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
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22 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment

    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...

    dancer1018on July 05, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    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.

    simplyhalimaon March 18, 2002   Link
  • +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
  • +1
    Memory

    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.

    ChloeOldBeanon March 29, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    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

    JulesCon December 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

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

    bobdoleon July 07, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

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

    dmbjilon August 05, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    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

    Shirelleon March 03, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    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

    OpiSccr565on April 10, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I have heard a lot of songs in my lifetime, but this one...this is the most amazing song I have ever heard, bar none.

    If you aren't moved by Emily's amazing lyrics here, then I don't know...you have never really loved anything and lost it.

    Wow. No words can really describe it.

    musiclover26on August 28, 2005   Link

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