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Song Stories

“Hey Jane”

Spiritualized | 2012

Jason Pierce of Spiritualized told Rolling Stone that Lou Reed's music — in particular, his 1970 song "Sweet Jane" — influenced this eight-minute-long song. "It was a kind of idea that rock & roll is such a big part of me," he said. "I wanted to write on a thing that reflected the sadness and the demise of that in that record. Hence the name Jane. It was written specifically about a couple of people, but the name 'Jane' seems as fitting as any. There is a line in the middle of it, where she is listening to 'Sweet Jane' on the radio."

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“In Every Direction”
Junip | 2010
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“Raw”
Big Daddy Kane | 1987

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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.

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