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Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran’s new albumSubtractis finally here — and it includes a touching song about his older daughter,Lyra Antarctica, 2½.

Ahead of the album’s release, Sheeran played the song for a crowd at Brooklyn’s Kings Theatre, explaining the significance of the fifth track, as it relates to his family life.

Heintroduced the song, “Dusty,” sharing, “Being a parent is obviously wild and wonderful. Being a parent in times of real sadness … has a massive juxtaposition to it.”

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The singer-songwriter explained that after late nights visiting a mural dedicated to his late friend,Jamal, he would “go to bed and cry myself to sleep and wake up at 6 with this ball of energy — this beautiful girl that’s jumping on me and being like, ‘Let’s listen to music and eat porridge!’ and I’m like ‘Yes, that’s exactly what I want to do.’ "

“That’s the wonderful thing about children; they can really lift your spirits in times like that,” he added.

“Me and my daughter have this routine in the morning where we pick a vinyl and we put on a vinyl, and we eat breakfast while listening to the vinyl, and it was the thing I would look forward to,” Sheeran explained. “You know, you’d have a night of real darkness and sadness, then you wake up to just [a] happy little girl.”

He added that their taste in vinyl records ranges from Black Sabbath to Norah Jones.

“I heard you callin', now my eyes are open,” the song begins. “The day is breakin' into powder blue / Sunlight is framin' our every moment / What a way to start off the day with you.”

Sheeran, 32, sharesLyraand 1-year-old Jupiter with wifeCherry Seaborn, 30.

source: people.com