There's a letter on the desktop that I dug out of a drawer
The last truce we ever came to
In our adolescent war
And I start to feel the fever
From the warm air through the screen
You come regular like seasons
Shadowing my dreams

And the Mississippi's mighty
But it starts in Minnesota
At a place that you could walk across
With five steps down
And I guess that's how you started
Like a pinprick to my heart
But at this point you rush right through me
And I start to drown

And there's not enough room
In this world for my pain
Signals cross and love gets lost
And time passed makes it plain
Of all my demon spirits
I need you the most
I'm in love with your ghost
I'm in love with your ghost

Dark and dangerous like a secret (don't tell a soul)
That gets whispered in a hush
When I wake the things I dreamed about you (don't tell a soul)
Last night make me blush
And you kiss me like a lover
Then you sting me like a viper
I go follow to the river
Play your memory like a piper

And I feel it like a sickness
How this love is killing me
I'd walk into the fingers
Of your fire willingly
And dance the edge of sanity
I've never been this close
In love with your ghost, ooh

Ooh
Unknowing captor
You never know how much you
Pierce my spirit
But I can't touch you
Can you hear it
A cry to be free
Oh I'm forever under lock and key
As you pass through me

Now I see your face before me
I would launch a thousand ships
To bring your heart back to my island
As the sand beneath me slips
As I burn up in your presence
And I know now how it feels
To be weakened like Achilles
With you always at my heels

This bitter pill I swallow
Is the silence that I keep
It poisons me I can't swim free
The river is too deep
Though I'm baptized by your touch
I am no worse than most
In love with your ghost (in love with your ghost)

You are shadowing my dreams
(In love with your ghost)
(In love with your ghost)


Lyrics submitted by aur0ra, edited by richieav, nubianamy

Ghost Lyrics as written by Emily Ann Saliers

Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Ghost song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

22 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    I joined up for the sole purpose of commenting on this song, because it has my absolute favourite lyric of any lyric I've ever heard or read:

    "And the Mississippi's mighty But it starts in Minnesota At a place that you could walk across with five steps down

    And I guess that's how you started Like a pinprick to my heart But at this point you rush right through me and I start to drown"

    I coincidentally came across this song when I was experiencing a very intense secret love/crush, and that lyric summed up my entire experience right there. It's not about love at first sight, but about suddenly getting to the point when you realise this person you've known has come to mean more to you than you'd ever anticipated.

    This whole song is so perfectly well written, the way everything is brought back to the water analogy - even the references to Helen of Troy are perfectly and subtly written.

    "Now I see your face before me I would launch a thousand ships To bring your heart back to my island as the sand beneath me slips

    As I burn up in your presence And I know now how it feels To be weakened like Achilles With you always at my heels"

    And this bit always makes me cry:

    "And my bitter pill to swallow is the silence that I keep It poisons me, I can't swim free The river is too deep"

    I can't get over the amazing lyrics and melodies that Amy and Emily write... I'm particularly a fan of Emily's songs. This song makes me cry almost every time I hear it!

    girl_fridayon January 18, 2006   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Amazing
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran tells a story of unsuccessfully trying to feel “Amazing.” This track is about the being weighed down by emotional stress despite valiant attempts to find some positivity in the situation. This track was written by Ed Sheeran from the perspective of his friend. From the track, we see this person fall deeper into the negative thoughts and slide further down the path of mental torment with every lyric.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“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. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “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. 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. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.