Chantal's Blog: "It's too cold outside for angels to fly"

Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team” is without a doubt one of my favorite songs. Even though the subject matter is controversial and quite bluntly about the class “A” drug cocaine and a struggling prostitute, Sheeran manages to create a superb melodic piece and uses euphemisms to express his song so delicately. With just his acoustic guitar and soft voice, he is able to tell a very sad story in a unique and beautifully crafted way.

His lyrics are as listed:

White lips, pale face
Breathing in snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste

Light's gone, day's end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men

And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
And sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly

Ripped gloves, rain coat
Tried to swim and stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes

Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone

And they say
She's in the class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately,
her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
And sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly

An angel will die
Covered in white
Closed eyed
And hoping for a better life
This time, we'll fade out tonight
Straight down the line

And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries

They scream
The worst things in life come to free us
And we're all under the upper hand
Go mad for a couple grams
And we don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland
And sell love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
To fly, fly
For angels to fly, to fly, to fly
Or angels to die

Like poetry, songs have some sort of form to represent a message to the audience. In Ed Sheeran’s “The A Team”, he uses rhyme, rhythm as well as stanza organization to tell his story. We see most of his rhyme scheme in the chorus, as the last word of each phrase has a similar sound, i.e., “A Team”, “daydream, “eighteen”, “face seems”, etc. This not only stresses importance but is also pleasurable for listeners. The rhythm throughout the chorus is also noticeable as we see a stress on the last two syllables of each line. This pattern is prevalent throughout most of the song as many of his verses are broken up into two syllable words with a pause in between or staccato pattern. This also relates to the way he organizes each stanza. His verses are broken up into three lines each with the first and last line containing two syllable beats. His chorus is broken up into a similar pattern with a clear accent on the last two syllables of each line indicating he wants us to pay more attention here. The form of his song, with choppy beats and stressed syllables, help to ensure the meaning of the song but also create a rhythmic and harmonious piece, that is exquisite both poetically and musically.

Throughout this song we also see many stylistic elements. Although it is hard to tell who the speaker is, you can hypothesize it is not the subject of the song but rather a third person outsider, who knows or can relate to the prostitute being referred to. Sheeran uses a subtle tone in his song to convey a controversial, yet relatable story. His use of euphemisms throughout his song avoids much bluntness, especially in the lines: “And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland/And sells love to another man”. Here we can detect Sheeran is referring to a prostitute getting high from a crack pipe, however his subtle tone masks his literal meaning. Because of his clever subtleties, we can also relate to his song in lines such as, “we’re all under the upper hand” and “we’ll fade out tonight”. Sheeran also uses poetic language such as imagery, similes and symbolism to tell his story. His first stanza, “White lips, pale face” immediately create a visual. He uses more powerful imagery in the second verse stating, “weary-eyed, dry throat”. The images Sheeran creates help us to visualize this striking person who we soon understand is struggling to make ends meet, and resorting to drugs and selling sex for money. “Crumbling like pastries” is a strong simile the speaker uses to describe a girl who’s face is coming apart, possibly even literally. Sheeran’s use of symbolism is also prevalent throughout his song, as we see his multiple references to angels. These angels could be symbolic of cocaine for example, being stark white; Or how a good person, like we imagine an angel to be, turned into a helpless being while turning down the wrong road in life.

This song, as I mentioned, is a heavy topic that many people do not even realize because of the way Sheeran is able to craft his message - softly with many subtleties. The content although controversial, says to me that life is hard, and terrible things do happen. Drug addiction, prostitution, and surviving with almost no income are very unfortunate things that happen to everyday people. Sometimes it really is too cold outside for angels to fly. This song is sad, but it appeals to me because of its honest and heart breaking story. Sheeran wasn't trying to write a song about getting “all up in the club” like many others, but rather tell the story of a girl who made a lot of wrong choices and ended up living a hard life because of that. Aside from its vulnerable nature that appeals to me, the song is beautiful musically as well, with its more stripped down acoustic feel. If other groups or artists covered this same song I feel the message would be similar because it is so sad and honest that it would be hard to express it any other way. Ed Sheeran definitely managed to tell a disheartening story in a beautiful way.

Check out his music video: