Ed Sheeran was somewhat on my radar prior to the Grammys, thanks to my niece, who played this song for me on her laptop a few months ago.
But it was nice to be reminded of it during Sheeran’s lovely acoustic performance of the track alongside Elton John last week.
Sheeran looks like a fat Weasley brother but he has an appealing, whispery voice that suits this material perfectly.
Apparently John runs Sheeran’s management company and lobbied to get the fellow Brit a spot on the Grammys only to be turned down because he didn’t have a high enough profile. But the producers where willing to allow it if Elton joined him onstage.
I like how John supports up and coming artists. I still remember him calling Rufus Wainwright “the best songwriter on the planet” relatively early in Wainwright’s career.
Breathing in snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste
Lights gone, days end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men
And they say
She’s in the class A team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
‘Cause we’re just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don’t want to go outside, tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Or sells love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly, for angels to fly
Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim and stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Cool girl, no phone
And they say
She’s in the class A team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
‘Cause we’re just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
But she don’t want to go outside, tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the motherland
Or sells love to another man
Its too cold outside
For angels to fly
An angel will die
Covered in white
Closed eye
And hoping for a better life
This time, we’ll fade out tonight
Straight down the line
And they say
She’s in the class A team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
They scream
The worst things in life come free to us
And we’re under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And we don’t want to go outside, tonight
And in the pipe fly to the motherland
Or sell love to another man
It’s too cold outside
For angels to fly, angels to fly
To fly, fly
For angels to fly, to fly, to fly
Angels to die
Meet Me In Montauk 
That’s a cool background story on the Grammy appearance. I wonder if something similar happened behind the scenes a few years ago when a then relatively unknown Taylor Swift was joined by the then more popular Miley Cyrus to sing “15” as a duet.
I don’t see Sheeran’s career path following the meteoric trajectory that swift’s did after her Grammy debut, but, as I said in an earlier post, I think Sheeran is one of the more organic up and comers to look out for and support in the years to come.
I don’t know that Sheeran needs to be compared to Swift, though she has been one of his most vocal supporters and fans, asking him to open for her on her upcoming tour (where he will surely have the chance to win many new fans). Maddie and Daniel have been singing every word to this – and every other song on Sheeran’s excellent album – for months, so it was quite a treat to see him on stage with Elton John (though we knew about it ahead of time, thanks to a cute “tweet” from Taylor Swift, who shared her Grammy highlight of hanging out in Sheeran’s dressing room, while he and Elton rehearsed).
I too love Ed Sheeran’s voice. I think part of the reason that he has such a smooth tone is because of his accent (which obviously gives an advantage to any singer :-P) I like his voice particularly in his second hit “Lego House” that came off this same album. I think that he’s a great writer with tremendous talent, and that it would be a shame if he didn’t get the fan base he deserves.
As an old fogie, I am usually stuck in the music of my past but this fellow, via my daughter, really has impressed me, particularly this song. He writes some heartbreaking songs. Quite lovely…
Love Ed Sheeran š His subject matter in particular is great and some of his lyrics are just amazingly poetic. I am so glad that great artists are seeing that he is awesome, and giving him opportunities he deserves.