“Visiting Hours” by Ed Sheeran

There are relationships that we have with friends and mentors that we simply don’t want to end, and Ed Sheeran’s “Visiting Hours” poignantly expresses the longing to have more time with someone close to our heart.

Released in 2021 on his “=” (Equals) album, it was written for the memorial service of Sheeran’s close friend and mentor, the legendary Australian music producer and concert promoter Michael Gudinski.

In typical Sheeran fashion, he wrote it spontaneously, assisted by a timely delay en route to the service. Arriving during the COVID-19 pandemic, authorities quarantined him for two weeks prior to entering the country. He had his guitar during lockdown, as he explained during his performance, so he was able to process his grief the way he processes everything else in his life, good or bad — he wrote a song.

Ed Sheeran sings “Visiting Hours” at the memorial service for his friend
and mentor, Michael Gudinski.

The emotion behind the song was revealed in Sheeran’s Instagram post about his friend’s passing: “We were, first and foremost, friends. He was a father figure and mentor to me.”

So, like a son updating his father on his young family, he begins the song with a reference to his baby daughter and his mentor’s future influence on her, passed down through Sheeran:

I wish that heaven had visiting hours
So I could just show up and bring the news
That she’s gettin’ older and I wish that you’d met her
The things that she’ll learn from me, I got them all from you

And in the chorus that follows, he expresses the longing to linger, like they had before.

Can I just stay a while and we’ll put all the world to rights?
The little ones will grow and I’ll still drink your favorite wine
And soon, they’re going to close, but I’ll see you another day
So much has changed since you’ve been away

Performing “Visiting Hours” for the first time, Sheeran fought back tears as he sang about his personal loss.

As the song progresses, he wishes he could ask for advice, talk a while “until my worries disappear.” His desire to keep his friend in his life is so strong that if heaven had visiting hours, he sings, he would “ask them if I could take you home,” like a discharged patient.

But as the song comes to a close, he accepts that his friend can’t come back, and vows that the wisdom his friend bestowed will stay with him:

So, I will live life the way you taught me
And make it on my own

More than that, in the final chorus he promises to keep his friend’s legacy alive, while expressing a common, comforting belief shared by the bereaved, of ultimately being reunited.

And everyone I love will know exactly who you are
‘Cause this is not goodbye, it is just ’til we meet again

The song works, as Ed Sheeran songs do, because of his honest, heartfelt approach to the subject matter and his signature man-and-a-guitar performance.

“Visiting Hours” will likely resonate with those who have lost someone who was a strong influence in their life – be it a parent, teacher, or mentor. And they may find some comfort in the idea of honoring that person by keeping them alive in word and deed.

You can watch Ed Sheeran perform “Visiting Hours” in the video below.