The A Team
Walter Coppola Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breathing in snowflakes
Burnt lungs, sour taste
Light's gone, day's end
Struggling to pay rent
Long nights, strange men
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
And she don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
Or sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim and stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
Or sells love to another man
And she don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
Or sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Covered in white
Closed eye
And hoping for a better life
This time, we'll fade out tonight
Straight down the line
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Stuck in her daydream
Been this way since eighteen
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
They scream
The worst things in life come free to us
And we're all under the upper hand
Or sells love to another man
And we don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland
Or sell love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
Angels to fly
Angels to fly
Angels to die
"The A Team" by Ed Sheeran is a song about a prostitute named Angelina who is addicted to drugs in order to get away from her harsh reality. She is in the "Class A Team," which refers to the class of drugs she uses, such as cocaine and heroin. The first verse of the song describes her situation with "white lips, pale face, breathing in snowflakes, burnt lungs, sour taste, light's gone, day's end." She is struggling to pay rent and resorting to being with strange men to make money. The chorus repeats that she is in the Class A Team and stuck in her daydream, which has been her way of life since she was eighteen. However, lately, her face seems to be slowly sinking and wasting away. The worst things in life come free to her, and she feels like she is under the upper hand and must sell love to another man to survive. She doesn't want to go outside, so she flies to the "Motherland," which may refer to a place where she's from or a place where she's not addicted to drugs.
The second verse of the song talks about more of her struggles, like how she feels weighed down by everything ("ripped gloves, raincoat, tried to swim and stay afloat, dry house, wet clothes, loose change, bank notes, weary-eyed, dry throat"). She's a call girl with no phone, and people are telling her that she's in the Class A Team again. The choruses repeat again and describe how she has resorted to selling love to survive because the things she needs are free to those who are struggling.
Overall, "The A Team" is a tragic song about someone who feels trapped in their situation and cannot see a way out. It highlights the harsh realities of drug addiction and prostitution and how it can be a never-ending cycle for those trapped in it.
Line by Line Meaning
White lips, pale face
The person being described has very pale lips and face.
Breathing in snowflakes
The person breathes in cold air and can see their breath in a snowy environment.
Burnt lungs, sour taste
The person's lungs feel like they have been burned and they have a bad taste in their mouth.
Light's gone, day's end
It is night time and there is no more daylight.
Struggling to pay rent
The person is having a hard time coming up with enough money to pay their rent.
Long nights, strange men
The person is staying up late and meeting unfamiliar men.
And they say
She's in the Class A Team
Other people are saying that the person is a part of a group known as the Class A Team.
Stuck in her daydream
The person spends a lot of time daydreaming.
Been this way since eighteen
The person has been living this way since they were eighteen years old.
But lately her face seems
Slowly sinking, wasting
Crumbling like pastries
The person's face looks like it is deteriorating, similar to how pastries crumble.
And they scream
The worst things in life come free to us
Other people are yelling that the worst things in life are easily obtained without cost.
'Cause we're just under the upper hand
And go mad for a couple grams
People in this situation feel like they are powerless and can easily give in to addictive substances.
And she don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe she flies to the Motherland
Or sells love to another man
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
Angels to fly
The person doesn't want to go outside because it's too cold. Instead, they smoke drugs or sell themselves for money.
Ripped gloves, raincoat
Tried to swim and stay afloat
Dry house, wet clothes
Loose change, bank notes
Weary-eyed, dry throat
Call girl, no phone
The person is wearing ripped clothing, is soaked from swimming, has wet clothes in a dry house, has only a small amount of money, is tired with a dry throat, and is without their phone when they are working as a prostitute.
It's too cold outside
For angels to fly
The outside temperature is too cold for anyone to be outside for too long.
Covered in white
Closed eye
And hoping for a better life
This time, we'll fade out tonight
Straight down the line
The person is covered in a white substance and has their eyes closed, while hoping for a better life. They will most likely die tonight.
And we're all under the upper hand
Or sells love to another man
And we don't want to go outside tonight
And in a pipe we fly to the Motherland
Or sell love to another man
Everyone in this situation is under their circumstances and may resort to selling themselves for money or drugs to escape them.
Angels to die
The only escape from this life is death.
Contributed by Lucy D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.