"Curtains" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. It was released on 5 May 2023 through

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and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

as the eighth track from his fifth studio album, ''

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'' ("Subtract"). Sheeran wrote the song with producer

Aaron Dessner Aaron Brooking Dessner (born April 23, 1976) is an American musician. He is best known as a founding member of the rock band The National (band), the National, with whom he has recorded nine studio albums; a co-founder of the indie rock duo Big ...

. He announced the song alongside the album on 1 March 2023, setting up several pre-order opportunities.

Composition and lyrics

The song is lyrically about putting in the work to come to a peace of mind. Sheeran shows a sense of uncertainty and mortality while pushing through tough times. The song also contains

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

and is about getting through grief. It is built around a minor chord progression composed by

and is reminiscent of

Avril Lavigne Avril Ramona Lavigne ( ; ; born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She is a key musician in popularizing pop-punk music, as she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. List of awa ...

-style

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

Critical reception

Nick Levine of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' felt that the song "has a springier rhythm, plus

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

guitars that recall

The Cranberries The Cranberries were an Irish rock music, rock band formed in Limerick in 1989. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Dolores O'Riordan, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan (Noel's brother), and drummer Fergal Lawler. O'Riord ...

and a genuinely anthemic chorus, sounds like a future single".

Maura Johnston Maura K. Johnston (born May 28, 1975) is a writer, editor and music critic. A member of Boston College's journalism faculty, she has written for ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''Pitchfork'', ''The Awl'', ''The New York Times'', ''Spin' ...

of ''

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'' felt that it "turns a game of hide and seek into a metaphor for dragging oneself out of life's muck".

Music video

The official music video for "Curtains" premiered alongside the remaining videos for every song on the album on 5 May 2023, the same day that the album was released, as part of its

visual album A visual album is a type of concept album in which the album is accompanied by a feature-length film or individual music videos for every song. Usually, the film, or "visuals", emphasize the album's overall theme and serve as the "visual vehicle" ...

. Taking place in a forest, the video depicts Sheeran coming across a group of people running around him. The video alternates between blue, where Sheeran is disoriented and tries to avoid other people, and orange, where Ed is joyful and has fun with them, mists. As the video ends with the mist clearing up and Sheeran and everybody else walking away, a brief shot shows Sheeran in the blue mist being happy too.

Charts

References

{{Ed Sheeran songs 2023 songs Ed Sheeran songs Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Aaron Dessner Song recordings produced by Aaron Dessner