Ghosting

omg. i love this song.

to me it seems that the singer is tired of chasing somebody that they're interested in. when they're "haunting" they're just lingering around hoping that their interest would notice them. to me it is a desperate plea. either take me or i'm out of here.

when they say... "Hey, would it be so bad if I stayed I'm just a ghost out of his grave and I can't make love in my grave I won't put white into your hair I won't make noises in your stairs I will be kind and I'll be sweet If you stop staring straight through me"

to me it seems they're trying to get their interest to consider keeping them around for real. if you stop staring straight through me, i'll be good to you and i wont bug you like i do now.

when they say... "And this is why I have decided To pull these old white sheets from my head I'll leave them folded neat and tidy So that you'll know I'm out of hiding And this is why I have decided To leave your house and home unhaunted"

they mean that they're putting themselves out there, but they're going to leave their interest alone for now on. they're tired of the chase.

i love this song. i fell in love with it as soon as i heard it. and as always, you can totally relate to this song. i think everyone can.

On most sites where I have read these interpretations, it seems as though everyone believes this song is a love song. Everyone seems to share the belief that the singer is sort of confessing his love in this song. I have a completely different view of this song. Could be totally wrong but I'm going to give it a shot..

Okay, so he makes it clear he has been "ghosting." Ghosts, are invisible; therefore, he feels invisible. He says that he is going to come out of hiding. I think if you relate this to all of Mother Mother's other songs, he means he's going to stop pretending that he fits in. Sort of like he plans to stop acting civil. He clearly disagrees with society (as noted in the song The Stand), and is always mentioning in his songs how he wants to get away from all the "la di da" or "people on the ground." He has had enough of it all, and wants to show this to everyone.

I don't feel as though the song is targeted towards a specific loved one, I feel like it is focused towards everyone in his life, or even society alone. Every time he says "you" i believe he is targeting a group of people rather than just one person alone.

When he says "I remember the days when I'd make you oh, so afraid," I think it is a metaphor for the days when he used to make a difference, or used to conform to society. Now, he is just a ghost who doesn't fit in because he sees life and society far differently than most people do.

When the song says, "Hey, would it be so bad if I stayed I'm just a ghost out of his grave And I can't make love in my grave I won't put white into your hair I won't make noises in your stairs I will be kind and I will be sweet If you stop staring straight through me" I believe he is talking to everyone. Saying like hey, if you notice me and don't just stare through me, you might see that I'm actually a good person.

Mother Mother appear different from most people in today's society (in a good way). However, their interesting style might make them appear less approachable. Some people (actually most people) are very quick to judge. Therefore, they maybe don't actually take the chance to get to know any people who don't dress or act the same as themselves. Speaking from experience, I used to be really quick to judge people. Then, I went to college. I have got to know some really great people who do not dress or act the same way as I do. However, I've realized that doesn't matter and that I shouldn't have been so judgmental in the past because I probably missed out on getting to know some really fantastic people at my high school.

Back on topic, because Mother Mother do appear differently than your typical citizen (again, in a good way. They seriously have style), some might be quick to judge them. Which has left them feeling like ghosts. I think this song is a cry for help. They want to be loved and noticed by the people in their lives.

As for the tricks and treats aspect of the song.. Your don't need treats. You don't need to be bribed with good things. Good things should come as a result of following your own beliefs and doing your own thing. Kinda like the song is telling you to be you, and don't change who you are to be rewarded with "treats"

You don't need tricks. You don't need to be tricked into believing certain things. Your teachers, parents, and peers will all have their beliefs and they may try to raise you a certain way. They try to get you to believe the things they do. However, you learn from your own experience, you don't need to be tricked.

You don't need Halloween. On Halloween, people dress up in costumes. I think the idea here is that you don't need people who are pretending to be something they aren't. Main idea is to just be you.

You don't need me. I feel like he thinks of himself as insignificant, doesn't believe he makes a difference in anyone's life because he is a "ghost."

I do feel as though he is speaking from his own experience of being invisible. He is saying it is better to stand up for your own beliefs and be invisible then it is to pretend all the time. I think he is trying to reach out to others, let them know that there are people out there who don't agree with society and telling the people who are pretending to fit in to just be themselves and come out of hiding. Because that is what he is doing.. through his music.

Wow, sorry for the length, I just really love this song. :)

This song is honestly so great. The melody is just so twisted and it really emphasizes the lyrics. It sounds like he's kind of going crazy a bit, frustrated a bit. I love it so much.

This song makes me want to... I don't really know, it's so overwhelming. I knew a girl once, or two or maybe more and every time I feel like I'm looked down upon or just mistreated I wonder why I agree to be their loving one.. if that even makes sense. Then I listen to this song and I kind of get it, it's unbalanced, it's never perfect, it's some sort of worship and loneliness, a very human feeling of longing and a certain dose of "playing" that appears to be harmless but in fact hides so many emotions and urges. I wear this song out and then I feel better, I wonder who had the guts to write this song, so simple, so sincere and yet so miserable and true.. I can't help but love it.

I love how the last line wraps up the entire song and at the same time is so hopeless.

I always thought it was a song sung by someone who was having a hard time letting go of a past love/relationship and trying to come to terms with it. Throughout the song he's trying to say he's over it and knows its for the best, but then when the gets to the part and says

"Hey, would it be so bad if I stayed I'm just a ghost out of his grave And I can't make love in my grave I won't put white into your hair I won't make noises in your stairs I will be kind and I will be sweet If you stop staring straight through me"

it's like the last ditch effort to plead to his loved one to change their mind and take them back/keep them around. In the end he's still saying he's going to leave, but his feelings still seem unresolved. That's just how I've always taken it. Great song.

To me this song is about not being noticed. I don't think it's a single entity, for the word "you" is very generalized, though I think it is implied towards everyone important in Mother Mother's life. Refusing to be yourself in fear of losing them, knowing that you wouldn't be accepted as you truly are. When you Mother Mother made the decision to reveal how they actually were, he left. As previously mentioned, he was confident he wouldn't be accepted.

And this is why I have decided To pull these old white sheets from my head I'll leave them folded neat and tidy So that you'll know I'm out of hiding

And this is why I have decided To leave your house and home unhaunted You don't need poltergeist for sidekicks You don't need treats and you don't need tricks

great great great song

sad, sad song... i love this song..! and can related too.

i totally agree with jennybean's interpretation of the song..

Indeed, a wonderful song. I really identify with this one. I felt like a lingering, haunted, withdrawn ghost in my own family home for many many years. I wanted to 'come out' of this haunting and leave very badly.

Very evocative of [in]tense family dynamics: a spouse leaving resulting in divorce...

"Hey, would it be so bad if I stayed I'm just a ghost out of his grave and I can't make love in my grave I won't put white into your hair"

deaths, and other tragedies that produce such ghosts and ghostings that cause stress and leaves you c/old in broken homes.

And this is why I have decided To leave your house and home unhaunted You don't need poltergeists for sidekicks