Writing music is often liberating. It gives artists the ability to express their innermost emotions in a way that a large audience can identify and sing along with.
Discover our latest podcast
Ed Sheeran is one of the most successful recording artists of this decade and became known for exactly that - emotionally charged love songs. Songs like Shape of You and Thinking Out Loud have become full on stadium anthems.
However, there are some songs in his back catalog that aren't what one would consider your typical Ed Sheeran fare. He's more than capable to write songs dealing with much heavier subject matter.
And this is exactly the case with Ed Sheeran’s first song, We Are, that tells a personal and tragic story from his youth.
A heartbreaking secret
If you’re a big Ed Sheeran fan, you will surely know the song We Are, despite the fact that it appears on none of his albums. This song – which was his first – is only performed in concerts and was written about a tragic event in Ed's past. The lyrics were written after tragedy struck the singer during his teenage years.
At 14 years old, Ed Sheeran lost one of his friends, Stuart Dines, in a car accident during a school trip. This tragedy traumatised him and he expressed his emotions through this song, We Are. Stuart’s parents even played the song during a memorial to their son.
The video above explains the story behind the song in full detail. Give it a look and find out the heartbreaking backstory.
