Eira Sethi

Section 9:2

Essay

Photograph by Ed Sheeran

As far as many people’s interpretations go, and their heartfelt comments on this song

not everyone has looked at the song from the writer’s point of view to find it’s true meaning.

Photograph by Ed Sheeran is a song that many people with a strong connection with their

mothers can relate to. Ed sings about how even though there have been problems between

him and his mother, you always should return to your loved ones. Through the symbolism of

photos, Ed Sheeran reminds us that even when we are physically apart our loved ones are

always with us.

The music video for this song was released a few hours right before Mother’s Day.

This has been known as Ed Sheeran’s hit single as it has 73.5 million listens and it has

amazingly sold 363,200 copies in the first week. The pictures in the video are all of Ed

Sheeran as a baby and then growing up to what he has become now. We also see pictures of

him and his mother. These visuals help us relate to the connection that Ed Sheeran had with

his mother. His songs usually have a really deep meaning. For example, a song from his new

album called “Supermarket Flowers” is about the death of this grandmother that occurred

recently. He sings about how she is “an angel in the shape of his mum” (Supermarket

Flowers, line #12). He wrote the song from his mother’s point of view explaining how much

his mother misses her mum.

The first thing Ed Sheeran sings is “Loving can hurt” (line #1). This can be seen to

come out of his Mother’s perspective. When you love someone, in this case a child, it can be

frustrating and hard but it is also rewarding. Ed Sheeran knows exactly what he is talking

about when he says “you know it can get hard hard sometimes” (line #3). The pre-chorus,
“We keep this love in a Photograph” (line #5) shows how you can hold on to memories with

pictures so that you would never ever forgot them.

Ed Sheeran had to leave home in order to pursue his music career. When he begins

singing “So you can keep me…” (line #10) and so on, it relates to how his family can keep

their photographs that they have with him as memories and how later on their “eyes” will

“meet” (line #12). Until then Ed Sheeran just says “wait for me to come home” (line #13).

He has had a history of being very emotional in his songs. One song that he truly

displays his emotions through is “Happier”. He sings about how he misses his girlfriend and

how we will wait for her even though she looks happier with someone else. He sings how he

knows he will move on but currently he cannot do so and how that is very painful for him.

The next verse that he sings is jumping straight into him and his mother’s mind.

“Loving can heal” (line #14) means that even though we know that love can be hurtful, it can

also heal us when we need help “And it’s the only thing we can take with us when we die”

(line #14) means that love will be never-ending and we will always remember the love we

have in our lives.

The pre-chorus is reintroduced which makes the message we hear and understand way

stronger. The music at this point increases the tempo which intensifies the emotions that we

feel while listening to this song. “I won’t ever let you go” (line #30) refers to the

unconditional love that parents have for their children. Parents know that all children to make

mistakes but that does not stop them from loving their children. It is a love that is true and is

always persistent through any kind of pain that it can go through.

The poetic devices in this song includes things such as Motif, Metaphor, Imagery,

Symbolism and repetition. The motif in this song is basically love and memories. It says how

“Loving can hurt” (line #1) but also how “Loving can heal” (line #14). The symbolism is that

the song represents everlasting memories and along with that, the love that people can have
between each other. Represents the closeness that people have even though many miles

separate them. The evidence for this can be found in lines, 5, 6, 9, and also 12.

“Wait for me to come home” (line #13) is repeated throughout the song. A whole

verse can be seen as a metaphor when he sings “So you can keep me inside the pocket of

your ripped jeans, holding me closer ‘till our eyes meet, you won’t ever be alone, wait for me

to come home” (line #10, 11, 12, 13). He is comparing himself to a photograph and how he

can be held close to ones’ heart forever and always.

For me, every time I heard him sing “you can fit me, inside the necklace you got

when you were sixteen” (line #36) I imagine a locket that someone would wear with a small

picture inside of it. The imagery in this song is very subtle but it does make the listener think

and imagine different scenarios. The Tone of this song is sad and optimistic. The mood is

also sad but then it also makes the listener hopeful.

After completely analysing this song I have begun to listen to it in a very different

way. Before, I thought it was about ones’ partner but now I realise that this song was actually

written for Ed Sheeran’s mother. I now started to think about the connection that my mother

and I have and I am able to relate that to this song. Ed Sheeran speaks about his music saying,

“When I give it to the public, its no longer just my song, now it becomes someone’s first

dance at a wedding or someone’s late night feel” (Slant Magazine). All his songs can mean

different things for different people but it means just one thing to him.
 CITATIONS:

"Ed Sheeran - Photograph Lyrics Meaning." Lyric Interpretations. Lyricinterpretations.com, . Web. 03 May
2017.

"Ed Sheeran Begins To Multiply." Noise11.com.., 19 Apr. 2014. Web. 03 May 2017.

"Ed Sheeran Talks through New Album." Music-News.com. Musicnews,. Web. 03 May 2017.

"EXCLUSIVE: Ed Sheeran On Writing 'Photograph'... In Just Ten Minutes!" Capital. ., 23 July 2015. Web. 03 May
2017.