Ed Sheeran releases new single, Eyes Closed: 'Song is about losing someone'

Ed Sheeran's latest album is his most intimate work to date.

Sheeran, 32, revealed the date of the release of his first single off the album, Eyes Closed, in a fervent Instagram post on Wednesday.

"This song is about losing someone, feeling like every time you go out and you expect to just bump into them, and every thing just reminds you of them and things you did together," he wrote in a caption, hinting at the February 22 demise of his longtime pal Jamal Edwards due to cardiac arrest following recreational drug use at the age of 31.

"You sorta have to take yourself out of reality sometimes to numb the pain of loss, but certain things just bring you right back into it," Sheeran went on to say that the next tune is about the death of the music entrepreneur and DJ who helped establish Sheeran's career in its early days.

"Blue was Jamal's colour, but now is all I feel," added the Perfect singer. "And I guess music helps heal, so I'm dancing with my eyes closed to try get through it."

Sheeran revealed the chorus of the song in a pair of ♬ Eyes Closed - Ed Sheeran " target="_blank">TikTok videos last week before releasing the single. The singer sang the song in one video while duetting with clips of him playing an acoustic guitar. In another, he took a seat at a piano to begin playing.

"So I'm dancing with my eyes closed/'Cause everywhere I look I still see you/Time is moving so slow/And I don't know what else that I can do," he sang. "So I'll keep dancing with my eyes closed/Oh I'll keep dancing with my eyes closed."