Happier- Ed Sheeran

Walking down 29th and Park
I saw you in another’s arms
Only a month we’ve been apart
You look happier

Sheeran sings out these words slowly, leaving time after each phrase to really sink into the listener. He breaths out each word as if they are painful to even think about, making it apparent in his voice that this is a sensitive topic. Generally, humans crave vulnerability and, whether this is truly Ed’s story or not, it feels to the listener that someone is opening up to them. It connects to people on a deeper level than what they might find if he was simply speaking or writing. He also expresses the perfect balance of detail to vagueness, providing enough imagery to make this feel like a real story while also being general enough to connect to people personally.

Saw you walk inside a bar
He said something to make you laugh
I saw that both your smiles were twice as wide as ours
Yeah, you look happier, you do

Here he starts the theme of feeling less than, a common human emotion. As he sings that he was never able to make her smile the way she is now, he’s admitting that he was never as good for her as who she’s currently with. He’s expressing that he may not be good enough, pulling the listener in and showing verbally what many might think and never say.

’Cause baby you look happier, you do
My friends told me one day I’ll feel it too
And until then I’ll smile to hide the truth
But I know I was happier with you

As the song nears it’s end, Sheeran conveys that he is reluctant to believe he could ever be happier than he was before. Even though he sees now that he may not have been good enough, she was enough for him.

This song relates to people because it feels real and raw. So many recent songs it seems, are made in a relatability factory, as if there is a simple equation in producing a hit song. However, when Ed Sheeran sings, it doesn’t sound as if his focus is hitting notes. He sings about life and relationships and emotion and it comes across to the listener. The words are heard on a deeper level, as if speaking to a close friend about their emotional experiences. Lyrics, melody, or vocals alone could not produce something so moving to the human heart. While this post focuses mostly on connection to lyrics, the magic really happens when it all comes together.