“It’s just a song I love, and hope you love too.”
Ed Sheeran has released his first song since becoming a dad.
On Monday morning, the singer dropped a new single, “Afterglow,” along with a performance video. The acoustic track — which Sheeran simply described as “just a song I love” — marks the first new music released from Sheeran since he and his wife Cherry Seaborn welcomed daughter, Lyra, back in August.
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Ed Sheeran and Cherry Seaborn Announce Birth of Daughter Lyra Antarctica: ‘We Are on Cloud Nine’
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In the first verse, Sheeran, 29 sings, “You should see the way the light dances off your head / A million colors of hazel, golden and red / Saturday morning is fading / The sun’s reflected by the coffee in your hand / My eyes are caught in your gaze all over again.”
“We were love drunk, waiting on a miracle / Trying to find ourselves in the winter snow /,” the “Shape of You” singer continues into the pre-chorus. “So alone in love like the world had disappeared / Oh, I won’t be silent and I won’t let go / I will hold on tighter ’til the afterglow / And we’ll burn so bright ’til the darkness softly clears.”
Sheeran then sings on the chorus, “Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow/ Oh, I will hold on to the afterglow.”
The Grammy winner also announced the release of the song on Instagram and clarified that the track is not the first single from his next album.
“Hey guys. ‘Afterglow’ is a song I wrote last year that I wanted to release for you,” he wrote alongside a still from the performance video. “It’s not the first single from the next album, it’s just a song I love, and hope you love too.”
Sheeran continued, “Enjoy ! Have a safe and happy festive break and New Year’s. Back to dad land for me now, ciao x.”
On Sunday, the Grammy winner teased the release of “Afterglow,” telling fans that he would be bringing “a Christmas present.”
Sheeran’s new song — which is a follow-up to the singer’s fourth studio album, “No. 6 Collaborations Project” from 2019 — came just a few months after he revealed he and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, had welcomed their first child in August.
In early September, Sheeran posted a sweet announcement that featured a photo of tiny baby socks on top of a colorful knit blanket.
“Ello! A quick message from me as I have some personal news that I wanted to share with you…” he captioned the post. “Last week, with the help of an amazing delivery team, Cherry gave birth to our beautiful and healthy daughter — Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran.”
“We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here,” Sheeran continued. “We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Lots of love and I’ll see you when it’s time to come back, Ed x.”
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