Ed Sheeran was devastated when music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards died from a drug overdose on February 20, 2022. Edwards was an early supporter of Sheeran's music through the SBTV YouTube channel and they became close friends.
Originally written in the 2010s as a breakup song, "Eyes Closed" took on new meaning following the loss of Edwards.
So I'm dancin' with my eyes closed
'Cause everywhere I look, I still see you
And time is movin' so slow
And I don't know what else that I can do
"This song is about losing someone, feeling like every time you go out and you expect to just bump into them, and every thing just reminds you of them and things you did together," Sheeran wrote in an Instagram post.
I guess I could just pretend
The colors are more than blue
But I lost more than my friend
I can't help but missin' you
"You sorta have to take yourself out of reality sometimes to numb the pain of loss, but certain things just bring you right back into it," Sheeran continued. "Blue was Jamal's color, but now is all I feel. And I guess music helps heal, so I'm dancing with my eyes closed to try get through it."
Sheeran previously mourned Jamal's passing on his song "
F64," where he rapped a letter to his fallen friend.
Sheeran wrote "Eyes Closed" with Swedish pop hitmakers Max Martin and Shellback, and one of his go-to songwriting sidekicks, Fred Again. English producer Fred Again contributed to nine tracks on Sheeran's 2021 Equals album.
Martin, Shellback, and Fred Again co-produced "Eyes Closed" with Aaron Dessner of the American group The National. Taylor Swift introduced Dessner to Sheeran after he co-produced her Folklore and Evermore albums. Dessner and Sheeran wrote over 30 songs during a month-long studio stint in February and March 2022.
Dessner and Fred Again played most of the instruments:
Dessner: electric and acoustic guitar, piano, bass
Fred Again: keyboards, drums, bass, background vocals
The other musicians are:
Rob Moose: violin, viola, cello
James McAlister: synthesizer, shaker, Moog
American instrumentalist Rob Moose used to be a member of the Osso String Quartet. He has also worked with Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, The Killers, and Taylor Swift. James McAlister collaborated with Sufjan Stevens and The National's Bryce Dessner on their Planetarium album and played on seven tracks on Taylor Swift's Evermore record.
The Mia Barnes-directed video shows Sheeran being followed by a big, fluffy blue creature, which represents grief. As the song progresses, the creature gradually increases in size, serving as a visual metaphor for the growing intensity of Sheeran's sorrow. The 1950 comedy-drama film Harvey, whose plot revolves around a man named Elwood P. Dowd (played by James Stewart) and his friendship with an imaginary 6-foot-tall rabbit named Harvey, inspired the visual.
"When I was thinking of concepts for the 'Eyes Closed' music video, I wanted to make a video inspired by movies like 'Harvey,' where the main character has an imaginary friend who's a giant rabbit that no one can see,'" said Sheeran.
"There's also a book I read my daughters where sadness is encapsulated by an imaginary creature," he continued. "Often sadness is something that follows you around, engulfing the rooms you're in, and you can feel and see it, but no one else around you can. So, I decided to create my own big blue monster for the video. He gets bigger and bigger as the video goes on, til he takes up whole rooms and is all I can see, just like sadness."
American photographer and director Mia Barnes previously worked with Sheeran on his Camila Cabello collaboration "
Bam Bam." Barnes referred to the video's storyline as one that deals with a "lingering presence of loss, that only you can see."
The song prominently features in the first trailer of Sheeran's Disney+ documentary Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All, which explores details of his private life.
Sheeran released "Eyes Closed" on March 24, 2023, as the lead single from his fifth studio album,
Subtract.
Over the course of the record's 14 tracks, Sheeran delves into his most profound and somber contemplations following a series of personal trials. These include the passing of his closest mate, his wife Cherry Seaborn's diagnosis with a tumor during her second pregnancy, and a legal battle over a copyright claim for his hit single "
Shape Of You."
"Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumor, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter," he said. "I was spiraling through fear, depression and anxiety."
"Eyes Closed" debuted at #1 on the UK Official Singles Chart, giving Sheeran his 14th chart-topper in his native country.
