Songfacts®:

• The origin of the phrase "no strings attached" dates back to the 18th century when it was used to describe a fabric that was defect-free and marked with a string for easy identification. Over time, the phrase took on a figurative meaning of describing a situation that is free of restrictions.
  
  In Ed Sheeran's slow love ballad, "No Strings," he sings about being in a relationship with no conditions or complications. The track emphasizes the importance of loving someone for who they are, without any hidden agendas or motives in the relationship.
• At the Eventim Apollo in London on March 28, 2023, Sheeran opened up about the inspiration behind "No Strings." He revealed that the song was influenced by the difficult time he and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, went through when she was diagnosed with a tumor while pregnant with their second child, Jupiter, in early 2022. He attributed his understanding of marriage and relationships to the advice his father gave him, which helped him appreciate the true meaning of love and partnership.
  
  "My dad said to me when I got married, 'You will not know what real love and marriage is until there's death and real sickness,'" Sheeran explained. "He said that because that happened when he first married my mum. There was real, real grief that happened in the family and real, real sickness that ended up in grief that they had to go through."
  
  Sheeran added that despite the challenging circumstances, their union only grew stronger during her recovery. "I've been married now almost five years and I've always felt real, real closeness," he said. "But last year was when that unbreakable bond was made. I know you should feel that before with a marriage and children, but I really feel like 'if we can get through 2022, we can get through anything.'"
• Sheeran wrote "No Strings" with Aaron Dessner of the American band The National and recorded it for his fifth studio album, Subtract. Sheeran and Dessner worked on 32 tracks together in a studio in Kent, England, in early 2022. Of those 32 songs, 14 made it onto the standard edition of Subtract.
• Sheeran's unbreakable union with his wife Cherry inspired Subtract. Speaking in the singer's Disney+ documentary series The Sum Of It All, Seaborn discussed her husband's response to her cancer diagnosis.
  
  "We had the diagnosis of the tumor and the next day Eds went down into the basement and wrote seven songs in four hours," she said. "Some people write a diary and get their emotions out through the pen and for Ed, if something really intense happens, he'll go and write a song."
• Dessner played the Juno synthesizer, bass synthesizer, Mellotron, tambourine and piano on the song. The other musicians are:
  
  Yuki Numata Resnick: violin
  Reid Jenkins: violin
  Clarice Jensen: cello
  Dave Nelson: trumpet
  J.T. Bates: drums
  Bryce Dessner: orchestration
  
  Bryce Dessner, the twin brother of Aaron Dessner and guitarist of The National, also lent his orchestration skills to several tracks on Taylor Swift's Folklore and Evermore albums.