When We Were Young

In "When We Were Young", Adele worked with songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. and producer Ariel Rechtshaid on the “70s styled shimmery disco ballad”, “When We Were Young”. The second single from her album 25. She indicated in her Rolling Stone feature that the Elton John inspired ballad was her favorite on 25. The piano used on the recording belonged to iconic minimalist composer Philip Glass. The piano is in Jesso’s grandmother’s house. Adele explained: “It used to be this mad party house and for some reason (Glass’s) piano was there so we wrote the song on that". In a town hall interview for SiriusXM’s The Spectrum, Adele described the setting of “When We Were Young” as a party with old friends and acquaintances, with “everyone that you’ve ever fallen out with, everyone that you’ve ever loved, everyone that you’ve never loved…And you’re all thrown together at this party when you’re like 50, and it doesn’t matter and you have so much fun and you feel like you’re 15 again.”

[Verse 1] Everybody loves the things you do From the way you talk to the way you move Everybody here is watching you 'Cause you feel like home, you're like a dream come true But, if by chance, you're here alone Can I have a moment before I go? 'Cause I've been by myself all night long Hoping you're someone I used to know [Pre-Chorus] You look like a movie, you sound like a song My God, this reminds me of when we were young [Chorus] Let me photograph you in this light in case it is the last time That we might be exactly like we were before we realised We were sad of getting old, it made us restless It was just like a movie, it was just like a song [Verse 2] I was so scared to face my fears Nobody told me that you'd be here And I swear you'd moved overseas That's what you said when you left me [Pre-Chorus] You still look like a movie, you still sound like a song My God, this reminds me of when we were young [Chorus] Let me photograph you in this light in case it is the last time That we might be exactly like we were before we realised We were sad of getting old, it made us restless It was just like a movie, it was just like a song [Post-Chorus] (When we were young) (When we were young) (When we were young) (When we were young) [Bridge] It's hard to admit that (When we were young) Everything just takes me back (When we were young) To when you were there (When we were young) To when you were there And a part of me keeps holding on (When we were young) Just in case it hasn't gone (When we were young) I guess I still care (When we were young) Do you still care? [Break] It was just like a movie, it was just like a song My God, this reminds me of when we were young (When we were young) (When we were young) (When we were young) (When we were young) [Chorus] Let me photograph you in this light in case it is the last time (When we were young, when we were young) That we might be exactly like we were before we realised (When we were young, when we were young) We were sad of getting old, it made us restless (When we were young, when we were young) Oh, I'm so mad I'm getting old, it makes me reckless (When we were young, when we were young) It was just like a movie, it was just like a song When we were young