Ed Sheeran says he penned the track "18" from the perspective of One Direction (listen below).

The singer-songwriter exclusively wrote the song for the band's recent fourth album, Four. Its lyrics include:

"I have loved you since we were 18 / Long before we both thought the same thing / To be loved, to be in love."

Speaking to Yahoo, Sheeran confirmed that he wrote the tune with the thought of One Direction members' experiences in his head. He said: "I kinda wrote it from their perspective."

Talking previously about the track, the British star told Capital FM:

"I'm really happy with the record that I wrote for them. It's the first record I've actually specifically written for them.

"The other ones were my records that just didn't make it only my album, just because I had too many slow songs. But this one, I remember I had a meeting with them and he said we need a song. And the day after I wrote it and sent it over, and they sound great on it! It's good." 

Listen to/stream Ed Sheeran.