Lyrics Dissection Monday: Hello by Adele

Hello, it's me
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet
To go over everything
They say that time's supposed to heal ya
But I ain't done much healing

THE BREAKDOWN:

It sounds like she's talking to an old lover with which she had no closure.

Hello, can you hear me?
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet

THE BREAKDOWN:

Did they meet in California?
It stands to reason that they would have been younger, I mean, none of us are getting any younger...and I'm really stuck on what she means by "free." When you're with someone, are you free? Are you ever free? What does she mean? To me, to be free means to be free from sin to live fully in the grace of God. I doubt that's what she's going for here. I'm pretty sure she means that they were carefree. I wish she would have said as much.
To have the world fall at your feet, does that mean that the world worships you? Or that it's falling apart? Oh Adele you're so vague! 

There's such a difference between us
And a million miles

THE BREAKDOWN:

The word "And" does not make sense to me here. The difference between them is the distance, I take it, but grammatically, it seems like something else is going on here.

CHORUS:

Hello from the other side
I must have called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter. It clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore

THE BREAKDOWN:

What is the other side? I think that here she is visualizing a wall between her and her former boyfriend/whatever he was to her. 
She called him a lot.
She wanted to apologize to him (was there never any closure?)
He either changed his number, turns off his phone, or ignores her (or all three...)
She clearly feels quite isolated from him now.
She has made the effort, so the ball is now in his court.
Now this thing about breaking his heart. Yeah she did that, but sometimes you can't help it. If you're not right for each other you're not right for each other, and she liberated him by breaking apart from him!
I really really wish she wouldn't have said "don't matter" here. It just grates on my ear to hear this improper English. I'm certainly not perfect but when you're writing lyrics it would be nice to at least sound refined. Although, that's clearly not what she's going for here. She's changing. She sees that he doesn't care anymore, and I think that makes her sad.

Hello, how are you?
It's so typical of me to talk about myself. I'm sorry
I hope that you're well
Did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened?

THE BREAKDOWN:

She wants to know how he's doing. That's sweet of her, really!
Guys do want to hear about you but the girl needs to listen to, she's wise to recognize that. She's apologetic about her egotistical attitude.
She hopes that he's okay (again, thoughtful)
When she sings about the town where nothing ever happened, it makes me think about where I grew up. Anyway, it sounds like she thinks he was stuck there or something.

And it's no secret that the both of us
Are running out of time

THE BREAKDOWN:

For what? Okay, she clearly wants to get back together with him.

(CHORUS IS REPEATED)

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Stephanie

Lyrics credit: azlyrics.com