"Castle on the Hill" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with "

Shape of You "Shape of You" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was released on 6 January 2017 as one of the double lead singles from his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017), along with "Castle on the Hill". The dancehall and R&B-infused ...

". "Castle on the Hill" was written and produced by Ed Sheeran and

Benny Blanco Benjamin Joseph Levin (born March 8, 1988), known professionally as Benny Blanco (stylized in all lowercase), is an American record producer. He is the recipient of the 2013 Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He is also ...

. The song refers to

Framlingham Castle Framlingham Castle is a castle in the market town of Framlingham in Suffolk in England. An early motte and bailey or ringwork Norman castle was built on the Framlingham site by 1148, but this was destroyed (Slighting, slighted) by Henry II of E ...

in Sheeran's home town of

Framlingham Framlingham is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Suffolk, England. Of Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon origin, it appears in the 1086 Domesday Book. The parish had a population of 3,342 at the 2011 Census and an estimated 4, ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, and reminisces tales of his upbringing in the town. The BBC states, "the song has been described as a love letter to Suffolk." Released on the same day as "Shape of You", "Castle on the Hill" reached number one in Iceland, Scotland and Israel. The song also reached number two in a number of countries, including the UK, Australia and Germany, while "Shape of You" debuted at number one. It was the first time in the history of the UK, Australian and German charts that an artist has taken the top two chart positions with new songs. The song debuted at number six in the US, while "Shape of You" entered at number one; this made Sheeran the first artist ever to have two songs simultaneously debut in the US top 10. "Castle" is

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

nine-times Platinum in Australia, six-times Platinum in Canada, and multiplatinum in eight additional countries.

Background

The theme of the song surrounds Sheeran's home town of

, and he reminisces tales of 'smoking hand-rolled cigarettes' and getting 'drunk

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friends' at this place, living life as a teenager. The castle mentioned in the song is

, and in January 2017, Sheeran was invited to perform at the Castle. The song was written and recorded in 2015. Sheeran revealed that despite a similarity to the music of U2, the direct influence of the song came from " Fallen Empires" by

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

, a band he had toured with. He said: "I grew up on Snow Patrol, I didn't grow up on U2, but I know that Snow Patrol grew up on U2, so I know

here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

that influence had come

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" He also said he wanted to make a song like " The River" by

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

, a song with similar reflective element.

Critical reception

Jon Caramanica from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' said, "'Castle on the Hill' has U2 influenced nervous guitar builds and wistful, largely generic lyrics about the people who shaped him." ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s Taylor Weatherby wrote about the song saying, "'Castle on the Hill' has a

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like vibe with a fast-paced, yet powerful melody that builds to an epic chorus that's just as Sheeran as all of his past singles. Needless to say, Sheeran is telling the world he's back in compelling fashion." Jeremy Gordon of ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' gave the song a positive review, stating that the song "sort of sounds like late period Coldplay, big, broad stroke music for arenas and Wembley performances. There's a lyric about driving down a country road while listening to Elton John's

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-free '

Tiny Dancer "Tiny Dancer" is a song written by English musician Elton John and songwriter Bernie Taupin, and performed by John. It was originally released on John's 1971 album ''Madman Across the Water,'' and was later released as a single in 1972. It was ...

,' because Ed Sheeran saw ''

Almost Famous ''Almost Famous'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Cameron Crowe, and starring Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, and Patrick Fugit. It tells the story of a teenage journalist writing for ''Rolling Stone'' ...

'' once." Adam Starkey from news website ''

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...

'' states that it "'has echoes of

Mumford & Sons Mumford & Sons is a British folk rock band formed in London in 2007. The band currently consists of Marcus Mumford (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, drums), Ted Dwane (vocals, bass guitar, double bass), and Ben Lovett (vocals, key ...

with the kind of climbing drums and soaring chorus sure to win over festival crowds, recalling how far he's come from 'smoking hand-rolled cigarettes' and 'running from the law in the backfields'."

Chart performance

"Castle on the Hill" debuted at number two on the UK Singles Chart on 13 January, selling 193,000 combined units in its first week. Sheeran also debuted at number one with "Shape of You", making him the only artist in UK chart history to debut in the top two positions in the same week. The song was certified silver in the first week due to selling 200,000 units. The song remained at number two in its second week, selling 100,000 units. The song spent a further three weeks at number two, and spent fourteen weeks in the top ten altogether. As of September 2017, the song has sold 1.7 million combined units in the UK, 479,000 of these are actual sales, with 119 million streams. On the Scottish Singles Chart, "Castle on the Hill" debuted at number one, ahead of "Shape of You". The song debuted at number six on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, selling 171,000 downloads and gaining 13 million streams in its debut week in the US. Sheeran also became the first artist to debut two songs in the top 10 in the same week in the history of the Hot 100, with "Shape of You" also debuting at number one. As of September 2017, "Castle on the Hill" has sold 821,000 downloads in the US.

Music video

"Castle on the Hill" was accompanied by a lyric video on 5 January 2017 with "Shape of You" upon its release. By March 2018, it had amassed over 300 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. The official music video for the song was released on 23 January 2017. It was directed by George Belfield and produced by Tom Gardner, and it features a group of adolescents living their youth with parallels being made to Sheeran's own youth. The video was filmed throughout

with locations including Framlingham, Boyton marshes,

Mildenhall Stadium Mildenhall Stadium is a speedway, stock car racing and Greyhound Board of Great Britain regulated greyhound racing venue located in Mildenhall, Suffolk between Cambridge and Norwich. The stadium is known as Suffolk Downs when greyhound racing ta ...

and

Felixstowe Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London. His ...

. The final shot shows

. Ed Sheeran stated on ''

The Graham Norton Show ''The Graham Norton Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by Graham Norton. It was initially broadcast on BBC Two, from 22 February 2007, before moving to BBC One in October 2009. It currently airs on Friday evenings, with Norton s ...

'' that the young man playing him in the video went to the same school as Sheeran,

Thomas Mills High School Thomas Mills High School is a secondary school with academy status as well as a sixth form in Framlingham, Suffolk, England. The current Headteacher is Philip J Hurst. History The history of the school dates back to the beginning of the 18th ce ...

In popular culture

The song was used in trailers and several TV spots for the 2017 animated film ''

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''. The song is also used in the first trailer and a few TV spots for the 2019 animated film '' How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World''. The instrumental for the song was used in adverts for

NHS The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

careers in 2020.

Formats and track listings

*;Digital download #"Castle on the Hill" – 4:21 *;Digital download – Acoustic #"Castle on the Hill" – 3:46 *;Digital download – Live at the BRITs #"Castle on the Hill" – 1:47 *;German CD single #"Castle on the Hill" – 4:21 #"Castle on the Hill" – 3:46 *Digital download – Seeb remix # "Castle on the Hill" – 3:51 *Digital download – Throttle remix # "Castle on the Hill" (Throttle remix) – 3:40 *Digital download – NWYR remix # "Castle on the Hill" ( NWYR remix) – 3:33

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Ed Sheeran songs Asylum Records singles Atlantic Records singles Framlingham Number-one singles in Iceland Number-one singles in Scotland Pop ballads Rock ballads Songs about friendship Songs about nostalgia Songs about childhood Songs about England Songs based on actual events Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco Song recordings produced by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Benny Blanco Songs written by Ed Sheeran Suffolk in fiction 2010s ballads