out and suffers because of it.

  15. anonymous
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    Aug 25th 2011 !⃝

    On a more global love affair instead of her singing to a man she is singing to society, how if we loved each other we could have had it all but now that her eyes are open to the toxins sold in the open she will be strong in her stand,
    :
    Don't underestimate the things I will do.
    There's a fire starting in my heart,
    Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out of the dark.
    Count your blessings to find what you look for





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