Textual Analysis 2

Genre: Soul


Adele - Hometown Glory Lyrics
I’ve been walking in the same way as I did
Missing out the cracks in the pavement
And tutting my heel and strutting my feet
“Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I can call?”
“No and thank you, please Madam. I ain’t lost, just wandering”

Round my hometown
Memories are fresh
Round my hometown
Ooh the people I’ve met
Are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of this world
Are the wonders of my world

I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque
I love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades
I like it in the city when two worlds collide
You get the people and the government
Everybody taking different sides

Shows that we ain’t gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united
Shows that we ain’t gonna take it
Shows that we ain’t gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united

Round my hometown
Memories are fresh
Round my hometown
Ooh the people I’ve met

Are the wonders of my world

Are the wonders of my world

Are the wonders of this world

Are the wonders of my world

Of my world

Yeah

Of my world

Of my world

Yeah


Analysis of the lyrics 

Hometown Glory, is a love song directed towards Adele’s' (and my own) hometown. Reminiscent of Wordsworths "Upon Westminster Bridge", she addresses the city as a living, breathing place.

I’ve been walking in the same way as I did
Missing out the cracks in the pavement
And tutting my heel and strutting my feet

There is something to do with 7/7 in this. The first 2 lines, missing out the cracks is saying that London is defiant in the face of things that try to set it back. Just ignoring them sort of and getting on with it. It's really about being defiant and positive in the face of adversity and appreciating people and the good things in life.

“Is there anything I can do for you dear? Is there anyone I can call?”
“No and thank you, please Madam. I ain’t lost, just wandering”

You can feel at home in a place simply remembering all the people you've made connections with there. Not many people take the time to remember and appreciate these things, perhaps that is why the "Madam" at the beginning asks if she is lost because she is "just wandering" and remembering.

Round my hometown
Memories are fresh

This song is about appreciating all that is real and wonderful in the world, starting with the people. People are very diverse so connections we make with the people we meet, and human interactions in general are intriguing.

Round my hometown
Ooh the people I’ve met

She looks at the city not in terms of location or geography, but rather the people she cares about and the memories she has.

Are the wonders of my world
Are the wonders of my world

Regardless of where she's specifically singing about, it's a song that resonates to anyone's hometown. People who love their hometown do so not just because they were born there, but because of the people. Those people aren't just the wonders of an individual's world, but the wonders of the whole world, as they are the wonders of every individual's world.

Are the wonders of this world
Are the wonders of my world

Her identification of the cities true beauty, and understanding a place which is truly a "wonder of her world" is why there is simply nothing better to do than "wonder" around London.

I like it in the city when the air is so thick and opaque

For all the awful things which happen within it, London is still a great city because of the connections we choose to make.

I love to see everybody in short skirts, shorts and shades
I like it in the city when two worlds collide

London is a working city, full of commuters, but we also have the tourists wearing "shorts and shades". We literally see "two worlds collide".

You get the people and the government

The song does a very good job of speaking to both the personal feelings of the singer and the general feelings of the public.

Everybody taking different sides

Adele finds and appreciates the "Glory" of a city, which of course has its social problems, or "cracks in the pavement”, where everybody does "take different sides" but when push comes to shove, (i.e. the London Bombings of 7/7) we are truly united.

Shows that we ain’t gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united
Shows that we ain’t gonna take it
Shows that we ain’t gonna stand shit
Shows that we are united

When she talks about the people and the government and two words colliding that she is referring to the division we create by taking opposing sides (can be applied to government parties). Then the whole "shows that we ain't gonna stand shit..." suggests she is saying that "we are united" in "not taking the shit" that extremists of any identifying group can try to sell. Maybe we balance each other out that way.

By looking at Adele's song on Song Meaning, I was able to look at other people's views which helped to analyse the song.