The Meanings of Love
Singer/songwriter, Ed Sheeran, in his song “Photograph” (2014) speaks on what it means to love someone who is far away. He describes love by using the word “photograph” and by comparing love to photographs, meaning they can always be with one another, even if they are not physically with one another, and to remember a perfectly captured moment in their relationship. Sheeran’s purpose is to state his feelings on love and to say it is never easy, and that relationships can become broken, but they are not unfixable. He establishes a romantic tone for his audience, his fans through different examples/words/lines in his song. Specifically, Sheeran implements multiple metaphors throughout the song “Photograph” to share what …show more content…
He opens the song by saying “loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes, but it’s the only thing that I know, when it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes, it is the only thing that makes us feel alive.” Sheeran is saying heartbreak is all he has ever known when it comes to love, but he doesn’t mind. He describes love in this way because love is a complicated word to define as it is both the most blissful experience life can offer but has the potential to devastate. By describing love in this connotative way, he is able to reach many people who believe love is one way or the other. Also, he reaches for those people who believe love is difficult and almost not worth the pain and sacrifice it requires, and to those who believe love is everything and worth all of the sacrifice they can give. Sheeran describes love in this way to give an even deeper meaning to his song and to even describe his own experience with love. The artist then goes on to say “loving can heal, loving can mend your soul, and it’s the only thing that I know, I swear it will get easier, remember that with every piece of ya, and it’s the only thing we take with us when we die” Sheeran does this to offer a light of hope, he does not want to leave his fans with this impending description of love that seems to offer nothing but despair. He is saying that this intimacy with another soul is worth every hardship, and when it gets hard there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Next, Sheeran uses the example of a long-distance relationship to establish his tone for the
Singer/songwriter, Ed Sheeran, in his song “Photograph” (2014) speaks on what it means to love someone who is far away. He describes love by using the word “photograph” and by comparing love to photographs, meaning they can always be with one another, even if they are not physically with one another, and to remember a perfectly captured moment in their relationship. Sheeran’s purpose is to state his feelings on love and to say it is never easy, and that relationships can become broken, but they are not unfixable. He establishes a romantic tone for his audience, his fans through different examples/words/lines in his song. Specifically, Sheeran implements multiple metaphors throughout the song “Photograph” to share what …show more content…
He opens the song by saying “loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes, but it’s the only thing that I know, when it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes, it is the only thing that makes us feel alive.” Sheeran is saying heartbreak is all he has ever known when it comes to love, but he doesn’t mind. He describes love in this way because love is a complicated word to define as it is both the most blissful experience life can offer but has the potential to devastate. By describing love in this connotative way, he is able to reach many people who believe love is one way or the other. Also, he reaches for those people who believe love is difficult and almost not worth the pain and sacrifice it requires, and to those who believe love is everything and worth all of the sacrifice they can give. Sheeran describes love in this way to give an even deeper meaning to his song and to even describe his own experience with love. The artist then goes on to say “loving can heal, loving can mend your soul, and it’s the only thing that I know, I swear it will get easier, remember that with every piece of ya, and it’s the only thing we take with us when we die” Sheeran does this to offer a light of hope, he does not want to leave his fans with this impending description of love that seems to offer nothing but despair. He is saying that this intimacy with another soul is worth every hardship, and when it gets hard there will be a light at the end of the tunnel. Next, Sheeran uses the example of a long-distance relationship to establish his tone for the