The True Meaning Behind Hold On By Adele

Adele's album "30" dropped on November 19 after years of anticipation. The album captures the deterioration of her marriage to Simon Konecki. The couple first began dating in 2011, per NBC, and they got married in 2018. But by 2019, they separated. In 2012, the couple welcomed a son, Angelo.

The dissolution of Adele's marriage and subsequent divorce became the running theme of "30," particularly how her son would handle the change. "I was embarrassed. I was really embarrassed," Adele told British Vogue in an interview for the magazine's November issue. "That thing of not being able to make something work."

But Adele also spoke about what changed her mind. "We've been trained as women to keep trying, even by the movies we watched when we were little. At the time it broke my heart, but I actually find it so interesting now. How we're told to suck it up," she said. "Well, f*** that." One song on the album, "Hold On," particularly taps into this pain and resiliency.

Adele's "Hold On" taps into both hope and grief in looking back on her relationship. She begins by singing, "Hold on / You are still strong / Love will soon come / Just hold, hold on," via Genius. While there's hope in the song, Adele doesn't shy away from beating herself up for a minute.

"Oh, what have I done yet again? / Have I not learned anything?" she begins, adding later: "It's hard to hold on to who I am / When I'm stumblin' in the dark for a hand / I am so tired of battling with myself, with no chance to win." Adele also refreshingly taps into the sloppy side of a breakup. "I swear to God, I am such a mess," she sings. "The harder that I try, I regress / I'm my own worst enemy / Right now, I truly hate bein' me."

Adele spoke about this emotional mess and the healing powers of embracing it in her interview with British Vogue for the magazine's November issue. "I definitely learnt a lot of tools in my therapy, but I also just go with it," she said. "I find the anxiety gets worse when you try and get rid of it."

Candidness seems to be the theme of Adele's life right now. It's certainly evident on her album "30," and it was equally evident in her November 14 interview with Oprah Winfrey for CBS. Her divorce from Simon Konecki completely shattered her worldview.

"I've been obsessed with a nuclear family my whole life because I never came from one," Adele told Oprah. "From a very young age, I promised myself that when I had kids that we'd stay together and we would be that united family, and I tried for a really, really long time. I was so disappointed for my son. I was so disappointed for myself."

Oprah, for her part, said that "30" felt like Adele opened her soul for listeners and said that "pain was almost like a muse." Oprah especially resonated with "Hold On" and gave it some major praise on Twitter. Sharing an adorably candid shot on the site, Oprah wrote: "Who's excited #30 is finally out? US! I've been singing the songs for a month now. 'Hold On' will become an anthem around the world for anybody going through a struggle." If Oprah likes it, we all will.