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Ed Sheeran · S3 E8
Taylor
A backstage meeting in Nashville. Two songwriters become best friends, and both careers shift
Taylor Swift's backyard, Los Angeles, spring 2012. Two songwriters sit cross-legged on the grass passing an acoustic guitar back and forth, writing a song in two hours that neither of them realizes will turn into a decade-long creative partnership.
"The Joker and the Queen" remix (Ed Sheeran feat. Taylor Swift, official music video, 2022). The video reunites the child actors from the "Everything Has Changed" video, now teenagers, completing the love story that started ten years earlier. It's Ed and Taylor's friendship captured in a single visual: a connection that started in a backyard and never stopped growing.
More Than a Songwriting Session
What started with a guitar in a backyard quickly became something bigger than either of them expected. Within months of writing "Everything Has Changed," Ed and Taylor were texting daily, swapping demos, and giving each other feedback on unfinished songs. Ed has said Taylor was the first person in the industry who treated him like a peer rather than an opening act.
Sources
Swift, Taylor. Interview. Rolling Stone, 2012.
Sheeran, Ed. Interview. GQ, 2014.
“We'd write songs together backstage and compare notes on everything. It's like having a friend who's also a James Taylor or a Carole King. You don't get that very often.”
— Taylor Swift on her friendship with Ed Sheeran, Rolling Stone, 2014
The Joker and the Queen (feat. Taylor Swift), Ed Sheeran (2022)
The original version of "The Joker and the Queen" appeared on Ed's 2021 album = as a solo track. The Taylor remix strips it back to just piano and two voices, removing the orchestral production and letting the vocal blend do the work. Listen for how their voices interact: Ed sits in the low register while Taylor floats above him, the same complementary dynamic they discovered in that LA backyard a decade earlier. The song is about finding someone who makes the chaos manageable, and the casting is too perfect to be coincidence.
Sources
Sheeran, Ed. Interview. Apple Music, 2022.
Billboard. "Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift: The Joker and the Queen Remix." February 2022.
TAP TO REVEAL: What did Taylor Swift teach Ed Sheeran about the music business?
Two Careers, One Friendship
The friendship extended far beyond songwriting. Ed became one of the few people Taylor trusted completely during the public feuds, the album re-recordings, and the scrutiny that came with being the most famous woman in pop. Ed stayed out of the drama and just kept showing up. When Taylor needed someone to sing on the Reputation tour, Ed was there. When Ed got married, Taylor was one of the first people he told.
Sources
Vanity Fair. "Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran: Inside Pop's Most Genuine Friendship." 2019.
Sheeran, Ed. Interview. The Howard Stern Show, 2021.
Taylor Swift's Beverly Hills Home
The backyard where Ed and Taylor wrote "Everything Has Changed" in spring 2012, passing an acoustic guitar back and forth on the grass. The song that started a friendship and a creative partnership that would span a decade and produce multiple collaborations.
Ed and Taylor: The Numbers
22, Taylor Swift (2012)
The unofficial anthem of the Red tour, and the song Ed heard from sidestage every night for 58 shows across North America. "22" captures the energy of the era when Ed and Taylor were both young, both suddenly famous, and both figuring out what that meant in real time. Ed has said hearing Taylor perform this song every night taught him what a true pop anthem sounds like: simple enough that fifty thousand people can sing it back, smart enough that it doesn't feel disposable.
22, Taylor Swift (2012)
Taylor's lyrics are deceptively simple: she's listing the feelings of being young and reckless, and the melody is so bright it sounds effortless. But the structure is precise, every line earning its place. Ed has called Taylor the best structural songwriter he knows, someone who can build a chorus that feels inevitable without ever being predictable. "22" is the proof: three minutes that sound like they wrote themselves.
Where did Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift write "Everything Has Changed"?
Ed Sheeran started Season 3 sleeping on couches with a song about a homeless shelter. He ends it with a Grammy nomination, a best friend named Taylor, and 120 million streams. Next season: a phone call from Pharrell Williams, a new sound, and the album called × that makes Ed the biggest artist on the planet.
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To be continued
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