Take It Back - Intellectual

A nod to the 2003 film School of Rock. Of course, in both the film and in real life, Jack Black is a musician (as well as an actor); Ed can perform with the best of them.

While Ed trying to avoid the cane is fairly self-explanatory, this doubles up as a reference to the 1971 film Get Carter, in which the titular character Jack Carter (portrayed by Michael Caine) returns home in an attempt to find out more about his brother’s mysterious death – the climax in particular sees one character (trying to avoid spoilers) attempting to avoid Carter.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=nWfrpqGDJig

David Beckham was a world-class English footballer who most famously played for Real Madrid and Manchester United – now he’s just a world class guy all round.

Renown for his skill at free-kicks, Beckham even had a film named after him!

Ed played with the idea of a stage name rather than going by his real name. It didn’t help that some random guy with an identical name was showing up on retailers when he first started out!

We all know how hard Ed worked to get to this point in his career: he played over 1000 shows before he got signed, including busking which he mentions later in verse 4.

Rubber Dinghy Rapids (also known as Congo River Rapds) is the name of a ride at Alton Towers that was popularized by the film “Four Lions” through the phrase “Rubber Dinghy Rapids bro”.
http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=ubrqvbu4DD0

While Ed has got the talent and the fanbase to be performing at MSG (it has happened – last year he sold out tickets to the venue in just three minutes!) he’s more likely to be at a pub or something similar with his friends; he’s still the same guy he has always been.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=EXUckA492is

Yeah, alright, you might win worst-dressed Ed, but you know how much your basic attire is worth? Some of his clothes were donated and sold by East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, attracting cumulative bids of over £1,000 in the first twelve hours!

Timothy Dalton was one of the last classic James Bond actors, starring in License To Kill and The Living Daylights.

Dalton was known for being one of the most serious 007’s, which is why Ed remembers him as having such a brave face.

Whereas a stepfather would try to win the the love of his step children (by doing anything to please them), Ed is unwilling to follow the commercial formula of making hit records like those already on the radio and gaining public recognition (his first album came out at a time where the charts were dominated by dance records), instead Ed is going to do things his own way (and has been mighty successful at it), from which he will later gain acclaim and respect from critics and fans alike.

Ed is referring to his slightly unconventional way of creating and performing music with a loop station, and that to succeed in the music industry you need to do more than create basic songs as anyone could do that.

Pedigree brand dog food heavily advertises that it makes pets healthier. A pedigree dog literally means one which is purebred and healthy. Ed’s saying that he’s booked for so many festivals and earning a lot from them. He’s got eight 2014 festival dates on his website alone!

When an animal (dog/cat) hears something that startles them or catches their attention, the extra muscles in their ears activate and twist their ears closer to the source of the sound.

Perk: The verb used to describe the movement of the animal’s ears.

Between mid-2005 and 2009 (age 16-20), he was in London and he wasn’t famous or big. He had to fend for himself and wrote “The City” about it.

London calls me a stranger, a traveller
This is not my home

Being away from home “kept him grounded” because it meant he was entirely focused on his music career and had less distractions. It also taught him more about the real world and the real industry, which helped him work towards his dream of playing sold-out tours!

He’s on his second “saga”, his sophomore album x. Since sagas are big, this record will be big.

Along the way, he’ll satisfy his love of drinking with the German beer lager.

Absinthe is a incredibly strong spirit known for its 68% alcohol content.

Ed knows that missing somebody can be particularly emotional, but he finds solace in drinking the pain away – despite the side-effects the alcohol has on his liver

Ed became good friends with Irish singer/songwriter Foy Vance who he took on tour around the UK and US. Foy wrote a song called “Closed Hand, Full of Friends” which Ed references here.

Another of Ed’s support acts, Passenger, scored an international hit with “Let Her Go” months after it came out thanks to Ed. He hopes that Vance can be just as successful.

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=QEj8bBHq4s4&feature=kp

A reference to the popular sweets company Opal Fruit, who later renamed themselves to Starburst. Ed wouldn’t be the only “sweet wrapper” in town…

Ed is referring to “sleeping with a movie star and adding to the population” in the previous line. He is asking the famous movie star if it would hurt her reputation if he told the world about their night on his song (on wax meaning on a vinyl record). He decides against mentioning her name, and takes it back.

Waxing also involves putting strips on a hairy area and taking them off: Ed could be using this as an analogy when he says “I’ll take it back now”.

Singing and rhyming words quickly is something which he showcased on the album’s lead single “SING”, and previously on the the song “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” where he also alludes to this:

I sing, fast, I know that all my shit’s cool

Ed can literally make a beat with his feet! He uses a loop pedal which allows him to have control of his hands while he isn’t playing the guitar (thanks to the loop pedal).

http://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=qX2eJsj9MiQ

When labels help you by giving you money or resources to produce/record/perform, they also usually get some say in what you make and release.

Sheeran took the help his label gave him while staying in control of what he made.

Life’s dreams sounds like livestreams – Ed took to Ustream in 2011, where he performed live versions of tracks from +. His livestream version of “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” made it onto the EP. https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/watch?v=Y-kTkkbHW-k

Ed Sheeran is known for his visits to pubs (he famously took Taylor Swift to a pub in Suffolk). You might find him in the local with Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid, a friend of Sheeran’s who wrote and produced several songs on x (including this one).

“Everything that happens is from now on” is one of many tattoos on Ed’s left arm. It encapsulates the idea if you want to be happy you have to life in the moment.

It is also a Bon Iver lyric from the track “Re:Stacks” and is written in Bon Iver’s handwriting.

A reference to “I Try” by singer Macy Gray, when she says

I try to say goodbye and I choke
I try to walk away and I stumble

Ed found it hard leaving his family and normal society behind to pursue his music career.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xqfq6_macy-gray-i-try_music

NME editor Luke Lewis stirred up some controversy when he began tweeting about Ed, accompanied by the hashtag #howshitisedsheeran. He has since delivered an apology, which Ed accepted, but he still had a little pop at the magazine, claiming he’s having much greater success much than could ever be achieved by their brand.

There is also some nice wordplay with “enemy” and “NME”, since these two words sound like homophones.

Being imperfect is a part of being human, and Ed even feels it would be boring to be like that. He’s happy the way he is despite the fact that he doesn’t have a body like a bulldozer.

Incidentally, Ed’s close friend Jessie J has a song called “Nobody’s Perfect”!