Turning Tables

Album: 21 (2011)
Charted: 62 63
Play Video
  • Close enough to start a war
    All that I have is on the floor
    God only knows what we're fighting for
    All that I say, you always say more

    I can't keep up with your turning tables
    Under your thumb, I can't breathe

    So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me
    No, I won't rescue you to just desert me
    I can't give you the heart you think you gave me
    It's time to say goodbye to turning tables
    To turning tables

    Under haunted skies I see you
    Where love is lost, your ghost is found
    I braved a hundred storms to leave you
    As hard as you try, no I will never be knocked down

    I can't keep up with your turning tables
    Under your thumb, I can't breathe

    So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me
    No, I won't rescue you to just desert me
    I can't give you the heart you think you gave me
    It's time to say goodbye to turning tables
    Turning tables

    Next time I'll be braver
    I'll be my own savior
    When the thunder calls for me
    Next time I'll be braver
    I'll be my own savior
    Standing on my own two feet

    So, I won't let you close enough to hurt me
    No, I won't rescue you to just desert me
    I can't give you the heart you think you gave me
    It's time to say goodbye to turning tables
    To turning tables
    Turning tables, yeah
    Turning oh Writer/s: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, Ryan B. Tedder
    Publisher: CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 2

  • Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganAdele explained the meaning of this song before she sang it at the Royal Albert Hall:

    "I was in London when I wrote the song, but I was thinking of an argument that triggered the downfall of my relationship. And were in New York, and we were in some restaurant, near the Chinese Dim Sum restaurants, and you know when you get those massive round revolving tables that turn around so when your at a big dinner, you can all can a bit of the dish? We're at one of them, you know, and it's turning around and the table flips up and we're with our friends in New York and we're the ones arguing and it's a bit awkward, you know what it's like - when your there and a couple of your friends are arguing - oh my God. So we started arguing and we stormed out and took it out into the street, and this triggered the downfall, like I just said, of the relationship, and we just kept turning on each other and kept turning everything around on each other, and I said something, he's saying, you know, just go off and I'm saying, then he says something...um...so it's not actually as glamorous as the song probably sounds."
  • Gus from AustraliaWow. What a song, what a voice.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

How The Beatles Crafted Killer Choruses

How The Beatles Crafted Killer ChorusesSong Writing

The author of Help! 100 Songwriting, Recording And Career Tips Used By The Beatles, explains how the group crafted their choruses so effectively.

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular Music

Lace the Music: How LSD Changed Popular MusicSong Writing

Starting in Virginia City, Nevada and rippling out to the Haight-Ashbury, LSD reshaped popular music.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?

Millie Jackson

Millie JacksonSongwriter Interviews

Outrageously gifted and just plain outrageous, Millie is an R&B and Rap innovator.

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Francis Rossi of Status Quo

Francis Rossi of Status QuoSongwriter Interviews

Doubt led to drive for Francis, who still isn't sure why one of Status Quo's biggest hits is so beloved.