Ed Sheeran Debuts New Song About Smoking Weed: Watch

Christina Lee | May 30, 2015 7:58 am
Rita Ora's Duet With Ed Sheeran: Listen
Their new song celebrates how they have never "hooked up."

Ed Sheeran debuted a new ballad about smoking weed — “Sweet Mary Jane,” rather — during his May 29 concert in Queens, N.Y.’s Forest Hills Stadium.

As for all of his live shows, Sheeran performed with just his voice, his acoustic guitar and a loop pedal. Soon, though, the singer made clear that this song isn’t as innocent as, say, “Thinking Out Loud.”I woke up looking out my window at the Amsterdam sky / oh baby, I was high last night / cafe clouds and red lights,” he sings.

To most, the UK crooner is the tender-hearted artist behind songs like “Lego House” — a romantic at heart, if you will. His ode to “Sweet Mary Jane,” however, is yet another example of how he can be edgier, to the surprise of most. Another example would be his 2013 studio session with The Game, which he elaborated on during the May 29 episode of The Breakfast Club.

“He had loads of girls in the studio, just eating McDonald’s,” Sheeran says. “And you can find out when a song was good. We’d make a song and I’d think ‘Oh, this is really good,’ but they would be kind of there, eating their nuggets and just like whatever. And as soon as — we did a [DJ] Mustard beat one, and they’d be ‘Ooooh, smash hit!'”

Watch Ed Sheeran sing to “Sweet Mary Jane” and talk to The Breakfast Club below.

Get an eyeful of even more pop music coverage, from artist interviews to exclusive performances, on Idolator’s YouTube channel.