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GHOST (Emily Saliers)
---------------------
[No capo; each chord is half a measure.]
D/F# G C(9) G/B (repeating, fading in)
[intro]
D/F# G C(9) G/B
There's a letter on the desktop that I dug out of a drawer
D/F# G C(9) G/B
The last truce we ever came to from our adolescent war
D/F# G C(9) G/B
And I start to feel the fever from the warm air through the screen
D/F# G C(9) G6/B C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
You come regular like seasons, shadowing my dreams
D(9)/F# G6 C(9) G6/B
The Mississippi's mighty, but it starts in Minnesota
D(9)/F# G6 C(9) G6/B
At a place that you could walk across with five steps down
D(9)/F# G6 C(9) G6/B
And I guess that's how you started like a pinprick to my heart
D(9)/F# G6 C(9) C(9)
But at this point you rush right through me and I start to drown
D D#dim Em7 A7sus - A7
And there's not enough room in this world for my pain
D D/C# Bm7 Bm7
Signals cross and love gets lost and time passed makes it plain
D D#dim Em7 A7sus - A7
Of all my demon spirits I need you the most
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
I'm in love with your ghost
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
I'm in love with your ghost
Dark and dangerous like a secret that gets whispered in a hush
When I wake the things I dreamt about you last night make me blush
When you kiss me like a lover, then you sting me like a viper
I go follow to the river, play your memory like the piper
And I feel it like a sickness, how this love is killing me
But I'd walk into the fingers of your fire willingly
And dance the edge of sanity, I've never been this close
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
In love with your ghost
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
Oo oo-oo ooooooooooooo oo-oo oooooo oo oooo
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
Oo oo-oo ooooooooooooo oo-oo oooooo oo oooo
Em7 Em7 A7sus A7
Unknowing captor, you'll never know how much you
D D/C# F#7sus4 F#7
Pierced my spirit, but I can't touch you
Bm Bm/A E7/G# G
Can you hear it, a cry to be free
B7 B7 Em E Am C D D/C G/B D
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
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
Though I'm baptized by your touch, I am no worse at most
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
In love with your ghost
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
In love with your ghost (shadowing my dreams)
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
In love with your ghost (ooooooooh)
C(9) G6/B D(9)/F# G6
In love with your ghost (ooooooooh)
C(9) G/B D/F# G
[instrumental: repeat and fade]
Notes on some chords:
* If you don't want to play D#dim (xx1212), play B7/D# (xx1202) instead;
it doesn't sound much different.
* I think the Girls play F#11 (244300) where I've written F#7sus4 & F#7
(x44420 & x44320), and some god-awful G#m and Gmaj7 chords where I wrote
E7 & G. Do whatever you think works best for you.
* In the chorus, try playing the second half of D and D#dim (or B7/D#) with
the third fret on the high E string. It matches the vocals that way.
TAB:
The picking pattern for the intro, first verse, and outro goes like this
(note the continuous D note on the third fret of the B string):
D/F# G C(9) G/B
E --------------------------------|--------------------------------|
B ------3-------3-------3-------3-|------3-------3-------3-------3-|
G --2-------2-------0-------0-----|--0-------0-------0-------0-----|
D ----0-------0-------0-------0---|----2-------2-------0-------0---|
A --------------------------------|3-------3-------2-------2-------|
E 2-------2-------3-------3-------|--------------------------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
For the rest of the song, where it goes D(9)/F# G6 C(9) G6/B, it's a
little trickier (HINT: the thumb handles all the notes on the E, A, and
D strings):
D(9)/F# G6 C(9) G6/B
E ------0---------------0---------|------0---------------0---------|
B ----------3---------------3-----|----------3---------------3-----|
G --2-----------2---0-----------0-|--0-----------0---0-----------0-|
D ----0-------0-------0-------0---|----2-------2-------0-------0---|
A --------------------------------|3-------3-------2-------2-------|
E 2-------2-------3-------3-------|--------------------------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
And then there's this little fill in the intro and outro:
D/F# G C(9) G/B
E --------------------------------|3-----2-----3-------------------|
B ----------3-----1-----0---------|----------------3---------------|
G ------0-------------------------|--------------------------------|
D 2/4-------------2-----0---------|--------------------------------|
A --------------------------------|3---------------2---------------|
E --------------------------------|--------------------------------|
^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ . ^ .
- Adam Schneider, schneider@pobox.com
Brought to you by the GUITARMASTA - http://www.guitarmasta.net
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
zach Wanna Be |
#1 by zach morgan at Oct 4, 1973 at 12:36 PM EST |
| 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 | |
|
No Picture
Colin Wanna Be |
#2 by Colin Gauld at May 16, 1974 at 8:16 AM EST |
| This song was a favorite of mine long before I had a lover to attach to the sentiment. Is it about longing for the one who got away, or about loving the ideal person we make those "one who got away" types into? C.S. Lewis wrote, of his deceased wife, "slowly, quietly, like snowflakes, like the small flakes that come when it is going to snow all night, little flakes of me, my impressions, my selections, are settling down on the image of her. The real shape will be quite hidden in the end, the rough, sharp, cleansing tang of her otherness is gone." Timothy Noah, another widower, referred to that passage as, "his idea of his wife, unchecked by the little daily corrections and surprises of her actuality." The sort of fondness that is reserved for lovers who are gone, one way or another. | |
|
No Picture
Bye! Average |
#3 by Bye! at Jul 5, 1979 at 4:45 PM EST |
| this ong is amazin!!! i have just come to terms that i love one of my best friends zoe and this song sums up how i feel about her! 'This bitter pill I swallow Is the silence that I keep' ^i cant tell her coz i dont want to ruin our friendship and that lyrics describes that. the first time i listend to it iand heard this lyric: "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 was in tears because it was so relatiable! and the bits about being in love with a ghost and the dreams bit make me think that - im in love with memories and dreams about her coz I cant be in love with her coz id rather be friends with her and she not know how i feel than her to know how I feel and never be as close agin :( and Jane007 that comment is uncalled for! just because you dont like something you shouldnt run i t down! you obviously arnt smart enough to understand or appricate or understand the lyrics!!!:P | |
|
No Picture
Ulti` Average |
#4 by Ulti` 89 at Jul 25, 1979 at 7:53 PM EST |
| 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... | |
|
No Picture
ben Average |
#5 by ben bell at May 9, 1981 at 5:54 PM EST |
| this song is pretty much the worst song ever. i don't know why everybody likes the indigo girls- they're a couple of carpet eating lesbos! | |
|
No Picture
Carly Average |
#6 by Carly at Aug 10, 1981 at 10:04 AM EST |
| 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. | |
|
No Picture
tristan Rhythm Player |
#7 by tristan drew at Jun 27, 1984 at 5:32 PM EST |
| 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! | |
|
No Picture
Dr. Jack Average |
#8 by Dr. Jack at Dec 29, 1989 at 6:58 AM EST |
| erm Jane007 i dont think you should comment on peoples sexuality like that, im not even gay and i know better than to say something like that, what does the sexuality of the singers have to do with th music ? nothing so keep your opinions to yourself | |
|
No Picture
RoBsN Average |
#9 by RoBsN Stalder at Aug 18, 1990 at 4:20 PM EST |
| thats where i heard it! the real world, lol i just found it this second.. yesss =) ::downloads:: | |
|
No Picture
billy Average |
#10 by billy murchison at Sep 18, 1996 at 12:50 PM EST |
| this is the song Cara and Aneesa sang on the real world chicago. ive been searching everywhere for it. its great | |
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No Picture
Forrest Average |
#11 by Forrest at Jul 9, 1997 at 6:28 PM EST |
| 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 | |
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No Picture
James Wanna Be |
#12 by James Valentine at Oct 14, 1998 at 2:51 AM EST |
| 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. | |
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No Picture
Colleen Average |
#13 by Colleen Shmeltin at Sep 27, 2005 at 5:41 AM EST |
| Yeah, real mature comment Jane. You are a bigot, which doesn't fall far behind a racist. You must say such nice things about many groups of people. On a happier note, this is my favorite IG song. For those who don't know their music well but love this particular song, you should hear the rest of their music! Check out "You and Me of the 10,000 Wars..." if you want another thought provoking song. But I agree with the other posters, this song is about love lost, intense feelings of hurt, I think we can all relate if we have been in love. 1 | |
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