Chasing Pavements

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Lore & Background

The song was born from a specific moment of clarity following a heated argument at a club. At age 19, Adele slapped her boyfriend and ran down Tottenham Court Road in London, expecting to be pursued. Instead, she found herself alone, prompting the thought: "You're chasing pavements." She described this feeling as questioning whether to keep trying to run after someone when there is nothing there. Written in a single day with Francis "Eg" White, the lyrics capture the duality of hating a relationship while missing it once it's over. The title was briefly misunderstood due to an Urban Dictionary entry claiming it referred to gay cruising, causing some US radio stations to pause airplay until Adele clarified the slang had no prior existence.

In Their Own Story

The music video, directed by Mathew Cullen and shot in Los Angeles despite its London setting, opens with a white Peugeot 505 saloon crashing in Hyde Park. It alternates between two perspectives: a grounded view of motionless victims on the pavement and a bird's-eye view where the couple inside "comes to life." In this surreal sequence, they reenact their relationship from a chance meeting over a dropped scarf to discovering infidelity and finding forgiveness. The narrative culminates in a dance on the pavement surrounded by onlookers who join them, only to reveal the tragic truth: the couple remains motionless bodies being wheeled away by ambulance crews in different directions. This visual metaphor underscores the song's theme of a relationship that is dead but still being chased.

Reader's Guide

Fans can trace "Chasing Pavements" through its extensive performance history, starting with its premiere on *Friday Night with Jonathan Ross* on December 7, 2007. Adele performed an acoustic version at the Hotel Cafe in March 2008, recorded for the *19* album sessions. Major televised appearances included *Late Show with David Letterman*, *The View*, and a joint performance of "Chasing Pavements" and "Cold Shoulder" on *Saturday Night Live* in October 2008. A standout moment occurred at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards on February 8, 2009, where she performed alongside Sugarland to win Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The track also earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination for Best Choreography and ranked number 26 on VH1's Top 40 of 2008.

Did You Know?

• The song was written in just one day with producer Francis "Eg" White.
• Adele was inspired to write the track after slapping her boyfriend at a club and realizing no one chased her down Tottenham Court Road.
• Some US radio stations briefly stopped playing the song due to an Urban Dictionary entry claiming "chasing pavements" meant gay cruising, which Adele later debunked.
• The music video features a white Peugeot 505 saloon crash in Hyde Park but was actually filmed in Los Angeles.
• Adele performed "Chasing Pavements" with the country duo Sugarland at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards.

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