Ed Sheeran reveals which traditional Irish song will be played at his funeral

Ed Sheeran treated Theo Von and his podcast listeners to a rendition of a classic Irish song.

The singer, who once got an embarrassing tattoo in Ireland, was a guest on Von’s hugely popular podcast “This Past Weekend.” The duo chatted about funerals, drinking culture and Ireland.

The “Galway Girl” singer praised Ireland for supporting and promoting the arts, calling music its “cultural currency.” He referenced his Irish grandmother, who he still feels a deep connection to even after her death. Von asked if his music is ever played at funerals, and Sheeran mentioned a song he wrote about his grandmother called “Supermarket Flowers.”

He then told Von what song he would like played at his own funeral – a traditional Irish folk song called “The Parting Glass.”

“It’s always the last song sung on a folk night,” he said, then sang the first verse of the song.

“Basically, it’s like everything I did happened until the last drink of the night,” he explained. “Let’s have that last drink and move on with our lives. I think that’s a pretty nice way to leave this world.”

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Von, who recently visited Ireland as part of his comedy tour, said he was shocked at how deeply ingrained drinking is in Irish culture. Sheeran laughed as he described the sight of walking into a bar where there was “no furniture” and just “people holding each other up”.

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The singer seemed to refute his claim by explaining his impression of American drinking culture.

“In America, there are Irish bars on the freeways,” said Ed. “Who the hell goes to an Irish bar?”

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