You Need Me, I Don’t Need You Lyrics

[Intro]
I don't want bruise your ears
Or hurt you again
But I got back-stabbed by a black cab
When I needed a friend


[Verse 1]
Now I'm in town, break it down, thinkin' of making a new sound
Playing a different show every night in front of a new crowd
That's you now, ciao, seems that life is great now

See me lose focus as I sing to you loud
And I can't, no, I won't hush
I'll say the words that make you blush
I'm gonna sing this now (Oh, oh)
See, I'm true, my songs are where my heart is
I'm like glue, I stick to other artists
I'm not you, now, that would be disastrous
Let me sing and do my thing and move to greener pastures

See, I'm real, I do it all, it's all me
I'm not fake, don't ever call me lazy
I won't stay put, give me the chance to be free
Suffolk sadly seems to sort of suffocate me


[Chorus]
'Cause you need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you at all
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you at all
You need me
[Verse 3]
'Cause with the lyrics, I'll be aimin' it right
I won't stop till my name's in lights at stadium heights with Damien Rice
On red carpets, now, I'm on Arabian Nights
Because I'm young, I know my brother's gonna give me advice
Long nighter, short height and I'd gone hyper

Never be anything but a singer-songwriter, yeah
The game's over, but now, I'm on a new level
Watch how I step on the track without a loop pedal
People think that I'm bound to blow up
I've done around about a thousand shows, but
I haven't got a house, plus, I live on a couch
So you believe the lyrics when I'm singin' them out

Wow, from day one, I've been prepared
With V05 wax for my ginger hair

So now, I'm back to the sofa
Givin' a dose of what the future holds 'cause it's another day
Plus, I'll keep my last name forever, keep this genre pretty basic
Gonna be breakin' into other people's tunes when I chase it
And replace it with the elephant in the room with a facelift
Slipping into another rapper's shoes usin' new laces

I'm sellin' CDs from my rucksack aimin' for the papers
Sellin' CDs from my rucksack aimin' for the majors

Nationwide tour with Just Jack, still had to get the bus back
Clean cut kid without a razor for the moustache
I hit back when the pen hurts me
I'm still a choir boy in a Fenchurch tee
I'm still the same as a year ago, but more people hear me, though
According to the MySpace and YouTube videos
I'm always doin' shows, if I'm not, I'm in the studio

Truly broke, never growin' up, call me Rufio
Melody music maker, readin' all the papers
They say I'm up and comin' like I'm fucking in an elevator

[Chorus]
'Cause you need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you at all
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you
You need me, man, I don't need you at all
You need me, man, I don't need you

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About

Genius Annotation

“You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” is the tenth track off of Ed Sheeran’s debut studio album, +. This song, often played as a high-energy finale (or something close to the last song) at many of his shows, sometimes consists of other, longer verses and guitar/loop pedal interludes. At his iTunes 2012 live performance, the song went on for nearly 20 minutes.

This song is about record companies, Ed Sheeran is making a point about how the record company needs him and his talent to make money however he doesn’t need them to make money.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Ed Sheeran say about "You Need Me, I Don't Need You"?
Genius Answer

From A Visual Journey:

Up to the last minute, I wasn’t sure if ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ had a place on the album. I wanted it to be there because of its history, and because the song is about staying true to yourself and following your heart: something instilled in me from an early age.
It took me a while to learn to stand my ground, though. If I’d listened to some of the advice I was given when I was starting out, I probably wouldn’t have got this far. Whenever my first management told me a song wasn’t good, that would be it for that song. But I went on playing ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ – even when they advised me to stop.
So I wanted to include it. Only, it didn’t sound right… until we tried it with a new drum rhythm running through it. Then it suddenly came together and I thought, ‘Yes, it should go on the album.’

Is there an acoustic version?
Genius Answer

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