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I'm A Ghost Lyrics
I'm a ghost, and I wanted you to know
That it's taking all my strength to make this toast
I'm a ghost - I'm no one of any note
Sure, your mind was made up long before I spoke
But I'm a ghost - one of an unholy host
Made invisible and mute, but with sore throats
Look - you cant make a sound from
Six feet under ground
Now you'll say you disagree, keep my statistic around
But if it looks like a dog and it smells like a dog
Well then it probably is, so let's just give it a walk
I'm a ghost - so it dont matter what I know
And you wont mind if I dont speak "comme il faut,"
But you've been caught "in flagrante delicto,"
And the ghosts are lining up outside your door
Because you cant make a sound from six feet under ground
Now you'll say you disagree
But come on - look what we've found:
If I can talk 'til im dead and still not get in your head
Well then it's probably true, so let's put this idea to bed
Why did you not talk to me?
You said you would talk to me
You can never talk to me again
There's no more tale to recound and no more truth to renounce
And no more finding me here
If e'er you do come around
See, they have lowered me down
Put me back deep underground
I'm on my side in the earth "where there's no rebirth...'
Why did you not come to me?
You said you would come to me
You could always come to be back then
Why did you not talk to me?
You said you would talk to me
That it's taking all my strength to make this toast
I'm a ghost - I'm no one of any note
Sure, your mind was made up long before I spoke
But I'm a ghost - one of an unholy host
Made invisible and mute, but with sore throats
Look - you cant make a sound from
Six feet under ground
Now you'll say you disagree, keep my statistic around
But if it looks like a dog and it smells like a dog
Well then it probably is, so let's just give it a walk
I'm a ghost - so it dont matter what I know
And you wont mind if I dont speak "comme il faut,"
But you've been caught "in flagrante delicto,"
And the ghosts are lining up outside your door
Because you cant make a sound from six feet under ground
Now you'll say you disagree
But come on - look what we've found:
If I can talk 'til im dead and still not get in your head
Well then it's probably true, so let's put this idea to bed
Why did you not talk to me?
You said you would talk to me
You can never talk to me again
There's no more tale to recound and no more truth to renounce
And no more finding me here
If e'er you do come around
See, they have lowered me down
Put me back deep underground
I'm on my side in the earth "where there's no rebirth...'
Why did you not come to me?
You said you would come to me
You could always come to be back then
Why did you not talk to me?
You said you would talk to me
Song Info
Submitted by
knifefight On Apr 10, 2004
More Ted Leo and the Pharmacists
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There's a common phrase, "You'll miss me when I'm dead", and I think that is the mentality of this song. He is fantasizing over the idea of being dead and coming back to a lover and asking the questions you would ask when you were dead, doing the things that you never could in life. "Why did you not talk to me?". He is probably not really "dead" either, as he says, "If I can talk 'til I'm dead and still not get in your head," I think it's a pretty interesting topic to tackle with a song. Kudos Ted Leo. This is a great album except for one song. Go buy it.
I think the song is renouncing and even mocking the idea of ghosts or possibly an afterlife in general "Where there's no rebirth". The line "Look you can't make a sound from six feet underground/Now you'll say you disagree/Keep my statistic [ghosts] around".
Some lyrics were left out, like in the first verse: "I'm a ghost and I want you to come close/'Cause I don't want you to miss me and misquote".
The missing last lines say, "You can never talk to me again, yeah. Talk to me again, yeah." I love the repetitive "Yeah-ee-ah-how" at the end. It might be inquiring to the possibility of ghosts, in incredulity: "Yeah? How?" Maybe, that's reading too far into it, but I like the idea. His voice...creamy!
I think this song is political. Maybe he feels like he has no political voice.
"the ghosts are lining up outside your door" Could be a reference to the many 'insignificant voices' in America.
has anyone entertained the possibility that this is just a bitter love song about a relationship gone wrong. with the whole toast thing, it sounds like he's giving a speech at the wedding of a former lover and now he and their relationship and the chances of him ever being with her are uhh dead.
this is clearly a political song. it seems so obvious to me, he seems dead because his voice isn't being heard.
this is clearly a political song. it seems so obvious to me, he seems dead because his voice isn't being heard.
Is it just me or are these lyrics missing a line? After "...make this toast," isn't there a line that goes, "I'm a ghost, and I wanted to come close because I don't want you to miss me and misquote"?
comme il faut- as it is
flagrante delicto- in the act.
hey, I didn't know what it meant.
The struggle to have a political voice in an uneducated world.
Hes a ghost. And people give him crap about caring, but you can't make a sound when you're dead. So why wait.
Oh this is great.
i didnt get a political vibe from the song. i heard more of an unrequited love message. loving someone who doesnt love you back and that after the affair is over the party is saying to the other that they missed out on a lot by not giving them a chance. but the real power in the song is that guitar solo and the wailing at the end. this song builds to an epic conclusion and might be my favorite ted leo song.