Ghost

The Academy Is...

Hey, stop on a dime
Take both your hands
Reach them above, one at a time
Are you alone in here?
I heard the voice so clearly

I tried not to breathe
Tried not to speak
Clamping my tongue between my teeth
Are you alone in here?
I heard the voice so clearly say

Well, there are fine lines I've seen
We are stuck in between
With separate eyes to use and throw aside
How we die, nobody wants to know
Who decides where everybody goes?
Where everybody goes

Well, no, this can't be it
I start to sweat
Haunted by all the things I'd miss
This can't be right
I realized right then that
It's me or him, yeah

There are fine lines I've seen
We are stuck in between
With separate eyes to use and throw aside
How we die, nobody has to know
Who decides where everybody goes?
What if I don't?

Oh, no, I can't believe this
I don't know why
This had to happen
I had no choice
Well, it was me or him (x2)

There's a fine line
Between what is justified or just obscene
Fragile eyes to use and throw aside
How we die, nobody wants to know
Who decides where everybody goes?
Where everybody goes

How we died, no one will ever know
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?
Who decides where everybody goes?


Lyrics submitted by shrodes

Ghost song meanings
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  • 0
    General Comment
    One of the better songs on the album.
    fatemostudenton April 10, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Hmm. Not totally sure what this song means. I think it might have to do with him being forced to make this big decision. Or it could just mean his life is ending, and he doesn't want to leave it because he's realized that there are so many thing he's missed in his life. I dunno. The "Well it was me or him" part could mean the decision could effect either him or the other guy....
    aprilmayjune07on April 18, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I think it's: 'How we die, nobody has to know'
    thoseguiltyeyeson April 26, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    hm. this is a GOOD song. i like it a lot! i thinkk (correct me if I'm wrong) its about him making a decision as to who will 'die'. I'm not sure whether he literally meant to die or to die in another sense. Either him or someone else will have to take the fall and 'die'. He's haunted with the fact that if he 'dies' then he'll miss out on so many things that have yet to come in his life.. idk. thats just my take on it.
    princessKATIEon June 20, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    i think this song is about where we go after death... i might be taking it too literally but thats what it sounds like to me
    luckystar130on August 01, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    in the first and second choruses, i'm not sure but instead of obscene isn't it unseen? that's what i always heard it as... william likes to mix around lyrics a lot with words that sound similar though so i might be mistaken hahah. anyway, this is one of my favorite academy is... songs. it's just so easy to sing along with/dance to/relate to even if you don't quite get it. i think it means he's been living life like okay i have to do this and this and this... and OH SNAP! i hope it's not too late to start doing what i've been wanting to do all along, instead of what to do just to get by in life... if that makes any sense at all? XD
    elenafayeon June 19, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I think William is saying that we live orderly and prototypical lives. We wake up in the morning, go to school/work, socialize, then go to bed at night. Then the next day we do it all over again. Then once we've done this same routine for long enough...we die. In the beginning he's talking about trying to hide from this inevitability. He realizes how little he's done, but only realizes this when it's too late. I think "Who decides where everybody goes? What if I don't?" is an important line. After discovering how much of a conformist he's been his whole life, he fears that he'll yet again be pushed into a path by some authoritative force (society in his first life, possibly some type of god in his second). LAST THING "There are fine lines I've seen We are stuck in between With separate eyes to use and throw aside" This reinforces my idea. In life, there are two fine lines that we cannot cross. So it ends up with us all being on this same straight and narrow path, never stepping out of line. As for the eyes, I think it emphasizes how insignificant our lives on Earth are. We see the world as we know it through our eyes, but after we die, they are completely useless. Maybe I'm waaaay off base. But that's at least what I take from this amazing song :)
    lauraloooon April 06, 2009   Link

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