Newly-returned pop icon Adele worked with songwriter Tobias Jesso Jr. and producer Ariel Rechtshaid on the “‘70s styled shimmery disco ballad” “When We Were Young,” the second single from her album 25. She indicated in her Rolling Stone feature that the Elton John inspired ballad was her favorite on 25.

The piano used on the recording belonged to iconic minimalist composer Philip Glass. The piano is in Jesso’s grandmother’s house. Adele explained, “It used to be this mad party house and for some reason [Glass’s] piano was there so we wrote the song on that.”

In a town hall interview for SiriusXM’s The Spectrum, Adele described the setting of “When We Were Young” as a party with old friends and acquaintances, with “everyone that you’ve ever fallen out with, everyone that you’ve ever loved, everyone that you’ve never loved…And you’re all thrown together at this party when you’re like 50, and it doesn’t matter and you have so much fun and you feel like you’re 15 again.”