I always interpreted this, maybe too literally, as a "junkie" dying from an overdose, and how someone's addiction can "carry" everyone else along in their river. Now that they're dead, all that painful chaos is quieted and still. The last line makes me think though that maybe "ghost" isn't quite so literal, and they've just left town or otherwise made themselves scarce, leaving those they love empty and wondering.
I always interpreted this, maybe too literally, as a "junkie" dying from an overdose, and how someone's addiction can "carry" everyone else along in their river. Now that they're dead, all that painful chaos is quieted and still. The last line makes me think though that maybe "ghost" isn't quite so literal, and they've just left town or otherwise made themselves scarce, leaving those they love empty and wondering.