Songfacts®:

• Adele wrote this song with English producer Paul Epworth (Bloc Party, Florence and the Machine). Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Johnny Cash collaborator Rick Rubin produced the tune.
• Adele told The Sun about the song: "The first verse was about me and my ex but then became about two of my close friends who are a couple that became my lifeline when I came off tour. Two months after I met them, the boyfriend went into rehab for heroin addiction. I had no idea about his problem."
• Adele told The Daily Mail about collaborating with the legendary producer: "Working with Rick Rubin was daunting - he made some of the records that defined my youth, like Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers -- but he was lovely. I'm a control freak and I don't like spontaneity, but he made me go with my instincts and loosen up as I was singing."
• After only coming up with one useable song ("Take It All,") during her first writing session for 21 with Eg White, Adele turned in hope to Paul Epworth. "We just clicked," she told Q magazine. "Paul had some funny ideas about getting me into character. Like he'd say, 'Pretend you're a monkey or summink, but it worked. In our first seven hours we wrote 'Rolling In The Deep' and 'He Won't Go."'