In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. “Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party.

Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words.

The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men.

311 sometimes jacks rule the realm