Ed Sheeran has shared a wealth of knowledge in his songwriting. Sheeran is a storyteller through and through, arguably more so than any of his contemporaries. He seems to ponder deeply over his word choices and turn of phrases while being candid and intimate at all times. He is a unique voice in today’s music scene and doesn’t shy away from baring his soul in his work.
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The listener gets a pretty holistic view of Sheeran’s thoughts in his music, but what does he have to say outside of the studio? Find 15 of his best quotes below.
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1. “Everything will be okay in the end. If it’s not okay, then it’s not the end.”
2. “If someone tells you to change yourself, tell them to go fuck themselves.”
3. “Be nice to everyone, always smile, and appreciate things because it could all be gone tomorrow.”
4. “Success is the best revenge for anything.”
5. “Be original; don’t be scared of being bold!”
6. “It was my love for the guitar that first got me into music and singing. Growing up, I was inspired by the Beatles and Bob Dylan. Damian Rice was a huge influence for me musically.”
7. “I don’t think that there’s much that sets me apart from other musicians, but I think there are definitely things that set me apart from other kinds of artists. I feel that musicians do it their own way, write their own songs and put on great live shows.”
8. “I’m quite arty. I didn’t know whether to become an artist or musician but I realized I could paint with music. All my songs have colors.”
9. “Country music is some of the best-written music in the world, so yeah, one day, I would keep my mind open to doing a country record.”
10. “I want to have a career that evolves as I go on.”
11. “If I can put on my album in a car or on my headphones and listen to the whole thing and love it, that’s what I’m going to be happy putting out there.”
12. “As far as songwriting, my inspirations came from love, life and death, and viewing other people’s situations.”
13. “The public has heard the stereotypical love songs a million times, and they’ve heard the stereotypical life-or-death songs millions of times. It’s good to mix it up a little bit.”
14. “I think the moment you start trying to please a fan base is when you start going downhill. I’m going to always, always write about what I want, even if it doesn’t necessarily cater to most of them.”
15. “The thing that I took away as an early fan from Bob Dylan was the storytelling aspects. He can tell some wicked stories.”
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