Grief is a weird, shape-shifting thing. One minute you’re fine, and the next, you’re standing in a grocery store aisle staring at a box of cereal because it was your friend’s favorite brand. That’s exactly what Eyes Closed by Ed Sheeran captures. It’s not just another pop song designed to climb the charts—though it certainly did that. Honestly, it’s more like a raw nerve set to a melody.
When Sheeran dropped this as the lead single for his album Subtract (stylized as −) in March 2023, fans expected the usual catchy hooks. We got those, sure. But we also got a window into a year that nearly broke him.
The Story You Probably Didn't Hear
Most people know Eyes Closed is about Jamal Edwards. Jamal wasn't just some music industry guy; he was the founder of SBTV and the person who essentially gave Ed his first big break. When Jamal died suddenly in February 2022, it shattered Ed’s world.
Here is the kicker: the song didn't start out as a tribute to a deceased friend.
Originally, Ed wrote this back in 2018. Back then, it was just another breakup song. He was working with pop heavyweights like Max Martin and Shellback, aiming for that polished, radio-ready sound. But after Jamal passed, and after his wife Cherry Seaborn was diagnosed with a tumor while pregnant with their second child, the old lyrics felt... empty.
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He took the skeleton of that breakup track and completely gutted it. Working with Aaron Dessner (from The National), he turned it into something much more skeletal and haunted. It’s a song about the "phantom limb" feeling of loss. You go to a bar, you see a person with the same hair from the corner of your eye, and for a split second, you forget they’re gone.
That Big Blue Monster Explained
If you’ve seen the music video directed by Mia Barnes, you’ve seen the creature. It’s this massive, Muppet-like blue monster that follows Ed around as he goes about his day.
It looks a bit silly at first glance.
But it’s actually based on a book Ed reads to his daughters where sadness is an imaginary creature that follows you around. In the video, the monster gets bigger and bigger until it fills the whole room. That is such a perfect metaphor for how grief works. It’s not always a sharp pain; sometimes it’s just this massive, heavy thing that sits on your chest and blocks your view of everything else.
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Blue was also Jamal’s favorite color. So, when Ed sings about the "colors are more than blue," he’s literally talking about the person he lost.
Why it Resonated So Well
Even though the song is deeply specific to Ed's life, it became a massive hit because everyone has a "Jamal."
- The "Eye-Eye-Eyes" Hook: Even in a song this sad, Sheeran can't help but write a melody that sticks in your brain. That staccato chorus is what kept it on the UK Official Charts for months.
- The Production: It’s a mix of his classic percussive guitar style and Dessner’s atmospheric, "folklore-esque" vibes.
- The Timing: It came out right as his Disney+ documentary, The Sum of It All, was airing. People weren't just hearing a song; they were watching a man process his trauma in real-time.
By the time he finished the Subtract era, Eyes Closed had become his 14th Number 1 single in the UK. That put him level with Cliff Richard and Westlife. Only Elvis and The Beatles have more. That’s insane if you think about it. A song about a dead friend becoming one of the most successful tracks in British history.
What Most People Get Wrong
There’s a common misconception that Subtract was a "surprise" pivot to sad music.
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Actually, Ed had been planning a "stripped-back" acoustic album for a decade. He wanted it to be his masterpiece of songwriting. But the version we ended up hearing—the one containing Eyes Closed—was written in a frantic two-week burst of "clear-out-the-soul" writing.
He threw away the songs he’d spent ten years on because they didn't feel true anymore.
Actionable Takeaways for the Listener
If you’re listening to this track and feeling that same weight, here is what the song (and Ed’s journey) actually teaches us:
- Don't ignore the "Monster": In the video, the monster only disappears when Ed looks it in the eye and acknowledges it. Suppression doesn't work.
- Lean into the "Blue": Ed used the color blue to process his friend’s death. Finding a creative outlet—whether it’s music, writing, or just talking—is a legitimate way to "dance with your eyes closed" until things feel a bit lighter.
- Check the "Subtract" Documentary: If you want the full context, watch the Disney+ series. It shows the footage of him finding out about Jamal and how this song was his only way to stay sane.
Music is meant to heal, and while this track is a certified earworm, its real value is in how it validates that "stuck" feeling we all get when life takes someone away too soon. If you haven't revisited the acoustic versions from his live sessions at Union Chapel, do it. The stripped-back versions hit even harder than the studio single.
Go back and listen to the lyrics of the second verse again. He talks about "putting on a yellow suit" and trying to be fine. It’s a reminder that even when we’re performing "happiness" for the world, it’s okay to still be dancing with your eyes closed in private.