Songfacts®:

• This heartfelt ballad finds a vulnerable Ghetts chronicling how a broken relationship has left him grief-stricken. A heartbroken Ed Sheeran joins him halfway through the track recounting a similar tale of woe.
• The two artists teamed up back in 2011 at a time when Sheeran was attempting to get signed by a label. Ghetts contributed towards the then-little known singer's track "Drown Me Out," which appeared on his No.5 Collaborations Project EP. That record, released by Sheeran independently, featured a collection of London-based grime artists. "I always take things for what they are, and he's cold," Ghetts told Apple Music of his featured guest. "It's why I didn't have a problem working with him when he was unknown at that time."
• Sheeran has since cited Ghetts as a direct influence on his own approach to songwriting. Now, a decade later, the pop superstar returns the favor. Speaking to NME, the rapper said how Sheeran went above and beyond to record his portion.
  
  He explained that when he DMed him to feature on "10,000 Tears," Sheeran was on his way to Japan for a break and couldn't do it. Not long afterwards the "Shape Of You" singer hit Ghetts back to say he'd found a studio in Japan and asked him to send the track over. There were some technical issues, but within an hour he'd sorted it for the MC. "He's the busiest guy in the world," Ghetts concluded, "yet he still made time to do that for me."
• Ghetts and Sheeran wrote the song with the rapper's guitarist, Kadeem Clarke, singer-songwriter Shaun McDowell, and the track's producer, Reiss Nicholas.
• Ghetts recorded the song for third studio album Conflict of Interest. The record marks rapper's' debut outing on a major label (it was released by Warner Records).