Autumn Variations: Perspectives & Stories
So much of what we consider art or literature is shaped by a mix of personal experience, cultural influence, and creative tradition. An artist’s work might be rooted in where they grew up, the music that shaped their youth, or even a novel gifted to them in adulthood. These influences blend to form something deeply personal, yet also shaped by the broader world. One school of thought argues that “literature is not a timeless reflection of universal truths, but rather a product of the historical and cultural contexts in which it was produced.” This lens, known as New Historicism, encourages us to view literature and art as reflections of the time, place, and people that created them.
But what even counts as literature? Is it just novels, essays, poems, and plays? Scholar Stephen Greenblatt, a major voice in New Historicism, expands this idea, that “what constitutes a literary work is not merely a fixed series of words in a certain order but rather a cultural object.” This definition opens the door to considering things like music albums as literary works, especially when they carry deep emotional and social significance.
One modern example of this is Ed Sheeran’s 2023 album, Autumn Variations. The album is packed with personal stories and the experiences of those close to him, all wrapped in the symbolism of fall. The cover itself reflects this, featuring items like “warm fires,” “moments of sadness,” “dreams of spring,” “drinks with friends,” and “dark thoughts.” Known for pouring raw emotion and personal memories into his lyrics, Sheeran has built a reputation as a storyteller. Autumn Variations continues that tradition, offering a collection of songs shaped by the lives of both the artist and his friends. This emotional and cultural depth makes the album a compelling subject for a New Historicist reading.
Real Life in Falling Leaves
For applying New Historicism to Ed Sheeran’s Autumn Variations, it is necessary to consider the events, cultural context, previous albums, and the inclusion of fans’ interpretations surrounding its creation. Therein, the year 2023 was a busy one for Ed Sheeran and producer Aaron Dessner, who collaborated on both - (Subtract, released in May) and Autumn Variations (released in September). While Dessner and Sheeran were recording Subtract, Sheeran’s pregnant wife Cherry “was diagnosed with cancer and had a tumor that was inoperable until after the birth of their second child” (See article here).
In addition, Jamal Edwards, a close friend of Sheeran’s, experienced a heart attack and died suddenly in February of 2022. This all had a profound effect on Sheeran, leading to Subtract being entirely rewritten. Sheeran comments, “When I went through a difficult time at the start of last year, writing songs helped me understand my feelings and come to terms with what was going on.” However, for his newest album, Autumn Variations, Sheeran makes it clear that it is a completely new concept and the culmination of the ups and downs of his and his mates’ lives, thus highlighting the personal inspirations of his music throughout.
Sheeran’s approach was inspired by Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, a classical piece written in tribute to friends and family. He describes this connection in the CBS interview, explaining:
Me and Cherry cook a lot and we always put on the same sort of records. It's like Norah Jones’ ‘Come Away with Me’ or Jack Johnson’s ‘In Between Dreams’ and stuff. And I was always like, ‘I don’t have a record like this, that’s just, like, one producer, one mood, one feel. And so that was very much wanting to go in and create a sort of autumnal feeling of 14 stories about my friends.
Sheeran reveals the essence of fall in a few lines throughout his songs: “The air bites, then leaves / Almost invisible cuts on the skin” from “England,” “This year flew by without a word” from “Spring,” “I want the warmth of the summer, the cold too cold to bear” from “The Day I Was Born,” and “Now that the weather is colder / Nothin' is maskin' this pain / The summer was here, but won't stay” from “That’s On Me.” Including these notes of falling leaves and grey skies, Sheeran’s album tells relatable and relevant stories for both his listeners and himself.
Working to incorporate his and his friends’ experiences with ones his listeners would share, Sheeran explains that:
Last autumn, I found that my friends and I were going through so many life changes. After the heat of the summer, everything either calmed, settled, fell apart, came to a head or imploded… when I learned about my friends’ different situations, I wrote songs, some from their perspectives, some from mine, to capture how they and I viewed the world at that time. There were highs of falling in love and new friendships among lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion.
“Plastic Bag”
One of these lows is illustrated in the fourth track, “Plastic Bag,” which begins with:
I overthink and have trouble sleepin'
All purpose gone and don't have a reason
Setting a tone of soul searching from the perspective of a dissatisfied weekend partier.
Another lyric depicts this miserable double life, singing:
Saturday night is givin' me a reason to rely on the strobe lights
The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass and I'll take that
Although Sheeran has likely never worked a nine-to-five, this is a concept all too familiar to his listeners and one of his friends struggling to cope at the end of an arduous work week.
Then, the song takes a more serious turn:
My friend died, it’s been years, still grievin’
And I thought time would be somehow healin’
Alluding to Sheeran’s grief over his friend Jamal Edwards’ death, “Plastic Bag” represents the burnout from the grind mindset of so many who are trying to escape from the dark realities of their lives.
“When Will I Be Alright”
Inspired by a conversation Sheeran had with a school friend, “When Will I Be Alright” depicts a restless night of unspeakable thoughts of death and depression, yet Sheeran intrepidly sings them aloud. Sheeran remarks that “I find that the best songs I’ve ever written are the ones that make me feel the most uncomfortable.” This is an uncomfortable song, starting with:
Oh, I've been up all night
Thinkin' 'bout dyin'
I've just been wastin' time
When will I be alright?
This song continues a similar tone to “Plastic Bag” and others from the album, although none dug as deep. Hoping for change amid an overwhelming burden, the thoughts continue:
Hold my breath to stop breathin'
Love, I used to know the meanin'
I'd wake up if I was dreamin'
But when will I be alright?
Sheeran does not hold back in shedding light on the truth of “Thinkin’ ‘bout dyin’,” which many may resonate with but are scared to speak the insomniac thoughts out loud. However, this regretful lament and desperate cry is far from being the central theme of the album, with Sheeran incorporating the dark with the light, the gloomy with the sunny.
“American Town”
Another sappy romance like that of “Galway Girl” and “Perfect” from his previous albums, Sheeran’s “American Town” is about his relationship with his now wife, Cherry Seaborn. Remembering the times he visited her in the US (See article here), Sheeran resonates:
We're a long way from home
Haven't seen you in so long
This track sits with the other, more light-hearted songs on the album. One lyric is a calling card to many Millennials and Gen-Zers, who make up most of Sheeran’s listeners:
We get Chinese food in small white boxes
Live the life we saw in Friends
This is a shoutout to one of the most popular sitcoms of the 90s that many continue to watch today, about six friends, some who live together, and others who just live life together. This reference also works to blend English and American influences, continuing the connection between cultural context and literary text.
While the whole of the song hints at the early romance of Ed and Cherry in the States, Sheeran comments that “I made Autumn Variations for the fans, and I really wanted to bring them into the fold on this album. I was keen to see how they interpreted the music, so I decided to ask my fans from across the world to make videos for each album track.”
He chose a fan-made music video from the US presenting their interpretation of “American Town,” which was of a couple eating “Chinese food in small white boxes,” getting engaged, and deciding to elope rather than plan a large wedding. The music video depicts the ups and downs of a relationship while also showing the small, tender moments shared through the eyes of a fan.
The song’s dreamy lilt concludes:
Lost in love and we don't wanna be found
It's just you and me
My English girl in an American town
Along with the sweet serenades of the album are the “lows of heartbreak, depression, loneliness and confusion,” and to Sheeran, they are each part of the season: the notes of falling leaves and grey skies.
Bringing Listeners In
Considering the deep personal inspirations beneath Sheeran’s lyrics in his newest release, Autumn Variations, is difficult to miss, especially in songs like “Plastic Bag,” “When Will I Be Alright,” and “American Town.” New Historicism seems inseparable from popular music critiques in that the history and cultural context of an artist is applied nearly every time.
Even then, this still allows for listeners to make up their interpretations and apply their own experiences, yet the story beneath remains whether they hear it or not. For Sheeran, this is a conscious choice, writing in a way that encourages other interpretations, all while he continues to compose memorable lyrics of love and loss, life and death, autumn and spring.