Ed Sheeran - Take It Back lyrics

rate me

I'm not a rapper, I'm a singer with a flow

I've got a habit for spitting quicker lyrics, you know

You'll find me ripping the writings out of the pages they sit in

I never want to get bitten ‘cause plagiarism is hidden

Watch how I sit on the rhythm, prisoner with the vision

Signed to a label but didn't listen to any criticism

Thought you knew but you didn't, so perk your ears up and listen

The studio is a system and you could say that I'm driven

And now it's onto the next saga, we drink the best lager

I'll never try to win you over like your stepfather

I'll do my own thing now and get respect after

And I'm avoiding the cane like it was Get Carter

For four years I never had a place to stay

But it's safe to say that it kept me grounded like a paperweight

At 16 years old, yeah, I moved out of my home

I was Macy Gray, I tried to say goodbye and I choked

And went from sleeping at a subway station to

Sleeping with a movie star and adding to the population

Not my imagination, I don't wanna relax

Would it hurt your reputation if I put it on wax? I'll take it back now

Mmm, come on and take it back, love

Come on and take it back for us

Don't you fade into the back, love

I take it back with the rhythm and blues

With my rap pack I'll be singing the news

Tryna act like Jack Black when I bring ‘em to school

I'll make a beat with my feet by just hitting a loop

Bringing the lyrics to prove that I can fit in these shoes

I'll give you the truth through the vocal booth

And stars burst out when they seem like an Opal Fruit

They try to take aim like Beckham when he goes to shoot

But then again that's what they're supposed to do

And I'm supposed to be calm, I tattooed the lyrics onto my arm

Whispering, "everything that happens is from now on"

I'll be ready to start again by the end of the song

And still they're claiming that I handle it wrong

But then I've never had an enemy except the NME

But I'll be selling twice as many copies as their magazines will ever be

With only spectacles ahead of me and festival fees

Are healthier than a Dalmatian on pedigree

Singing for the masses, rubber dinghy rapids

I keep this rapping a habit and keep ‘em fashioning magic

I'm battling for respect, I don't know if I'll have it

This song's from the heart, covered the planet, I'll take it back now

Mmm, come on and take it back, love

Come on and take it back for us

Don't you fade into the back, love

Now I don't ever wanna be perfect

‘Cause I'm a singer that you never wanna see shirtless

And I accept the fact that someone's gotta win worst-dressed

Taking my first steps into the scene, giving me focus

Putting on a brave face like Timothy Dalton

Considering a name change, thinking it was hopeless

Rhyming over recordings, avoiding tradition

‘Cause every day some lyrics and a melody could be written

An absence can make your heart break but drinking Absinthe

Can change your mind state vividly, need to let my liver be

And I'll say it again, living life on the edge with a closed hand full of friends

It's good advice from the man who took his life on the road with me

And I hope to see him blowing up globally

‘Cause that's how it's supposed to be, I'm screaming out vocally

It might seem totally impossible achieving live streams

But, but I just write schemes, I'm never having

A stylist giving me tight jeans

Madison Square Garden is where I might be, but more likely

You'll find me in the backroom of a dive bar with my mates

Having a pint of McDaid's, discussing records we made

And every single second knowing that we'll never betray

The way we were raised, remembering our background, sat down

That's how we plan it out, it's time to take it back now

Mmm, come on and take it back, love

Come on and take it back for us

Don't you fade into the back, love

My dreams keep me awake at night, written in rhyme

Till I deliver the hype, am I just living a lie?

With this you must know that the numbers just sold

Will keep me going through the tough times, dream with me

We forget 90% of it when we wake

But the other 10%, it never fades

Dreaming dreams of day-to-day goals, stay awake loads

Tried to make the cut like the paper with a razor blade

Oh, never give up, just remember just to hold out more

A couple years ago I couldn't just control that thought

You'd find me busking on the street when it was cold outdoors

Now I'm sweating on the stage of a sold-out tour

Writing love songs for the sake of it, never to make a hit

You can't fake talent and work ethic just to make it quick

I'm not a rapper, I'm a singer, I just take the piss

And most of these other guys are kids that ‘possed his little sister has to

Babysit, that's just the way it is

Dreams are your own, just set your goals and have the upmost faith in it

Tread your own path, you'll never make it as a follower

You'll never know where you will go or you will be tomorrow