Songfacts®:

• In 2021, Taylor Swift reached out to Ed Sheeran, suggesting he collaborate with Aaron Dessner, her partner on the Evermore and Folklore albums. Sheeran and Dessner met for dinner and chatted about life and music. During the conversation, Sheeran said he was looking for instrumental tracks to spark inspiration for his own writing.
  
  When Sheeran received the instrumentals, he immediately connected with their overall vibe and sensed the potential for future creations. However, a devastating blow struck when his wife, Cherry Seaborn, received news of a tumor while pregnant with their second child, Jupiter. This deeply affected Sheeran, compelling him to channel his emotions and write about his experiences in a diary-like manner.
  
  On receiving the distressing news, Sheeran reached out to Dessner, urgently requesting tracks to help him unload the thoughts swirling in his mind. Dessner sent seven instrumentals, and Sheeran responded by crafting seven songs within two-and-a-half hours. "I remember sitting in my house, and I had a laptop and a guitar," Sheeran recalled. "He'd send the instrumentals, and it was just brain-to-page that it came out."
  
  "Borderline" was the first song that Sheeran wrote from Dessner's initial batch of seven songs.
• Later on, Dessner traveled to the UK, where he and Sheeran recorded 30 songs by the seaside in just one week. This collaborative effort ultimately culminated in Sheeran's Subtract album.
• In this introspective, piano-driven track, Ed Sheeran bares his soul, unleashing confessions and thought-provoking questions with raw vulnerability.
  
  Sadness always finds an in
  Sneaks its way past, infecting everything
  And every chapter has an end
  But this is one momentous sequel, don't you think?
  
  It's as if we're eavesdropping on the inner turmoil of his mind, witnessing Sheeran's relentless battle with the depths of his despair.
• Sheeran subtly implies that he hides his pain and sorrow behind the facade of alcohol.
  
  So I will pour another drink
  And try to drown the pain with salt along the rim
• The all-falsetto chorus vividly portrays the challenges of escaping the clutches of depression. Teetering on the precipice, Sheeran grapples with uncertainty, questioning his ability to persevere.
  
  And right now, I feel I'm runnin' from the light
  Engulfed in darkness, shielded from my eyes
  One foot in, one out, I'm stuck on the borderline
  Which way will I?