“Shivers” by Ed Sheeran

Sheeran’s “Shivers” is another classic example of a love song. As we have noted in the past, since romance is perhaps the most well-worn topic in the music industry, then at this point it isn’t so much about what sentiment is being expressed – that of course being appreciation for the addressee – as opposed to how it’s being put forth. 

And in this case, the metaphor which the song is centered on is the vocalist’s sweetheart ‘giving him the shivers’.

Perhaps, all lyrics considered, that isn’t the best metaphor to describe what Ed is going through. Shivering, in a romantic context, sort of conjures up images of shyness or maybe not yet being comfortably intimate with the apple of your eye. 

But in this case, it is pretty obvious that the vocalist and addressee are in fact hot lovers. Indeed, it can be ascertained that what Ed relishes the most about this relationship is its amorous aspect. And even though he does by and large rely on metaphors to get that point across, the second verse is quite steamy, though not necessarily in a NSFW kind of way.

All in all

So conclusively, we can label this as an adult love song. Yes, a songwriter as skillful as Ed Sheeran and co. could have penned this piece in a manner that his loving feelings for the addressee come through without any sexual references. But you know, enjoyable sex is usually part and parcel of being in love in the first place. And in this case, the vocalist is not afraid to admit that emotions along those lines are what have him hooked on the addressee.

Facts about “Shivers”

Shivers came out on 9 September 2021 as the second single from Ed Sheeran’s album = (Equals), which itself is slated for a late-October release via Atlantic Records and Asylum Records. The lead single from the project, Bad Habits, was issued a couple of months prior and as expected proved to be a major international success.

Indeed Ed Sheeran has by far been one of the most successful musicians of the 21^st century on a number of levels. For instance, his first three studio albums in particular (of which Equals would be the fifth), went multi-platinum and in some cases even diamond (exceeding 10,000,000 sales) in a number of countries. Also Sheeran’s ÷ (Divide) Tour, which he led from 2017 to 2019, set the record for generating more revenue than any other concert tour in history. And while we’re on the subject, Ed has noted that he “wrote (Shivers) as soon as the Divide Tour ended”.

Ed wrote and produced this song alongside Steve Mac. Fred Again, another musician from the UK, also lent to the production of Shivers, and additional co-writers are Johnny McDaid and Kal Lavelle.

It is believed that the first teasing of this song occurred around mid-August 2021, via Ed Sheeran’s Instagram.

The music video to this track was helmed by director Dave Meyers.

Ed Sheeran’s = (Equals) Album

= (Equals), is Ed Sheeran’s fifth studio album. This is the first album Ed has gotten around to dropping 2019’s No.6 Collaborations Project. As noted earlier, Equals is a product of Warner Music Group subsidiaries Atlantic Records and Asylum Records, with Sheeran having been signed to the latter since 2011. 

As it currently stands, the standard edition of Equals features 14 tracks in total, none of which are collaborations. In addition to the aforenoted Bad Habits another popular song from the project is a song titled Visiting Hours. Both were made public almost around the same time. 

And despite Visiting Hours being released as a promotional single, it still charted in over 20 countries. 

Meanwhile Bad Habits has been one of the biggest hits of 2021, topping music charts in nearly 30 countries and actually charting in over 50 overall, which, as far as the music industry goes, is like saying it hit throughout the entire world. 

So for now, it remains to be seen how Shivers will perform. But for the most part Ed Sheeran, especially as far as his non-collaborations go, has never dropped a single that didn’t succeed.