Before playing a song about his daughter Lyra that he wrote just days earlier while in quarantine in Australia, the 'Shape of You' hitmaker admits that he is 'really f*****g nervous.'
- Mar 25, 2021
AceShowbiz - Ed Sheeran broke down in tears as he performed at music legend Michael Gudinski's state funeral in Melbourne, Australia, on Wednesday, March 24.
The British singer became visibly emotional at the state memorial service, held at the city's Rod Laver Arena, while playing a song he wrote just days ago while in quarantine in the country, about his daughter Lyra, and no doubt inspired by the late music executive and co-founder of Mushroom Records, who died in his sleep aged 68, on 2 March.
Wearing a black suit, white shirt and tie, Sheeran sang three songs, the last of which, "Visiting Hours", brought the singer to tears with its theme of a life ended too soon.
According to Daily Mail Online, the "Shape of You" hitmaker told the audience before his set, "I never get this nervous, I'm really f*****g nervous. So apologies if I mess up the lyrics or anything. So I'm extremely, extremely grateful to be here. I know it's a difficult thing to get into this country and I don't take it for granted for all the hard work getting me here and I really, really just appreciated the opportunity to get here.
He continued, "In lockdown I was able to have a guitar for quarantine I always find the best way to process stuff is to write songs, be it good news, bad news and here's a song I finished last week.
It included the lyrics: "I wish that heaven had 'Visiting Hours'. So I could just show and bring the news that she's getting older. And I wish that you'd met her. I wish that you'd met her. The things that she'd learn from me I got them all from you. I wish that heaven had 'Visiting Hours'."
The star also performed a moving acoustic rendition of "We Were Younger Then", before stopping to wipe tears from his eyes.
Later, he returned to the stage to perform a duet with Kylie Minogue who said, reported The Sydney Morning Herald: "The big G took this little scrawny girl from Melbourne to the world and back home again. He made me feel – all five foot and a whisper of me. He made me feel like I was at least five foot five ... he made me feel a hundred feet tall."
She added, "Michael often talked about his love for Ed and how we should meet ... We know that he’ll be just beaming right now."
