Ed Sheeran is preparing to release his sophomore album X , a batch of tunes that was reportedly inspired by some of his personal experiences.
Since the “I See Fire” singer isn’t willing to spill the beans about who some of these songs are about, fans have started drawing their own conclusions. In fact, a few folks are speculating that “Don’t” is about his romantic relationship with BFF Taylor Swift . However, Ed Sheeran claims this isn’t the case at all.
During his recent chat with the folks over at Rolling Stone , Ed Sheeran attempted to set the record straight . While his fans might believe that the tune is about his friend and tourmate, Sheeran said the song has different origins.
“It’s 100 per cent not about Taylor… I’ve never dated Taylor. I’ve dated a few singers, though,” Sheeran explained, adding that he actually played the song for Swift to let her know that she didn’t serve as his lyrical inspiration.
He continued, “She was just like, ‘Whatever happens, ever, between us, as friends, I never want to p*** you off that much.”
Although Ed Sheeran insists that the song isn’t about his good friend, the singer previously said that the track was definitely inspired by real events . While he didn’t go as far as to name anyone in particular, Sheeran revealed that the woman featured in the song certainly broke his heart.
“The last album was more young and dewy-eyed and innocent. I’ve still got very nice songs on this record but some of them are bitey. The story in ‘Don’t’ is 100 percent true. I could have gotten nastier — there was more s*** that I didn’t put in,” Ed Sheeran explained.
The songwriter continued, “I was seeing someone for a bit, and then they ended up physically involved with one of my friends in the same hotel that we were staying in, while I was downstairs. And I feel like: ‘Treat people how you want to be treated.’”
Unfortunately for those who choose to date musicians, this sort of thing just comes with the territory. Sheeran told Billboard not too long ago that folks who decide to pursue these relationships should definitely proceed with extreme caution. There’s no telling if or when the artist will make them the subject of a song.
“If you date a songwriter, be prepared to have songs written about you. If you do nice things, you’ll have nice songs. And if you do f***ed up things, you’ll get a horrible song,” he said.
Do you think Ed Sheeran wrote “Don’t” about Taylor Swift?