Songfacts®:

• Darius Rucker and Ed Sheeran first crossed paths while Sheeran was opening for Taylor Swift during the Red Tour in 2013. The former Hootie & The Blowfish lead singer had always wanted to write with Sheeran, and he finally got to do so during a trip to London, when they put together the song "Sara."
  
  "That kid is such an amazing songwriter and such a good guy," Rucker said to Billboard of Sheeran, adding, "You'll sing a line and he'll sing it back, and he's singing it differently and singing different words... but it's just better so you just go with that."
• The song is a rumination about reconnecting with a childhood girlfriend. "Sara" started with Sheeran asking the country star about his first love. Rucker said it was his fifth-grade girlfriend, and after they talked about her, they penned the song.
  
  "Writing that song was so fun because Ed is such an amazing songwriter, but to write a song that's literally about your fifth-grade girlfriend who you haven't seen in 40 years, it was an experience," Rucker told People. "It was something that I never thought about writing, and when we did, I was so happy we did because I loved the song, and the song was true."
• Has Rucker been in touch with his fifth-grade girlfriend after writing this song? The singer said he has no idea what Sara is doing now but would love to see her again at some point.
• Rucker recorded "Sara" for his sixth country album, Carolyn's Boy, with producer Ross Copperman. Carolyn is the name of Rucker's mother, who raised him as a single mom - she died from a heart attack in 1992.
• The musicians on this track are:
  
  Ilya Toshinskiy: acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  Tony Lucido: bass guitar
  Dan Dugmore: pedal steel
  Dave Cohen: keyboards
  Fred Eltringham: drums
  Micah Wilshire: background vocals