“Turn my sorrow into treasured gold”, Adele crooned in 2010. Little did anyone know, her sorrow would end up becoming one of the greatest hits of all time.
In 2010, Adele was finishing up her sophomore record 21, coming off the back of two Grammy wins, including Best New Artist. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Adele was also experiencing a rough breakup at the time. Her feelings towards the breakup and her ex-beau would be forever immortalized in music history as 21 would go on to become the best-selling album of the 21st century, topping out at just over 31 million copies sold.
In an era of high-budget, high-concept, dance floor-ready dance pop, a soul-centric torch song like Rolling in the Deep was, in hindsight, bound to be somewhat left-of-center compared to the mainstream, but it had what it takes to succeed: a great hook, a catchy melody, Paul Epworth’s immaculate production, and most importantly of all, Adele’s absolutely sensational vocal performance throughout the song, from the start to the end. Also noteworthy is the backup singing from the first chorus onwards, which functions as a bit of a call-and-response in tandem with Adele’s unrelenting lead vocal.
She recounts in her biography the time she met Epworth in the leadup to recording the song:
[Adele’s] initial reaction – thinking of his overwhelmingly indie credentials – had been: “Well, this ain’t going to work. But I thought I’d go and get a bit drunk with him, and so we went to the pub.” Luckily they hit it off, and Adele changed her mind.
-Caroline Sanderson, Someone Like Adele, Omnibus Press
What they recorded was lightning in a bottle; Adele was filled with so much passion and rage that the first demo recording wound up being the final version on the single.
Memorable as the whole song is, there’s one passage in particular which really ties the whole song together in a neat, scornful bow, appearing in the final verse:
“Turn my sorrow into treasured gold,
You’ll pay me back in time and reap just what you sow”
That couplet would turn out to be far more prophetic than anyone, even Adele, could’ve ever imagined. “Rolling in the Deep” was rewarded with plenty of gold, including the brass golden Grammy Award for both Record of the Year and Song of the Year. As for sales certifications, Adele was repaid not in gold, but in platinum. Dozens and dozens of platinum certifications from music associations the world over, totalling over 20 million sales, making “Rolling in the Deep” one of the highest-selling singles of all time. All of this from a scornful songstress and her willing accomplice in Epworth.
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