What does Ghost mean?

Ella Henderson: Ghost Meaning

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Album cover for Ghost album cover

Song Released: 2014


Ghost Lyrics

I keep going to the river to pray
'Cause I need something that can wash all the pain
And at most
I'm sleeping all these demons away
But your ghost, the ghost of you
It keeps me awake

My friends had you figured out
Yeah they saw what's...

  1. SetYouFree
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    Apr 6th 2015 !⃝

    It's about her selling her soul to the devil to become famous! I won't even bother referencing the massive supporting examples that literally litter the music industry to make this claim not only legitimate but also apparent, because I have realized both through personal ignorance of the past and my struggle since my moment of spiritual clarity to help others find their way towards truth, that anyone who doesn't personally seek the answers will not be able to break the disillusionment they are entranced by. Trust me, if you are brave enough to know the truth, simply pray for clarity....What is there to lose? I was not religious at all before an itch, a curiosity, an intrigue into what I knew not, led me to a prayer that changed everything. I prayed that whoever God was, show me truth, break the mirage and smoke in mirrors that was clouding my vision and ability to see what life meant. I went from desperately grasping onto Buddhism, because I was an optimistic peace lover, trying anything I could to feel connected to something bigger, "fake it till i make it" mentality in full swing, wondering why God forgot to meet me, wandering around but not in the romantic "not all those who wander are lost" ways, but in a "I need to feel something real" desperation....to in a moments time seeing everything and anything that came in my path as part of this huge answer I never knew I was able to find. I have no other reason in saying all of this than to hopefully get a curious wayward soul to take a chance at a journey towards completion and purpose... I wish I had read something like this long ago, I am 25 and just now understand what most of my life has meant. I wasn't raised religious and didn't know what I was supposed to ask or why I didn't have any faith in Jesus like I was "supposed to". The problem wasn't that I was asking the wrong questions, I was asking the wrong audience...Instead of asking all the religious people who God was, I should have been asking God, but first I know it was necessary for a skeptic like me to first pray for him to open my eyes, increase my spiritual senses, and break the spells that society itself has placed on us all to view God as something to be embarrassed of or kept quiet. I didn't mean to make this go on and on, but it's something I can do for the people like me who need a guiding hand towards finding out for themselves over a religious overbearing intimidating force shoving Jesus down their throats, only further pushing the idea of seeking him further from reach. You have nothing to lose, it's one simple, short prayer, packed full of meaning- like the best ones are...and if you truly wish to know, he will come to you. For some of us, getting to know God is real, only comes after having to realize the Devil is... hopefully writing this helps someone skip the whole "getting to know the Devil is real" part....God bless you guys!

  2. anonymous
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    Apr 2nd 2015 !⃝

    The guy fell in love with Ella's friend to get rid of her. Then at the river it looks like he's going to hug her waste, but instead he chokes her then let's her die in the river. So she goes to that river to pray.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  3. anonymous
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    Apr 1st 2015 !⃝

    Not sure what I am missing here but this forum is regarding what the lyrics are about, not what the video is about. Henderson has clearly stated that the song is simply about something that has a hold on you, which was born from her frustration in not having written a particular type of song. Nothing more.

    All of these other whack-ass interpretations are hilarious though.

  4. anonymous
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    Mar 17th 2015 !⃝

    The guy running through the forest was the girls boyfriend before she was murdered by the man in the hotel (hence pictures of her, she was being stalked.) The boyfriend is wrongfully put in jail, and he is taunted with flashbacks or the ghost of her being murdered. He runs from the police and to the man to confront him, leading the police to him, and getting justice for him and his girlfriend.

  5. anonymous
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    Feb 23rd 2015 !⃝

    I am not 100% sure but I think she was having an affair with both both men shown (We will call them man 1 & man 2). Man 2 found out, panicked, then killed her and man 1 one was left with her body and put her in the river. When she died she realized that what she did was wrong and couldn't go to heaven until she dealt with it. Also it was driving both men crazy. Man 1 of the men called the cops on man 2 when he found out he killed her, that's why he was in jail. She was trying to bring both men together to figure every thing out for them self and realize they are not to blame. (That's why at the end they meet)
    My 2nd theory is the same except instead of the men calling the cops on each other every one thinks they are crazy because they think they hear her (They do cause she is trying to get them to meet)They are put on medications and in and out of jails and insane asylums(I kinda feel like the medication and the jails are like their hell and they had to go thought all that to prove they are NOT insane and they actually see her Lyrics:I had to go through hell to prove i'm not insane.)
    I my 1st & 2nd theory are kind of creepy and sloppy :p But I hope you liked them and hope they helped :)

  6. anonymous
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    Feb 21st 2015 !⃝

    1st comment is great except the guy running away is not the same young guy with the red head.

  7. anonymous
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    Jan 28th 2015 !⃝

    Well, I believe that the young man was originally going away for something, as was shown when the young lady was holding his hands as way to keep him near. For some unknown reason, she ended up in the hands of the older man who later murdered her, so I think the young man was incarcerated for a murder that he did not commit, since he was there looking in distress during the middle-end of the video. He later escaped the jail to go to the man who killed his love, how he knew where he was, I think that Ella was a "ghost" or a voice in his head he developed after being incarcerated for so long that led him to his girlfriend's murderer.

  8. anonymous
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    Jan 26th 2015 !⃝

    She said the song was a metaphor for the struggle she had in writing the song (but that it could apply to other situations where something has a hold over you). She'd written songs for 2 years and still hadn't had THAT one song.

    To me, it depends what the the River is. Either she was drowning her pain in alcohol or seeking guidance from "the Source" on getting over an abusive boyfriend. The ghost, was who she thought he was -the good guy- that she fell in love with, but in reality he was Evil. The ghost haunts her, tempting her back to the abuse. The two men are the good and the bad versions of the boyfriend, or the ghost and the reality.

  9. Gypsytda
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    Jan 13th 2015 !⃝

    I thought the video was very creative and nicely done, with a nice tie in to the lyrics.

    My take on the lyrics & video -- the ghost is repetitive for both the guy & the girl in the relationship. They both are fighting the 'ghost' of their relationship... by the end of the song the woman has fought her demons & come out stronger for it, the guy in the scenario is still battling his.

    This is not necessarily about an abusive relationship (thought it can easily connect to one) I see this more about any relationship that someone ignores what is clearly in front of them, ignores what their friends see, and they have to hit bottom before they move on and out of that damaging situation.

    It is not about death directly but in symbolism -- relating both he concept of the old negative relationship being the ghost, and the guy holding onto the woman as she falls & floats in the water... these are symbolic of letting go of what is harming us, rising above those issues and moving forward with our lives.

    Again beautifully done video and well connected to the lyrics, add very well sung by ELLA HENDERSON!

  10. anonymous
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    Jan 10th 2015 !⃝

    It's about being in a relationship with a psychopath. Can't break free. They love bomb and confuse you then leave you. It's all about them. They keep coming back for a little more. So hard to break free.

  11. anonymous
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    Jan 8th 2015 !⃝

    I believe that the song is soley about letting someone go.

    It goes back to Christianity, Ella goes to a river to pray(The river where people were baptized) We always revert to religion when things are messed up. We try sleeping the pain away...

    Until you come to a stage where you realise that you can't keep living in the shadow of the relationship and that's when you give up the ghost..........

  12. anonymous
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    Dec 24th 2014 !⃝

    The older man is her father. The young man has a beautiful thing going with her, a match made in heaven. The ghosts of her father cause her to cast him in his shadow and it fatigues him and chokes the relationship. Holding onto the beauty that was, he can't let go and it fatigues him personally and in the end when he busts in on her dad and faces him, their resemblance is spot on. By being cast in the shadow of her dad he became her dad in correlation to their relationship.

  13. anonymous
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    Dec 8th 2014 !⃝

    The older bloke is the younger ones dad (hence why they look a like) and a serial killer who killed the young lads girlfriend the younger one couldn't face it but had to "give up the ghost" and lead the police to his dad.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  14. angel19
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    Dec 3rd 2014 !⃝

    After reading some of these other interpretations, this song reminds me of the movie "The Fugitive" because it is simular in the sense of the plot and some scenes. First, the plot of the music video looks to me like a women was murdered and her husband was framed for the murder, he escapes on a journey to find the real killer and bring them to justice. Some of the scenes like the running throught the forest and hiding from cops is like a chase scene from the movie. Also, the flashbacks to a happier time, that is also reminis of the scenes in the movie when Kimball has flashbacks of his wife in his dreams along his journey.

  15. anonymous
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    Nov 24th 2014 !⃝

    Mmmm I think the older man killed her and dumped her into the river. The older man got away with it, leaving the younger guy, which was the young girls boyfriend, to get convicted for her murder. He then escapes from jail, is running through the river they spent together there, that's why he stops a few times remembering the memories they had there. The older man is a serial killer, he had different pictures of girls, the pictures he was taking down were of the girls he murdered.




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