Songfacts®:

• Ed Sheeran became a father for the first time when his wife gave birth to their daughter Lyra in late August 2020. He wrote this lullaby for his baby girl before she was born.
• The song gives us a glimpse into Sheeran's personal life with his wife, Cherry, as they prepared for their daughter's birth.
  
  Daddy made your bed and your lullaby
  And Mumma made the mobile in the sky
  
  Sheeran built a cot for Lyra using cherry wood.
• And dream
  Hanging out with the sandman
  
  The Sandman is a traditional character in many children's stories. He puts the little ones to sleep and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand on or into their eyes. When Sheeran wrote this song, he wondered what Lyra would dream of. He created a world full of "Chocolate-covered roofs," "candy cars" and "snowmen made of ice cream" to sing his daughter to sleep.
• This is one of two songs on Equals inspired by Sheeran's baby girl. The track "Leave Your Life" also explores fatherhood.
• Sheeran purposely placed "Sandman" after the sorrowful "Visiting Hours" on Equal's track list. "You've got sadness and loss and then joy and life," he explained to Apple Music. "I think it just diffuses the situation instantly after 'Visiting Hours.'"
• Sheeran co-wrote and co-produced "Sandman" with one of his go-to collaborators, Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid.
• Sheeran also plays the ukulele on the track. The other musicians are:
  
  Johnny McDaid: Piano, keyboards, marimba and glockenspiel
  Maev McDaid: Harp
  Aine McDaid: Flute
  Owen Pallett: String arranger, violin, viola
  Mike Olsen: Cello
• Several other artists have written songs based on the figure of the Sandman, including:
  
  Monsters Of Folk (A lullaby to send their children to sleep.)
  
  The Chordettes (A request to "Mr. Sandman" to bring them a dream about the cutest guy they've ever seen.)
  
  Roy Orbison (Every night, The Sandman comes and sprinkles star dust bringing on dreams of his love interest. It's the only time he can be with her.)
  
  America (About soldiers in Vietnam scared to fall sleep in case they're attacked. They feared The Sandman, who represents sleep.)
  
  Metallica (This evil Sandman gives a child nightmares rather than pleasant dreams.)
  
  Lordi (About the anonymous serial killer Jack The Ripper, who terrorized London in 1888.)