Ed Sheeran Plays Guitar And Sings In Court

Ed Sheeran played guitar and sang for a New York courtroom yesterday in the trial accusing him of ripping off Marvin Gaye’s ‘Let’s Get It On’ for ‘Thinking Out Loud.’ He also admitted he can’t read music.

Sheeran performed part of what he said was the first version of “Thinking Out Loud,” as he and co-writer Amy Wadge developed it together at his home in England. The song’s hook lyric started out “I’m singing out now.” Sheeran explained his process: “When I write vocal melodies, it’s like phonetics.” That later became “thinking out loud.” He said they wrote it pretty quickly in 2014, saying he got out of the shower and heard Wadge playing some guitar chords he liked and wanted to expand on. Lyrically, the context of “Let’s Get It On” was furthest from his mind. Sheeran’s concept surrounding maintaining love into old age (which has made it an incredibly popular song for weddings!)

This case has been going for a long time!  The biggest issue hinges on both songs relying on the same four chords. What do you think?  Are they similar?