There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark
Finally I can see you crystal clear
Go 'head and sell me out and I'll lay your shit bare
See how I'll leave with every piece of you
Don't underestimate the things that I will do
There's a fire starting in my heart
Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark

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 inside of your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

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 'cause mine sure won't be shared

The scars of your love remind me of us (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
They keep me thinking that we almost had it all (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
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 inside of your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could've had it all
Rolling in the deep
You had my heart inside your hand
But you played it with a beating

Throw your soul through every open door
Count your blessings to find what you look for
Turned my sorrow into treasured gold
You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow

(You're gonna wish you never had met me) we could've had it all
We could've had it all (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)
It all, it all, it all (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
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 inside of your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
And you played it to the beat (tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep)

We could've 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 inside your hand (you're gonna wish you never had met me)
But you played it, you played it, you played it, you played it
To the beat


Lyrics submitted by djpalmer93, edited by Mellow_Harsher, Evalane

Rolling In the Deep Lyrics as written by Paul Richard Epworth Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Rolling in the Deep song meanings
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97 Comments

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  • +27
    General Comment

    This is song is like an angry orgasm wrapped in lush golden beauty and pure emotion.

    mister care-too-muchon December 30, 2010   Link
  • +15
    General Comment

    [There's a fire starting in my heart Reaching a fever pitch, it's bringing me out the dark Finally I can see you crystal clear]

    She's been trough a relationship with a sociopath. For her it was like a roller-coaster she didn't really understand, but now that it stopped she has time to reflect on it. And as it dawns to her just how much he manipulated her, anger grows in her heart.

    [Go 'head 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]

    Now that she understands him, she knows how unpredictable he can be and doesn't know what to expect from such a person, but warns him to back off; 'cause she'll knows who he is now, and won't fall for his tricks anymore.

    [The scars of your love remind me of us They keep me thinking that we almost had it all]

    A sociopath typically lures in his bait by being super-nice. He acted as the perfect man, promising a perfect relationship. Once he had her hooked, he slowly and gradually turned into a nightmare. But somehow she still has problems distinguishing who he really is, from the ideal image he posed to be. Or at least, she still associates him with that.

    [The scars of your love they leave me breathless I can't help feeling We could have had it all]

    Even though she sees him "crystal clear" as a fraud now, she is still bitter because she knows that he was perfectly capable of giving her this perfect relationship. However he just choose not to, for whatever sinister reasons he had.

    [Rolling in the deep] I'm not so sure about this part. In my opinion though, it's a reference to the relationship they had. The verb "rolling" associates, getting down and dirty, getting all into it. And that's what they both did. She got down and dirty by naively trusting him and allowing him to "hold her heart in his hand". And he got down and dirty, by indulging his sociopathic games, playing with her feelings out of boredom, without any sense of remorse or guilt or care for her pain. this is

    [You had my heart inside of your hands And you played it To the beat] He controlled her by playing into her needs. The beat means the beat of her heart. He knew the rhythm she swayed by, and manipulated her by this insight. People tend to think that sociopaths manipulate others by fear, intimidation and deterrence. But in fact the most common form of manipulation by sociopaths is playing into people's sense of empathy. He controlled her by controlling her heart, by making her feel guilty and so on...

    [Baby I have no story to be told] I have no desire of making whatever happened between us public (yet).

    [But I've heard one of you And I'm gonna make your head burn] But if you don't back of I'll expose you.

    [Think of me in the depths of your despair Making a home down there 'Cause mine sure won't be shared]

    You'll get what's coming to you, (be it here or in the hereafter) so prepare yourself 'cause I won't bail you out.

    [Throw your soul through every open door Count your blessings to find what you look for] Try to save yourself before it's to late for you.

    [Turned my sorrow into treasured gold You pay me back in kind and reap just what you sow] You enjoyed manipulating for entertainment. But you yet fail to understand just how cold, loveless and meaningless your life is.

    stevedhondton March 07, 2011   Link
  • +13
    General Comment

    I didn't think anything could possibly top 19, but this and Someone Like You are fucking brilliant. This woman is so incredibly talented.

    alabeeon November 22, 2010   Link
  • +6
    My Interpretation

    There's an obvious contrast between the potential of the relationship ("We could have had it all") and the reality of it ("You had my heart inside of your hands / And you played it"). Along those lines, "Rolling in the deep" has a dual meaning, I think: e.g., the depths of passion vs. "depths of your despair".

    My interpretation is that our protagonist has been physically / emotionally abused by her partner: i.e., beat / beating / scars. Hence, the intensity of her rage (e.g., "You're gonna wish you never had met me"), which otherwise seems more intense than just being cheated on. It seems like kind of song Rihanna would sing to Chris Brown.

    blimfarkon March 02, 2011   Link
  • +4
    Lyric Correction

    Instead of "you had my heart and soul", I hear "you had my heart inside your hand"

    Troubleson December 13, 2010   Link
  • +4
    Lyric Correction

    This is my run at the lyrics-

    There’s a fire Starting in my heart Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out 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’ll leave with every piece of you Don’t underestimate the things that I will do

    There’s a fire starting in my heart Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark 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’ve had it all

    Rolling in the deep You had my heart and soul in your hands And you played it to the beat

    Baby I have no story to be told But I’ve heard one of you and I’m gonna make your head burn Think of me in the depths of your despair Make a home down there, is mine sure wont be shared

    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’ve had it all

    Rolling in the deep You had my heart and soul in your hands And you played it to the beat Could've had it all Rolling in the deep You had my heart and soul in your hands But you played it with a beating

    Roll your soul through every open door Count your blessings to find what you look for Turn my sorrow into treasured gold You’ll play me back in-kind and reap just what you've sown

    We could’ve had it all We could’ve had it all It all, it all, it all..

    We could've had it all Rolling in the deep You had my heart and soul in your hands And you played it to the beat

    Could’ve had it all Rolling in the deep You had my heart and soul in your hands But you played it to the beat You played it You played it You played it to the beat

    mjr83on February 03, 2011   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    Adele has to be one of the best things that has happened to this young generation's mostly talentless music in a long time. This girl is only in her young twenties and she's singing with the pain and emotion of someone who's lived a very long and full life. It just goes to show that anyone with the true talent of singing (without having their voice mixed to all hell) has a very special gift. And when you've got it, you've just got it. Adele's definitely got it. I didn't know what Adele would hit us with on her second album, but my expectations have certainly been beyond met. This song, along with the entire 21 album, is absolutely phenomenal.

    After listening to the song and watching the music video (I insist everyone watches it, it's very well done and paints a great image based off the lyrics), this song reminds me of a once beautiful love that has shattered into pieces. I imagine this relationship has gone through destruction, turmoil, heated fights, and plenty of hurt & heartache. She laments the loss of their love and how they could have been something amazing because she loved him deeply ("We could've had it all"), but somehow he's hurt her immensely. And now she's gathering the strength to finally put an end to the madness of their relationship once and for all ("There’s a fire starting in my heart Reaching a fever pitch and it's bringing me out the dark").

    Makes me think of a marriage ending in a bitter divorce. Or perhaps just a long lasting relationship that was once very fulfilling ending in a very unfortunate manner.

    idreamofdiamondson February 09, 2011   Link
  • +3
    My Opinion

    This is such an amazing song. Wow. I love her! Talk about real music.

    HottChocolayton December 05, 2010   Link
  • +3
    Song Comparison

    This song is basic..

    Adele and this dude were involved and he played with her mind and her emotions.. giving her the impression that he was into her seriously which is why she says "We coulda had it all".. meaning the potential for a great relationship was displayed and there but he simply didn't want that outcome..

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

    The opening lines of her song.. show her changing mental mode.."coming out of the dark" implies coming into the light.. so she's seeing the truth now... she's going from heartbroken to full of understanding at his ruse and now she's no longer sad but hardening her heart for revenge.. as evidenced by the next lines

    "Finally, I can see you crystal clear, Go ahead and sell me out and a I'll lay your ship bare, See how I'll leave with every piece of you, Don't underestimate the things that I will do,"

    where she basically says I know what you did and if you think you can try to disparage me after our relationship ends.. go ahead.. i'll destroy you "lay your ship bare"... the last two lines emphasise that she isnt playing.. she's serious.. because she's telling him she doesnt care what she has to do, she will get him back if he tries to go at her..

    "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 inside your hand, (You're gonna wish you never had met me), And you played it to the beat, (Tears are gonna fall, rolling in the deep), "

    in those lines she's basically saying she keeps thinking about what they were and how she still feels that they could have had the perfect relationship.. with the unspoken sentiment being that if he had only tried.. they would have had that perfect relationship.. but that was never in his plan.. so she's resentful of being played like that... he had her heart inside his hand.. meaning he knew exactly what she wanted.. and played with her to make her think he would give it to her.. like a puppet.. she was on his strings.. the background singers give her intent.. as they say "you're gonna wish you never had met me"... and "tears going to fall.. rolling in the deep".. meaning what she has planned for him will sink him deep down in despair.. he's going to be tossed around mentally by the pain she's going to cause him.. like a ship rolling in the deep - deep out at sea.. at the mercy of the waters..

    her next lines "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, Make a home down there as mine sure won't be shared, "

    basically state that she has no dirt to be dug up and distributed but she has found some information on him that will be dispersed to cause him pain "make your head burn".. and when he's messed up from what she'll do.. she hopes that he thinks of her and remembers the pain that he caused her that started the whole thing off in the first place.. and she hopes that he gets comfortable in his pain, and makes his home there as she wont have him in her space any longer- literally he's not going to be in her house and figuretively - her heart and mind...

    then she basically goes on in these lines "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've sown"

    to say that he will look for salvation in one of two ways.. throwing his soul through every open door can imply going to the church to try to find forgiveness or he would try to find the same kind of love by seeking out other women - comparing open doors to open legs and him throwing himself into relationships with these women who unsuspectingly open their hearts and legs to him.... but she's going to turn her sorrow into treasured gold- this alludes to her song writing and career, profitting of her pain.. she is using the pain of the breakup to get her those gold records.. while he will get back just what he gave to her.. just pain..

    so that's basically it.. she's aware now of what he did and is telling him that she will take great pleasure in getting him back and he'd better just swallow it or it will get worse for him...

    icequeentton May 23, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    "We could've had it all."

    That part kills me.

    ilovegingerboyson February 25, 2011   Link

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