After a year-long hiatus in 2016, Ed Sheeran returned to the public eye on New Year’s Day of 2017. He began to tease for a new album by releasing singles ‘Shape of You’ and ‘Castle on the Hill.’
He then released his third album, ‘Divide (÷)’ on March 3, 2017. The album contains 12 songs and was an immediate success. On its first day of release, the album had over 56 million streams on Spotify and in its first three days of being released, it sold over 432,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
“I listened the new album right when it came out and I really liked it,” sophomore elementary education and special education major, Alexa Piro, said.
Divide has a different vibe than Sheeran’s other albums, in that it incorporates a wider variety of musical styles.
Song 1 – ‘Eraser‘
This song is very upbeat and contains rap elements. Despite the positive vibe of the music, the lyrics are actually very sad. This song is a personal reflection from Sheeran on his experiences and the pain and struggles that can come with fame.
- Best lyrics: “and to the next generation, inspiration’s allowed/the world may be filled with hate but keep erasing it now.”
Song 2- ‘Castle on the Hill‘
This was one of two singles that were released on Jan. 6, 2017. This song has a very nostalgic feel to it, which goes along with its theme of reflecting on childhood memories.
- Best lyrics: “These people raised me and I can’t wait to go home.”
Song 3- ‘Dive‘
The vocal tone and music of this song give it a very seductive feel. The theme of this song is about having feelings for someone but not being sure about if they are returned or if anything will come out of the relationship.
- Best lyrics: “don’t call me baby, unless you mean it/ and don’t tell me you need me, if you don’t believe it.
Song 4- ‘Shape of You‘
The other of the singles that was released, Shape of You, is a song that is ready to be danced to. Telling the story of meeting someone at a bar and what comes after, this song describes a relatable experience.
- Best lyrics: “girl, you know I want your love/your love was handmade for somebody like me”
Song 5- ‘Perfect‘
The most stereotypical “Ed Sheeran” song on the album, Perfect, is sweet and slow. It is a song for people who are young and in love, ready to fight for a future together.
- Best lyrics: “well I found a woman stronger than anyone I know/ she shares my dreams, I hope that someday I’ll share her home/I found a love to carry more than just my secrets/to carry love, to carry children of our own.”
Song 6- ‘Galway Girl‘
This song is interesting in that Sheeran, again, is using elements of rap in his singing but that the background music is Irish dance music. It is a very fun song, telling about falling for an Irish girl during a night out.
- Best lyrics: “I swear I’m going to put you in a song that I write/about a Galway girl and a perfect night.”
Song 7- ‘Happier‘
This song is about the feeling you get the first time you see your ex with someone else. They may have moved on but you have not yet. The vibe the music gives is as heartbreaking as the experience.
- Best lyrics: “cause baby you look happier, you do/my friends told me one day I’ll feel it too/and until then I’ll smile to hide the truth/but I know I was happier with you.”
Song 8- ‘New Man‘
This song is very upbeat and fun but the subject is not. It’s about the awkward situation of still being friends with your ex who now has someone new, especially when your ex likes to talk to you about their new relationship.
- Best lyrics: “I guess if you were Louis Lane, I wasn’t Superman/just a young boy trying to be loved.”
Song 9- ‘Hearts Don’t Break Around Here‘
This is a sweet, slow acoustic song about about completely trusting the person you are in a relationship with feeling a sense of safety when you are with them.
- “She is the lighthouse in the night/that will safely guide me home/and i’m not scared of passing over/or the thought of growing old.”
Song 10- ‘What Do I Know?‘
This song has a very groovy feel to it. It is about the world being in a bad place and needing more love and positivity. Sheeran is very sarcastic in this song’s lyrics, saying that people discredit him giving advice because he is just a musician.
- Best lyrics: “you know we’re all made up of love & hate/but both of them are balanced on a razor blade”
Song 11- ‘How Would You Feel (Paean)‘
This is slower, sweet song about the beginning stages of a relationship where you are considering telling the other person you are in love with them but you are scared.
- Best lyrics: “we got questions we shouldn’t ask but/how would you feel, if I told you I loved you?/it’s just something that I want to do”
Song 12- ‘Supermarket Flowers‘
This emotional song is about dealing with the death of a loved one and is deeply personal to Sheeran. “My grandmother was very ill during the time I was making the record and passed away at the end of me making the record, so we wrote this song as a tribute and just left it on,” Sheeran said in an interview with Zane Lowe. It ends the album on a sad note.
- Best lyrics: “a heart that’s broke is a heart that’s been loved”
Along with the release of the album, Sheeran also debuted a deluxe edition, containing 4 bonus songs.
Deluxe Bonus Tracks:
Listening to the full deluxe version, the mood goes from very sad (with Supermarket Flowers) to happy with this song. There is a Spanish influence to the music and lyrics, fitting with its name. It is about going to a club and just meeting someone and really just wanting to dance and the song makes listeners want to dance too.
- Best lyrics: “I’ve got two left feet and a bottle of red wine/making me feel like the beat and the bassline/are in my blood, both hands upon her waistline”
This is a really fun and honest song about waking up after a night out and trying to figure out what happened the night before.
- Best lyrics: “I get lonely/ and I make mistakes from time to time.”
This Irish-dance influenced song tells the story of how Sheeran’s grandparents met, fell in love and got married.
- Best lyrics: “from her snow white streak in her jet black hair/60 years i’ve been loving her/now we’re sat by the fire in our old armchairs/ you know, Nancy, i adore ya.”
The deluxe edition closes on another sad and slow note. This song offers some good advice, that of focusing on yourself before always trying to take care of others.
- Best lyrics: “so before I save someone else, I’ve got to save myself/and before I blame someone else, I’ve got to save myself/and before I love someone else, I’ve got to love myself.”
Sheeran has announced that he will be touring his new album throughout Europe in the spring and in North America this summer. He will be performing at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia on July 11.
