Songfacts®:

• Ed Sheeran's Subtract album is a powerful response to life's seismic shifts. When his wife Cherry Seaborn faced a health scare - a non-cancerous tumor during her pregnancy with their second child - Sheeran used the record as a therapeutic outlet. He wrote songs as a means to untangle his feelings and find clarity, letting the music flow without constraints. "I wrote without thought of what the songs would be," he said. "I just wrote whatever tumbled out."
  
  This hushed confessional tells the tale of Cherry's health battle and the overwhelming weight of the world pressing down on Sheeran's shoulders.
• "Vega" is a raw portrayal of cracking under the relentless pressure.
  
  This week was heavy, I buckled under all the weight
  What can you do, but pray?
  And subsequently burning out.
  Light up the night, we were made to be stars
  But it burns like hell to be Vega
  
  Stripped of accompaniment, Sheeran sings the repeated refrain, "it burns like hell to be vega," all on the same note to emphasize the pain.
• The repeated refrain "it burns like hell to be vega" takes on additional layers of meaning. Vega, the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, shares its name with Sheeran's firstborn daughter. It becomes a poignant symbol, shining brightly in the night sky just like the deep-rooted emotions he pours into this heartfelt revelation.
  
  "Vega is a burning ball of gas – it's a star – in a constellation, "said Sheeran. "I feel that people look at me as a star – I play music and make stuff – and sometimes stars bring light, but at the heart of it they're just a massive ball of burning f---ing gas."
• Pain knows no boundaries, touching both the superstar and the everyday soul.
  
  Same problems, different options
  Pain comes at a cost, but we've got this
  Need rest-bite, bleed time dry
  She'll be fine, she'll be fine
  
  As Sheeran's voice resounds, "Need rest, bite, bleed time dry. She'll be fine, she'll be fine," the swelling strings paint a vivid image of a solitary figure pacing in a room, consumed by desperation.
• When Sheeran's friend Taylor Swift suggested he collaborate with her songwriting partner Aaron Dessner, he agreed to meet the musician for dinner. During their meal, Sheeran asked for some instrumental tracks to kindle the flames of inspiration for his own creative process.
  
  Dessner's music resonated with Sheeran, igniting a spark of limitless possibilities. During his time of turmoil over Cherry's ill-health, he reached out to Dessner for further tracks that could serve as an outlet for the swirling thoughts within.
  
  Dessner responded by dispatching seven instrumentals. In a whirlwind of creative fervor, Sheeran poured his heart and soul into crafting seven songs within a mere two-and-a-half hours. "This is a song that was in the batch of seven songs that Aaron sent when we got the bad news," explained Sheeran. "With Aaron's music, you listen to it and words come out, and you don't know what the f--k they mean sometimes. [It had] this line in it where I was like singing 'it burns like hell to be Vega.' I was like, 'what the f--k does that mean?' It turns out that Vega is a burning ball of gas."
• Aaron Dessner plays seven of the instruments on the track: bass synthesizer, Juno synthesizer, tambourine, synthesizer, mellotron, guitar and electric guitar. The other musicians are:
  
  Rob Moose: Violin, viola, cello,
  Kyle Resnick: trumpet
  Ben Lanz: trombone
  James McAlister: shaker, synthesizer
  Doveman: Prophet synthesizer, synthesizer
  J.T. Bates: drums
  
  Violinist Rob Moose used to be a member of Antony & the Johnsons and the Osso String Quartet. He was also one of the violinists in the string quartet used on Sufjan Stevens' album Illinois. Moose has worked with other artists, including Alabama Shakes, Bon Iver, The Killers, and Taylor Swift.
  
  Kyle Resnick has been a touring member of Dessner's band The National since 2007. Both Resnick and trombonist Ben Kanz are also touring members of the indie-folk band Beirut.
  
  Drummer and percussionist James McAlister is best known for his work with Sufjan Stevens. He provided most percussion and drums on Stevens' Illinois album. He also played on Taylor Swift's Evermore track "Closure" and several Folklore tracks, including co-producing "Mad Woman."
  
  Pianist Thomas "Doveman" has collaborated with Aaron Dessner on multiple occasions. Their creative alliance includes "The 1" from Taylor Swift's Folklore and "Difficult" from Gracie Abrams' Good Riddance.