Ed Sheeran has finally revealed the identity of the mysterious woman who inspired him to pen Galway Girl, a track off his newly released album Divide.
When the track listing was first released, there was speculation that Galway Girl was going to be a cover of Steve Earl’s hit, but it was later revealed that it was, in fact, an original track of Ed’s.
The A Team singer, who recently went public with his new girlfriend, has finally identified the woman who inspired the song – and it’s not who you might think!
Many fans guessed that the woman behind the song would be one of Ed’s former loves, but, as it turns out, she’s actually married to one of Ed’s friends!
“It was based on the fiddle player in Beoga, Niamh (Dunne). She’s married to an Irishman, a friend of mine.” he told The Irish Times.
“I had the band in my house for an extra day so I was like, ‘what can I write about? She plays the fiddle in an Irish band . . . right, cool, let’s write a song about that.’ She inspired the first line but the rest of the song isn’t about anyone, I just made up a story.
“I was looking for a line that wasn’t Galway Girl because of the Steve Earle song, but the more and more I sung it, the more I thought, f**k it, there’s just going to be a new Galway Girl. And it means I can sing both live.”
Fans finally got a chance to listen to Galway Girl for the first time today, as Ed released his full third studio album.
The track, which includes references to Grafton Street, fiddles and céilis, has proven to be a huge hit with fans and it has catapulted to number one in the Irish charts – within hours of its release!
Ed took to Twitter to share his excitement, after finding out the news:
We don’t think this catchy tune will be leaving the number one spot anytime soon!
