Album: Ed Sheeran – – (Deluxe)
It doesn’t take long for Ed Sheeran to reveal the heart of his sixth album. About 40 seconds into opening track “Boat”, he sings, “They say that all scars will heal but I know/Maybe I won’t/But the waves won't break my boat.” Written in the wake of—and during—deeply challenging times, - is “an album about grief and depression and stuff”, as Sheeran tells Apple Music’s Zane Lowe. “‘Boat’ is about resilience: ‘I know that I’m never going to be all right, but whatever waves come, I’m going to remain floating.’ Your life can fit around grief. You don’t have to get over anything. I will never, ever, ever get over Jamal [Edwards, SB.TV founder and Sheeran’s best friend] dying at 31. I don’t want to, I don’t feel like I have to. I feel like, if I want to cry, I can cry.”