Tenerife Sea

Album: x (2014)
Charted: 62
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Sheeran wrote this song at the 2013 Grammy Awards. When the English singer penned the tune, he was feeling somewhat left out as he was at the awards ceremony with his blue-eyed girlfriend and everyone else was doing drugs. He explained during a Spotify track by track that there were, "Lots of people chatting about loads of stuff I didn't really understand, and wasn't interested in, and thinking, 'Shall we just pop off?"'

    "We were surrounded by all the musicians I look up to," he added, "neither of us wanted to be there - you just want to be with this one person."
  • Speaking during a Live Session on BBC Radio 1 with Zane Lowe, Sheeran explained the song was inspired by a picture in a Thomas Cook package holiday brochure that was on the table showing a blue sea. He thought, "Her (his girlfriend's) eyes kinda look like that sea, what sea is that?" This lead to the song title and some of the lyrics.
  • Sheeran debuted the song during a performance at the Teenage Cancer Trust show in March 2014.
  • This was one of three songs on x produced by Rick Rubin (the other two were "Don't" and "Bloodstream.") Sheeran told Digital Spy he didn't set out to work with the legendary producer. "It was a weird thing because I wasn't intending for any of that to happen," he said. "Rick Rubin came to a show, we hung out, ended up in the studio and then did a lot of work together. It was literally a very random meeting - I went around for a cup of tea after the show!"

Comments: 1

  • Olanrewaju from Lagos I love this. ...
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Jethro Tull

Jethro TullFact or Fiction

Stage urinals, flute devices, and the real Aqualung in this Fact or Fiction.

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

Matt Sorum

Matt SorumSongwriter Interviews

When he joined Guns N' Roses in 1990, Matt helped them craft an orchestral sound; his mezzo fortes and pianissimos are all over "November Rain."

Boy Bands

Boy BandsFact or Fiction

From NKOTB to 1D, how well do you know your boy bands?

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.