.

Song Stories

“As She's Walking Away”

Zac Brown Band feat. Alan Jackson | 2010

Written by Zac Brown and his bandmate, Wyatt Durette, "As She's Walking Away" was inspired by a woman in a bar. "We had just played a show in Orlando," Durette recalls. "Zac and I went to a bar in Orlando to watch a UFC fight...It was just one of those circumstances where you see a pretty girl in a bar and you don't have the guts to walk over and say hello to her." Alan Jackson contributed vocals, which undoubtedly helped the tune soar to the top of the charts. The song won the band a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals.

prev
Song Stories Main Next

blog comments powered by Disqus

Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

More Song Stories entries »