The story of the ghost
That I once knew and talked to
Of whom I'd never boast
For this was my big secret
How I'd get ahead
And never have to worry
I'd call him instead
He never spoke a word
Or maybe I laid down the phone
Before he could be heard
Like he had closed the door
I guess I just stopped needing him
As much as once before
The latch was left unhooked
He's waiting in the wind and rain
I simply haven't looked
My take on this is different than the others. When I think of a ghost I think of all the steps someone made during their life. Like if you playback your entire life and every where you went. So if I walk to the bathroom and sit back down my ghost does the same. It’s like my past self. The ghost is his past self. So his ghost aka past self is either doing productive things to help him get ahead, or he’s not and opportunity doors are closing. He’s waiting in the wind and rain aka when things get tough you’re most likely to blame. Is your ghost from the past doing things to help you get ahead or causing you to be in the wind and rain. Ghost is your past actions.
@Thetube even further is when he says I once knew and talked to. He’s talking to himself. Reflecting and planning for his future. How he got ahead. Though maybe he didn’t. Maybe he hasn’t been reflecting and planning and things have gone bad in his life. That’s my take. The actions you do now will either set you up in life or screw you over down the road. The story of the ghost is each of our own personal pasts.
@Thetube even further is when he says I once knew and talked to. He’s talking to himself. Reflecting and planning for his future. How he got ahead. Though maybe he didn’t. Maybe he hasn’t been reflecting and planning and things have gone bad in his life. That’s my take. The actions you do now will either set you up in life or screw you over down the road. The story of the ghost is each of our own personal pasts.
Supposedly Tom Marshall had a Ghost for a friend as a kid. Hence, the song.
that is what i heard also. this is a great song, i love it.
Whoa.. this song is crazy sexy. Love it.
anyone know what it means?
absolutely THE best song to listened to stoned....
Right, I believe that the childhood imaginary friend interpretation holds. The last two verses obviously refer to Tom Marshall's nostalgic feelings towards his imaginary friend, and his hope that the Ghost is still with him.
ya I heard the speculation of Tom Marshall having an imaginary friend as a child. But more importantly is what that imaginary friend says to him..
Here are the lines that speak to me the most:
For this was my big secret How I'd get ahead
His answer came in actions He never spoke a word
If you ever want to get ahead in life. Shut your damn mouth and do something about it. Get the book by Jerry Rubin called "do it". That explains a simple notion in a few hundred pages.
Also, why do I have to see a fat dude become ripped out of the corner of my damn eye when typing this shit.. FN ads!!
chubz
The more I listen, the more I like the lyrics on this album. I think this is probably their best lyrical music. The other albums do offer some interesting imagery, but these offer direct meaning. Very cool.
I have to agree with fourtwentey420. While this song may have started out with a remembrance of a childhood imaginary friend, it probably evolved into a more mature idea about the belief in a higher power.
The song starts with someone who is confiding, finally, in a friend. He tells this friend of the special "ghost" whom he could call on and ask for solutions to problems. His ghost friend was always faithful and would always help him get ahead. This ghost would not actually respond in words, but instead, through actions; the ghost would change reality itself if the caller asked it. Each time he called the ghost, he waited for a response but the ghost never spoke back, so out of impatience he would put down the phone leaving the possible response on the other end. This happened until the ghost mysteriously stopped helping. He would call and ask for help but there wouldn't be any change in reality and thus he knew the ghost was gone. He felt betrayed. Forsaken, he finds other, better ways of changing situations in reality and thus stops calling the ghost. At the end of the song, he remarks that maybe the ghost is actually still there and perhaps if he looks again or in a different place, he may find his trusty friend and once again be saved by the mysterious force.
This must be about faith. Just like asking God for help, he sometimes helps and sometimes doesn't. People often get fed up waiting for real results from requests to God and leave the faith. People also often desire that connection with the deity so much that they will, throughout their lives, look in the wind and rain for the ghost they think may be able to help them. That is just how desperate humans are.
@rplaughl Tom Marshall has helped pen many a song that contains lyrics about there not being a "higher power" so I think the theology slant is off..."god never listens to what I say..."
@rplaughl Tom Marshall has helped pen many a song that contains lyrics about there not being a "higher power" so I think the theology slant is off..."god never listens to what I say..."
One of my new Faves by Phish, heard the 7/6.98 version from Prague while camping on Lake Michigan a little over a month ago.
My take on it is that it is a relationship with an old drug dealer. someone he never talked or boasted about and helped to get his fix, Someone who he could call and never have to worry about not failing to come through, his answers always came with actions. there was never much spoken during the interaction and the guy learned when he was needed before a call could be made.