<P> Sheeran wrote "Thinking Out Loud" with Amy Wadge, a Wales - based singer - songwriter . He met Wadge when he was 17 years old and they had since written several songs together . Of these, five songs composed the extended play Songs I Wrote with Amy, which Sheeran independently released on 4 April 2010 . Wadge also co-wrote the song "Gold Rush", a track on the deluxe version of Sheeran's debut album, + (2011). </P> <P> In February 2014, Deng visited Sheeran at home for a "chilling - out time". Around that time, Sheeran's second studio album, ×, was nearly completed . Wadge revealed that her visit was not supposed to be a songwriting session . While Sheeran was taking a shower, Wadge played a few chords on a guitar . The tune caught the attention of Sheeran and he ran downstairs . Sheeran suggested working with the tune, but only after returning home from dinner, work began . The melody developed from a simple riff . According to Sheeran, he composed the melody on a guitar in a manner which was "very Van - like", referring to Van Morrison . The Irish musician has been an inspiration to Sheeran since a young age, and Sheeran wanted to capture that vibe when he composed the song . </P> <P> In the kitchen, Sheeran and Wadge began writing the song at 2: 00 am on 4 February 2014, and completed it in 20 minutes . According to Wadge, the lyrical content resulted from her and Sheeran's talking about "everlasting love", inspired by the circumstances relevant at that time . Sheeran also revealed that the lyrics were inspired by his then - girlfriend, Athina Andrelos, whom Sheeran met in early 2014 . Sheeran would later explain that he wrote the song "in a relationship at a really, really happy point". Immediately after writing, Sheeran recorded the song on his phone . He was keen to include "Thinking Out Loud" on the second album . He properly recorded the song the following day at the Sticky Studios, a recording facility located in the small Surrey village of Windlesham, and informed Wadge of its inclusion on the album . It became the last song recorded for the album . For "Thinking Out Loud", Sheeran sought the assistance of Jake Gosling, who produced much of his debut album and had earlier contributed tracks, four of which appear on the standard version of the second album . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> "Thinking Out Loud" (2014) A 28 - second sample of "Thinking Out Loud", a romantic blue - eyed soul ballad . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td_colspan="2"> Problems playing this file? See media help . </Td> </Tr> </Table>

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