How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
I said "Grandpa what's this picture here
It's all black and white
It ain't real clear is that you there?"
He said "Yeah, I was eleven
Times were tough back in '35
That's me and uncle Joe just tryin' to survive
A cotton farm, in a great depression
If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just trying to save each other
You should've seen it in color
Oh and this one here was taken over seas
In the middle of hell in 1943
In the winter time, you can almost see my breath
That was my tail gunner ole Johnny Magee
He was a high school teacher from New Orleans
And he had my back right through the day we left
If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just trying to save each other
You should've seen it in color
A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should've seen it in color
This one is my favorite one
This is me and grandma in the summer sun
All dressed up the day we said our vows
You can't tell it here but it was hot that June
And that rose was red and her eyes were blue
And just look at that smile I was so proud
That's the story of my life right there in black and white
And if it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just trying to save each other
You should've seen it in color
A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color
You should have seen it in color
Yeah, a picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color"
It's all black and white
It ain't real clear is that you there?"
He said "Yeah, I was eleven
Times were tough back in '35
That's me and uncle Joe just tryin' to survive
A cotton farm, in a great depression
If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just trying to save each other
You should've seen it in color
Oh and this one here was taken over seas
In the middle of hell in 1943
In the winter time, you can almost see my breath
That was my tail gunner ole Johnny Magee
He was a high school teacher from New Orleans
And he had my back right through the day we left
If it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just trying to save each other
You should've seen it in color
A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should've seen it in color
This one is my favorite one
This is me and grandma in the summer sun
All dressed up the day we said our vows
You can't tell it here but it was hot that June
And that rose was red and her eyes were blue
And just look at that smile I was so proud
That's the story of my life right there in black and white
And if it looks like we were scared to death
Like a couple of kids just trying to save each other
You should've seen it in color
A picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color
You should have seen it in color
Yeah, a picture's worth a thousand words
But you can't see what those shades of gray keep covered
You should have seen it in color"
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More Featured Meanings
Magical
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Blue
Ed Sheeran
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“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Punchline
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Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
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“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
This is an amazing song. So much meaning. Very sentimental and agreed its all about how a picture says so much yet can fall short on the whole story.
i think this is an amazing song... i totally agree with gmc1323
after i heard this song even before it iwould always ak my grandparents and great gramma and grandpa about stuff that happened back then ao yeah this song is reallly good
Such an amazing song. It gives you a lot to think about when considering how the past was.
This is the one song I can listen to and cry. The past is there, but I can't truly go back, unless this song plays