Galway Girl (Ed Sheeran song)

"Galway Girl"
Single by Ed Sheeran
from the album ÷
Released 17 March 2017 (2017-03-17)
Format Digital download
Recorded 2016
Genre
Length 2:50[3]
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Ed Sheeran singles chronology
"Shape of You"
(2017)		 "Galway Girl"
(2017)		 "Perfect"
(2017)

"Shape of You"
(2017)		 "Galway Girl"
(2017)		 "Perfect"
(2017)
Music video
"Galway Girl" on YouTube

"Galway Girl" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. The song is a collaboration between Sheeran and Irish folk band Beoga, and is heavily influenced by Irish traditional music.[5] On Saint Patrick's Day 2017, Sheeran announced the song as the third single from his 2017 album ÷, accompanied by a lyric video.[6][7]

The song reached number two on the UK Singles Chart and number one on the Irish chart when it became available for download and streaming upon the release of the album.

Background

Sheeran wrote and recorded the song together with the Irish band Beoga; the song incorporates parts of the tune "Minute 5" from Beoga's album How to Tune a Fish (2011).[8] They decided to write this song after they had finished another song together at his house, and had some free time.[9] In an interview with Zane Lowe, Sheeran said: "I came up with this song with Foy, and Johnny and Amy. We were recording in Suffolk and we were just sitting in the garden, and we had Beoga, this Irish folk band, come and recording some other songs. And I was kinda like: Beoga would be here for two or three days, it would be a shame to waste them, shall we try and write another song? ... They have a song called "Minute 5", which is that riff. So I just said: "Can you try that on it?" And they did, and it sounded brilliant, so we just kept it."[10]

In an interview with The Irish Times, Sheeran said that the opening line of the song, "She played the fiddle in an Irish band", was inspired by Niamh Dunne of Beoga, however, the rest of the song was made up and not about anyone in particular (Dunne is from County Limerick and married an Irishman).[9][11]

Sheeran was aware that Steve Earle had recorded a song with the same title in 2000; however, in a BBC interview, Sheeran said that his version is an original, and not a cover of Earle's song.[12] He also stated, "I actually tried to find another [title]. I did Wexford Girl and [Clonakilty] Girl and Cork Girl... none of them worked. But the whole point of folk songs is taking inspiration from the past and making something new – so people will just have to deal with it.".[12][13] In a 2017 Dublin concert Sheeran played first verse and chorus of Steve Earle's song together with Beoga, followed by his own.[14]

Release

The song was announced as the third single from the album on Saint Patrick's Day, 17 March, and it was added to BBC Radio 2's playlist on 18 March.[15]

According to Sheeran, he had to fight his record label to keep the song on his album: "They were really, really against 'Galway Girl', because apparently folk music isn't cool."[16][17] The song went on to become the third most streamed song from ÷ on Spotify.[18]

Critical reception

Amy Mulvaney from the Irish Independent gave the song a positive review, calling it "Definitive proof of just how much he (Ed) likes Ireland" and wrote "With mentions of Grafton Street, "Carrickfergus", fiddles, céilis, an Irish band and trad tunes, there's no denying just how much the pop star loves our fair isle, and can see this becoming a sure fire hit over the next few weeks".[19] BBC 6 Music DJ Shaun Keaveny described the song as "Like finding a turd in your slipper", with Labour Party Deputy Leader Tom Watson asking, in reply, "Good for warming your feet on a cold day?"[20] Jordan Bassett of NME described "Galway Girl" as a "stomping Irish hip-hop jig that recounts dancing a merry [cèilidh] with the girl of your dreams while Van Morrison parps away in the background."[2]

Chart performance

The song entered the UK chart at number two behind "Shape of You" when it became available for download on the album release.[21] As of September 2017, the song has sold 1.2 million combined units in the United Kingdom, with 246,000 in actual sales and 95 million in streams.[22]

In Ireland, it debuted at number one on the singles chart.[21] It also reached the number one chart position in Scotland and Slovenia. In the United States, the song peaked at number 53, and has sold 210,813 copies as of October 2017.[23]

Music video

On 11 April 2017, Sheeran shot the POV music video for "Galway Girl" in Galway, Ireland and filmed it himself on a Sony A6500 on body-mounted Ikan gimbal rigged to a Steadicam vest. The video was directed by Jason Koenig, who also directed the music video for "Shape of You", and director of photography Johnny Valencia. Galway Girl features Irish actress Saoirse Ronan.[24] It was uploaded to his official YouTube channel on 3 May 2017.[25]

His new tattoo filmed in the video is misspelled "Galway Grill".[26]

Live performances

Sheeran, accompanied by Beoga, performed "Galway Girl" at the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on May 20, 2018. Although he was on world tour in support of his album ÷ at the time, his performance at Phoenix Park in Dublin, Ireland was broadcast at the award ceremony in Las Vegas.[27][28]

Track listing

  • Digital download
  1. "Galway Girl" – 2:50
  • Digital download – Martin Jensen remix[29]
  1. "Galway Girl" (Martin Jensen remix) – 3:16

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[96] 5× Platinum 350,000^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[97] Platinum 30,000*
Belgium (BEA)[98] 2× Platinum 60,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[99] 3× Platinum 240,000^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[100] 2× Platinum 180,000^
France (SNEP)[101] Platinum 150,000*
Germany (BVMI)[102] 3× Gold 600,000^
Italy (FIMI)[103] 4× Platinum 200,000double-dagger
New Zealand (RMNZ)[104] 2× Platinum 60,000*
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[105] Platinum 40,000^
Sweden (GLF)[106] 3× Platinum 120,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[107] 2× Platinum 60,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[108] 2× Platinum 246,524[22]
United States (RIAA)[109] Platinum 210,813[23]

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales+streaming figures based on certification alone

Release history

Country Date Format Version Label Ref.
United Kingdom 17 March 2017 Contemporary hit radio Original Asylum [15]
7 April 2017 Digital download Martin Jensen remix Atlantic [110]
United States [29]

Covers and adaptations

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Johnston, Maura. "Review: Ed Sheeran Still Showcasing Pop Savvy on 'Divide'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 7 January 2018. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  2. 1 2 "Ed Sheeran – '÷' Review". NME. Retrieved 10 July 2017.
  3. ↑ "÷ (Deluxe) by Ed Sheeran". iTunes. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  4. ↑ Repertory, ACE. "ACE Repertory". ascap.com. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
  5. ↑ Murphy, Claire (7 March 2017). "The identity of Sheeran's 'Galway Girl' is revealed". Independent.ie.
  6. ↑ "Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl [Official Lyric Video]". YouTube. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  7. ↑ "Ed Sheeran on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
  8. ↑ "Ed Sheeran and us – how Beoga crossed the Divide". www.rte.ie. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
  9. 1 2 Ganatra, Shilpa (3 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran: 'I grew up on Planxty and The Chieftains'". The Irish Times.
  10. ↑ Zane Lowe (3 February 2017). Zane Lowe and Ed Sheeran, Pt 2. iTunes. Event occurs at 24:37–25:20.
  11. ↑ Loftus, Valerie (4 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran has revealed who his 'Galway Girl' is... and she's not even from Galway". Daily Edge. Archived from the original on May 12, 2017.
  12. 1 2 Savage, Mark (2 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran interview: 12 random questions about ÷ (Divide)". BBC. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  13. ↑ Ed Sheeran tells all to BBC about his Irish roots, music, childhood and future, irishcentral.com, visited 5. June 2017
  14. ↑ Ed Sheeran treats Irish fans to a cover of the original trad track Galway Girl at his sold-out 3Arena gig, thesun.ie. visited 5. June 2017
  15. 1 2 "BBC – Radio 2 – Playlist". BBC Radio 2. Archived from the original on 18 March 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  16. ↑ "Ed Sheeran: The new album is out today". www.gq.com. 2 February 2017. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  17. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (2 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran: 'I got hammered and cracked Justin Bieber in the face with a golf club'". The Guardian.
  18. ↑ "Ed Sheeran tops Spotify's most streamed artist list of 2017". ITV News. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
  19. ↑ "Ed Sheeran's new song 'Galway Girl' is definitive proof of just how much he loves Ireland – Independent.ie". Independent.ie.
  20. ↑ "Shaun Keaveny on Twitter". Twitter.com.
  21. 1 2 Copsey, Rob (10 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran smashes Official Chart records as ÷ is the fastest-selling album by a male artist ever". The Official Charts Company.
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  105. ↑ "Spanish single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl" (PDF) (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 14 August 2017. Select single under "Chart", enter the certification year in the field "Year". Select the certification month in the field "Semana". Click on "Search Charts".
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  108. ↑ "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 1 September 2017. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Galway Girl in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  109. ↑ "American single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Galway Girl". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 17 September 2018. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  110. ↑ "Galway Girl (Martin Jensen remix) – Single by Ed Sheeran". iTunes Store (UK). 7 April 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
  111. ↑ iTunes: Ritchie Remo - Galway Girls (single)
  112. ↑ YouTube: Ritchie Remo - "Galway Girls" music video
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