Ghost

I'm crying tonight because of this song.

Almost twenty years ago, on a random afternoon, I got a call from my best friend's father. I can't remember what he said, but I knew what it meant. Jack was dead.

Not expected-if-tragic following a long illness. Not in something as immediately visceral and utterly prosaic as a car crash. He drowned.

I loved him. As a young twenty-something, I'd been in love with him for almost a decade. A hopeless gay boy yearning for his straight best friend as they play video games and have sleepovers and spend every day together.

And he drowned. Almost twenty years ago. Every now and then this song comes through my rotation; if I don't skip it, I'm bawling. I didn't skip it tonight.

I am still in love with him. With his ghost.

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

This song reminds me of someone who can't let go of a love they've lost. The person isn't there anymore. All of their memories and their belongings sit together like a ghost to the lover who remains attached. They aren't in love with the person anymore because the person has changed and moved on, but they are in love with the remnants of a relationship that was long over. They're in love with the ghost of something that died a long time ago. It's rather sad, actually, how people can't let go.

Indigo Girls have the most amazing lyrics i have ever heard. No matter how many times i listen to their songs i can ALWAYS find a new meaning in them. This particular song i believe is about a person who found who they thought was "the one" but they got away. the reminder of them comes regualr like seasons. And their pain is so large that it cannot fit in this world. there is SO much more to this song that i cannot even begin to write about--because i will never finish...

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!

There was a girl I met in Ontario that has haunted me for years. We had a single week of perfect days and then I had to come back to the states. The number she gave me didn't work and I was never able to find her again. I'm in a happy, loving relationship now, but her memory always makes me smile. This song is her for me.

So Willow, if you're reading. Thank you.

my favorite is I would walk through the fingers of your fire willingly and like Achilles you are at my heels-wow that is just an amazing song

this is the song Cara and Aneesa sang on the real world chicago. ive been searching everywhere for it. its great

thats where i heard it! the real world, lol i just found it this second.. yesss =) ::downloads::

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

wow

i love this song forever i heard it at camp and i can never get sick of it it has really powerful lyrics and i love it