"Castle on the Hill" 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 "Shape of You". "Castle on the Hill" was written and produced by Ed Sheeran and Benny Blanco. The song refers to Framlingham Castle in Sheeran's home town of Framlingham in Suffolk, 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 nine-times platinum in Australia, Diamond in Canada and 6-times platinum the UK, and multiplatinum in numerous other countries.

Background

The theme of the song surrounds Sheeran's home town of Framlingham, and he reminisces tales of 'smoking hand-rolled cigarettes' and getting 'drunk [with] friends' at this place, living life as a teenager. The castle mentioned in the song is Framlingham Castle, 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, 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 [where] that influence had come [from]."  He also said he wanted to make a song like "The River" by Bruce Springsteen, a song with similar reflective element.

Critical reception
Jon Caramanica from The New York Times said, "'Castle on the Hill' has U2 influenced nervous guitar builds and wistful, largely generic lyrics about the people who shaped him." Billboards Taylor Weatherby wrote about the song saying, "'Castle on the Hill' has a Train 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 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 hook-free 'Tiny Dancer,' because Ed Sheeran saw Almost Famous once." Adam Starkey from news website Metro states that it "'has echoes of Mumford & Sons 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.

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 Suffolk with locations including Framlingham, Boyton marshes, Mildenhall Stadium and Felixstowe. The final shot shows Framlingham Castle. Ed Sheeran stated on The Graham Norton Show that the young man playing him in the video went to the same school as Sheeran, Thomas Mills High School.

In popular culture
The song was used in trailers and several TV spots for the 2017 animated film Ferdinand.

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.

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

See also
 Lists of Scottish number-one singles of 2017

References

2015 songs
2017 singles
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
Folk ballads
〈Castle on the Hill〉은 영국의 싱어송라이터 에드 시런의 노래이다. 2017년 1월 6일 〈Shape of You〉와 함께 그의 세 번째 스튜디오 음반 《÷》 (2017년)의 더블 리드 싱글 중 하나로 발매되었다. 〈Castle on the Hill〉은 에드 시런과 베니 블랑코가 작사, 작곡하고 프로듀싱했다. 이 노래는 시런의 고향인 서퍽주의 프램링엄에 있는 프램링엄성을 가리키며, 그가 마을에서 자란 이야기를 회상한다. BBC는 "이 노래는 서퍽주에게 보내는 러브레터로 묘사되었다"고 말한다.

〈Shape of You〉와 같은 날 발매한 〈Castle on the Hill〉은 아이슬란드, 스코틀랜드, 이스라엘에서 1위에 올랐다. 이 노래는 또한 영국, 호주, 독일을 포함한 여러 나라에서 2위에 올랐고, 〈Shape of You〉는 1위로 데뷔했다. 영국, 호주, 독일 차트 역사상 처음으로 아티스트가 신곡으로 차트 상위 2위를 차지한 것이다. 이 곡은 미국에서 6위로 데뷔했고, 〈Shape of You〉는 1위로 진입했으며, 이는 시런이 미국 톱 10에 동시에 두 곡을 데뷔시킨 최초의 아티스트가 되었다. 〈Castle on the Hill〉은 호주에서 플래티넘 9회, 캐나다에서 플래티넘 6회, 그리고 추가로 8개국에서 멀티플래티넘 인증을 받았다.

배경 
이 노래의 주제는 시런의 고향인 프램링엄을 둘러싸고 있으며, 그는 이곳에서 '손으로 말린 담배 피우기'와 '친구들과 함께 취하기'에 대한 이야기들을 회상하며 10대 시절의 삶을 살고 있다. 노래에 언급된 성은 프램링엄성이고, 2017년 1월 시런이 성에서 공연하도록 초대되었다.

이 노래는 2015년에 작사, 작곡하고 녹음되었다. 시런은 U2의 음악과 유사함에도 불구하고, 이 곡의 직접적인 영향은 그가 함께 투어했던 밴드인 스노 패트롤의 〈Fallen Empires〉에서 왔다고 밝혔다. 그는 "나는 스노 패트롤에서 자랐고, U2에서 자라지 않았지만, 스노 패트롤이 U2에서 자랐다는 것을 알고 있기 때문에 그 영향이 어디에서 왔는지 알고 있다"라고 말했다. 그는 또한 비슷한 반사적 요소를 가진 브루스 스프링스틴의 〈The River〉 같은 노래를 만들고 싶다고 말했다.

상업적 성과 
〈Castle on the Hill〉은 1월 13일 영국 싱글 차트에서 2위로 데뷔하여 첫 주에 193,000장을 판매했다. 시런은 또한 〈Shape of You〉로 1위에 데뷔하여 같은 주 영국 차트 역사상 2위 안에 데뷔한 유일한 아티스트가 되었다. 이 곡은 20만 장이 팔려 첫 주 실버 인증을 받았다. 이 곡은 발매 2주차에 10만 장이 팔리며 2위를 지켰다. 이 곡은 3주 동안 2위를 차지했고, 14주 동안 모두 10위 안에 들었다. 2017년 9월 현재 이 곡은 영국에서 170만 장의 판매량을 기록했으며, 이 중 47만 9천 장이 실제 판매량이며, 1억 9천만 개의 스트리밍이 있다. 스코틀랜드 싱글 차트에서는 〈Castle on the Hill〉이 〈Shape of You〉를 제치고 1위로 데뷔했다.

이 곡은 빌보드 핫 100에서 6위로 데뷔했으며, 미국에서 데뷔한 주에 171,000개의 다운로드가 팔렸고 1,300만 개의 스트리밍을 얻었다. 시런은 또한 〈Shape of You〉가 1위에 데뷔하면서, 핫 100 역사상 같은 주에 10위 안에 두 곡을 데뷔시킨 최초의 아티스트가 되었다. 2017년 9월 기준으로 〈Castle on the Hill〉은 미국에서 821,000건의 다운로드가 판매되었다.

곡 목록 
 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

인증

각주

외부 링크 
 
 

2017년 노래
2017년 싱글
에드 시런의 노래
어사일럼 레코드 싱글
애틀랜틱 레코드 싱글
팝 발라드
록 발라드
우정을 소재로 한 노래
실화를 바탕으로 한 노래
서퍽주를 배경으로 한 작품