03 May 2023, Mumbai: As he returned to the witness stand and once more sang and played his guitar for a Manhattan jury on Monday, Ed Sheeran said he would be “done” if he were found responsible for plagiarising Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.”
In response to a question from his lawyer Ilene Farkas about what would happen if the trial, which started last week in federal court, didn’t go his way and the plaintiffs were to be awarded ownership of the chord sequence in his song, the British singer-songwriter discussed the toll the copyright infringement lawsuit has taken on him.
Sheeran, 32, replied, “If that happens, I’m done; I’m stopping.” To spend my entire life working as a singer-songwriter and then minimise it, I find it quite demeaning.
Sheeran’s attorney had already questioned the musician over live performances and the composition of “Thinking Out Loud,” a song that Sheeran is alleged to have plagiarised in parts from Marvin Gaye’s 1973 R&B masterpiece.
The “Shape of You” singer, however, refuted accusations that he plagiarised Gaye’s song when writing his own 2014 hit.
“When you created “Thinking Out Loud,” did you borrow any ideas from “Let’s Get It On?” Farkas enquired of Sheeran. “No,” he answered firmly. The four-time Grammy Award-winning singer sang a portion of “Thinking Out Loud” during his testimony last week, and on Monday he sang a variety of Van Morrison song mashups for the jury.
On the witness stand, he played a four-chord progression that he is said to have stolen from “Let’s Get It On” and sung cover versions of songs by Van Morrison, including “Tupelo Honey” and “Crazy Love.”
Amy Wadge, who composed “Thinking Out Loud” alongside Sheeran, later explained the song’s composition to the jury, saying that the song’s melody reminded her of Van Morrison’s “Have I Told You Lately.” Wadge claimed that Gaye was never a thought during the songwriting process.
“We both said it was a Van (Morrison) song once we had written it and Ed started playing it from the phone,” she recalled. “It resembled a Van Morrison song in terms of feel.”
Sheeran responded in his evidence to Alexander Stewart, a musicologist for the plaintiffs, who had claimed the previous week that the first 24 seconds of “Thinking Out Loud” were comparable to the start of “Let’s Get It On.”
Sheeran began by saying, “If I have to be honest, what he’s doing here is criminal,” before challenging Stewart’s credentials. “… I’m not sure how he could be an authority. Of course, this is just my viewpoint.”
Sheeran became agitated during cross-examination when plaintiff attorney Robert Frank questioned him about his prior writing partnerships with musicians and his playing style.
Sheeran claimed, “Me personally, I know what I’m playing on guitar.’
In the event that Sheeran loses the case, the Townsend family will be awarded damages in a subsequent trial.