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Song Stories

“Plush”

Stone Temple Pilots | 1992

With its seemingly random imagery -- a mask that was found, search and rescue dogs on the prowl, inclement weather, etc. -- it's nearly impossible to decipher precisely what "Plush" is about. But during an episode of VH1 Storytellers, Scott Weiland finally spilled the beans. "The lyrics to this song were inspired by a true story," the Stone Temple Pilots frontman recounted. "A girl was kidnapped and then later found tragically murdered back in the early part of the Nineties. So it gave me fuel to write the words to this song. However, this song is not about that, really; it's sort of a metaphor for a lost, obsessive relationship."

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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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