Easy On Me – English Lyrics

• By: Adele
• Album: Adele

Lyrics & Translation

Adele's "Easy On Me" offers a deeply personal narrative of heartbreak, healing, and the complexities of life-altering decisions. Through its emotive lyrics and powerful vocals, listeners can explore themes of self-discovery, forgiveness, and the journey toward understanding, making it an excellent song for engaging with English through its relatable and raw emotional content.

[English]

(distant bird squawking)

(footsteps approaching)

(distant bird squawking)

(birds chirping)

(keys jangling)

(door opening)

(door shutting) (insect buzzing)

(foliage rustling)

(phone ringing)

- Oh hey, darling.

You all right?

Yeah, I'm good, yeah, all good.

All done, everything's packed,

I'm just gonna get on the road now, about to leave.

(foliage rustling continues)

Well, hopefully just a couple of hours, but if I'm late,

go ahead and start without me, all good.

I mean, I will but we have bad signal.

I said I probably won't have good signal.

Yes, I can hear you perfectly.

Can you hear me?

Oh, for God's sakes.

(foliage rustling continues)

Here we go again.

(wind gusting)

(door opening)

(mechanism engaging)

(static hissing)

(pensive wistful music)

(vehicle approaching)

(wistful music continues)

♪ There ain't no gold in this river ♪

♪ That I've been washin' my hands in forever ♪

♪ I know there is hope in these waters ♪

♪ But I can't bring myself to swim ♪

♪ When I am drowning in this silence ♪

♪ Baby, let me in ♪

♪ Go easy on me, baby ♪

♪ I was still a child ♪

♪ Didn't get the chance to ♪

♪ Feel the world around me ♪

♪ I had no time to choose ♪

♪ What I chose to do ♪

♪ So go easy on me ♪

♪ There ain't no room for things to change ♪

♪ When we are both so deeply stuck in our ways ♪

♪ You can't deny how hard I have tried ♪

♪ I changed who I was to put you both first ♪

♪ But now I give up ♪

♪ Go easy on me, baby ♪

♪ I was still a child ♪

♪ Didn't get the chance to ♪

♪ Feel the world around me ♪

♪ Had no time to choose ♪

♪ What I chose to do ♪

♪ So go easy ♪

♪ On me ♪

♪ I had good intentions ♪

♪ And the highest hopes ♪

♪ But I know right now ♪

♪ That probably doesn't even show ♪

♪ Go easy on me, baby ♪

♪ I was still a child ♪

♪ I didn't get the chance to ♪

♪ Feel the world around me ♪

♪ I had no time to choose ♪

♪ What I chose to do ♪

♪ So go easy on me ♪

(pensive music continues)

(papers rustling)

(fan whirring)

(Adele and crew laughing)

- Okay, cut. - It's good, is it good?

- [Adele] Cut right now.

(all laughing)

- Yeah, I'm keeping that. - No, you never.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
gold /ɡoʊld/ A1	noun - a yellow precious metal
river /ˈrɪvər/ A1	noun - a large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another such stream
hands /hændz/ A1	noun - the end part of a person's arm beyond the wrist, including the fingers and thumb
hope /hoʊp/ A2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen verb - want something to happen or be the case
waters /ˈwɔːtərz/ A1	noun - the liquid that descends from the clouds as rain, forms streams, lakes, and seas
swim /swɪm/ A1	verb - propel oneself through water by using the limbs
drowning /ˈdraʊnɪŋ/ B1	verb - die through submersion in and inhalation of water
silence /ˈsaɪləns/ B1	noun - complete absence of sound
child /tʃaɪld/ A1	noun - a young human being below the age of puberty or below the legal age of majority
chance /tʃæns/ A2	noun - a possibility of something happening verb - to do something by accident or without planning
world /wɜːld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries, peoples, and natural features
room /ruːm/ A1	noun - space that can be occupied or where something can be done
ways /weɪz/ A2	noun - a method, style, or manner of doing something
hard /hɑːrd/ A2	adjective - solid, firm, and rigid; not easily broken, bent, or pierced
intentions /ɪnˈtɛnʃənz/ B2	noun - a thing intended; an aim or plan
hopes /hoʊps/ A2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen

Key Grammar Structures

• That I've been washin' my hands in forever

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous with 'for'

  ➔ The "Present Perfect Continuous" (I've been washin') emphasizes the duration of an action that started in the past and continues to the present. "For" specifies the length of time the action has been occurring, "forever" is used hyperbolically here.

• I know there is hope in these waters

  ➔ Existential 'there is'

  ➔ The structure "there is" indicates the existence or presence of something. In this case, it introduces the idea that hope exists in the metaphorical "waters."

• But I can't bring myself to swim

  ➔ 'Bring oneself to do something'

  ➔ The idiom "bring myself to do something" means to force or persuade oneself to do something that one finds difficult or unpleasant. It implies a lack of willingness or motivation.

• When I am drowning in this silence

  ➔ Present Continuous for describing a figurative state

  ➔ The "Present Continuous" ("am drowning") is used here not for a literal action, but to describe a figurative state of being overwhelmed by silence. This usage emphasizes the feeling of being suffocated or consumed by the silence.

• Didn't get the chance to feel the world around me

  ➔ 'Get the chance to' + infinitive

  ➔ The phrase "get the chance to" indicates an opportunity to do something. The negation "didn't get the chance to" emphasizes the *lack* of opportunity.

• There ain't no room for things to change

  ➔ Double Negative (non-standard English) and 'for' + noun + 'to' + infinitive

  ➔ "Ain't no" is a double negative and grammatically incorrect in standard English, but used for emphasis in informal speech/song. The structure "for things to change" indicates purpose or possibility. The whole sentence literally means 'there isn't any room for things to change'

• When we are both so deeply stuck in our ways

  ➔ Adverb of degree 'so' + adjective, 'stuck in one's ways'

  ➔ 'So' intensifies the adjective 'deeply'. "Stuck in our ways" is an idiom meaning to be resistant to change, clinging to habits or routines.

• You can't deny how hard I have tried

  ➔ Embedded question with 'how' and Present Perfect

  ➔ The phrase "how hard I have tried" functions as a noun clause, acting as the object of the verb "deny." The "Present Perfect" (have tried) emphasizes the speaker's efforts throughout a period up to the present.

• I changed who I was to put you both first

  ➔ Relative clause with 'who' and infinitive of purpose 'to put'

  ➔ 'Who I was' functions as a noun clause, specifying what was changed. The infinitive phrase "to put you both first" expresses the purpose or reason for the change.