{"id":28999,"date":"2013-03-20T19:52:10","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T23:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"\/news\/?p=28999"},"modified":"2013-03-21T18:14:46","modified_gmt":"2013-03-21T22:14:46","slug":"ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/","title":{"rendered":"Ed Sheeran song with surprisingly pro-life values"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

[youtube http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=A_af256mnTE?rel=0]<\/p>\n

The U.K.’s Ed Sheeran, who became an overnight sensation with his chart-topping song “The A Team<\/a><\/span>,” has touched listeners with another tune from his album “+” (Plus<\/em>) carrying a surprising pro-life message.<\/p>\n

In a storytelling set of lyrics<\/a>, the song, “Small Bum<\/a>p<\/a>,” conveys the journey of a pregnancy with a surprise ending from the unexpected perspective of a father. Chronicling the weeks and months of development\u00a0in utero<\/em>,\u00a0the song reveals the love of a father for a child who was clearly wanted and loved, and whose birth was anticipated.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re just a small bump unborn in four months you\u2019re brought to life
\nYou might be left with my hair but you\u2019ll have your mother\u2019s eyes
\nI\u2019ll hold your body in my hands, be as gentle as I can
\nBut for now you\u2019re a scan of my unmade plans
\nA small bump in four months you brought to life<\/p>\n

And I\u2019ll whisper quietly and give you nothing but truth
\nIf you\u2019re not inside me, I\u2019ll put my future in you<\/p>\n

You are my one and only
\nAnd you can wrap your fingers round my thumb
\nAnd hold me tight
\nYou are my one and only
\nYou can wrap your fingers round my thumb
\nAnd hold me tight
\nAnd you\u2019ll be alright<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Sheeran goes on to describe the baby’s development, and his fascination with the tiny developments is heartwarming:<\/p>\n

You\u2019re just a small bump, I know you\u2019ll grow into your skin
\nWith a smile like hers and a dimple beneath your chin
\nFingernails the size of a half grain of rice
\nAnd eyelids closed to be soon open wide<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The song’s bridge closes the deal: Sheeran is in love, and his paternal affection is oozing from the gentle tone of his voice, his lyrics, and the tangible excitement of looking towards the birth of a child:<\/p>\n

Then you can lie with me, with your tiny feet
\nWhen you\u2019re half asleep I\u2019ll leave you be
\nRight in front of me, for a couple weeks
\nSo I can keep you safe<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

By the end of the song, you’re as in love with this baby as Sheeran is. But in a subtle but startling ending, he concludes:<\/p>\n

\u2018Cos you were just a small bump unborn for four months, then torn from life
\nMaybe you were needed up there but we\u2019re still unaware as why.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In the music video, the father’s pain is manifested by the fact that he is relegated to the waiting room of a hospital. The viewer anticipates a nurse coming out to greet the father with the happy news of a child, but instead cameras close out the scene with him remaining in the waiting area, unable to bring home the warm and healthy, long-anticipated child.\u00a0After Sheeran makes you fall in love with his little unborn child, you discover that the song is a tribute to his or her memory.<\/p>\n

A few things about this video are unique. First, it provides a father’s take on an issue that does not usually broadcast the male perspective. Second, it touches on the tragedy of losing a child. While it is (apparently) outside of the context of abortion, the cold waiting room and anti-climactic ending are hallmarks shared by both scenarios, so a comparison is not out of the question. It is beautiful to see stories like this one (and similarly, last season’s Parenthood<\/em><\/a> episode<\/a>\u00a0and a recent Jay-Z song<\/a>), which give a voice to the fathers who have lost children that they truly wanted.<\/p>\n

We know that in abortion, it does not matter whether a father wants his child: he has no rights to interfere with the life-and-death decisions of his child. We hope to continue to see fathers speaking out for the dignity of their children and demonstrating their role in the family dynamic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Fathers speaking out.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":152,"featured_media":29025,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nEd Sheeran song with surprisingly pro-life values - Live Action News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ed Sheeran song with surprisingly pro-life values - Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fathers speaking out.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Live Action News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/liveaction\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EnriquezLauren\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-03-20T23:52:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-03-21T22:14:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Ed-Sheeran-Small-Bump.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"846\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"368\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lauren Enriquez\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@https:\/\/twitter.com\/lnenriquez\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@liveaction\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lauren Enriquez\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lauren Enriquez\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c47fbbac960697f2ead6fd958b91f15\"},\"headline\":\"Ed Sheeran song with surprisingly pro-life values\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-03-20T23:52:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-03-21T22:14:46+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/\"},\"wordCount\":668,\"commentCount\":190,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Media\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ed-sheeran-song-with-surprisingly-pro-life-message\/\",\"name\":\"Ed Sheeran song with surprisingly pro-life values - 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