The Ghost Of You

Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge
This article is part of a Series

Singles
“I'm Not Okay (I Promise)” (2004) “Thank You for the Venom” (2004) “Helena” (2005) “The Ghost Of You” (2005)

Track Listing

“Helena” – 3:22 “Give 'Em Hell Kid” – 2:18 “To The End” – 3:01 “You Know What They Do to Guys Like Us in Prison” – 2:53 “I'm Not Okay (I Promise)” – 3:08 “The Ghost Of You” – 3:23 “The Jetset Life Is Gonna Kill You” – 3:37 “Interlude” – 0:57 “Thank You for the Venom” – 3:41 “Hang 'Em High” – 2:47 “It's Not a Fashion Statement, It's a Deathwish” – 3:30 “Cemetery Drive” – 3:08 “I Never Told You What I Do for a Living” – 3:51

v • d

The Ghost Of You is a single originally recorded for My Chemical Romance's second album, Three Cheers For Sweet Revenge. It was featured on the album as the sixth track and was the fourth single to be released. The single was re-released as a B-Side on 17 January 2011.

Lyrical Themes

The Ghost Of You portrays the thoughts and feelings of somebody that recently lost someone. The lyric "... never coming home" speaks of someone that has been away, possibly at war, as the music video suggests.

“	This song is about losing someone close to you, like a girlfriend or a family member. Realising they're "never coming home".
—Gerard Way on the lyrical themes in The Ghost Of You.{{{cite}}}

Music Video

The music video for The Ghost Of You, directed by Marc Webb cost over $1,000,000 to make and was shot over two days in Malibu, California.

“	We shot a movie and just edited it to be a video. It's like if you put "Sleeping Child" and "The Actor" together to make one long music video, it still would top that.
—My Chemical Romance on The Ghost Of You music video.{{{cite}}}

The video is mainly set at a USO dance, but also switches at times (particularly during the chorus) switches to a Saving Private Ryan-esque setting. The USO dance sequences feature the band styled in 1940s fashion. They play on stage while other soldiers and their partners dance on the floor. Meanwhile, the chorus revolves around the build-up to the landing, then the initial landing and finally the climactic battle scene, all of which feature My Chemical Romance as soldiers on the day of the Normandy Landings. The breakdown ("If I fall ...") is met by the departure of the soldiers to go to bed before the landings the next morning, Gerard knocking over a drink at a bar and another soldier asking him if he is all right. The final sequence shows Mikey getting shot, Ray running over to help him (portraying a combat medic), and Gerard being restrained by two other soldiers as he cries "Mikey" repeatedly. The final sequence also features several further shots from the USO dance and Gerard sitting at the bar singing in time to the music. In the final shot of the video, the camera zooms in on Gerard's eye, while in the background, an extra can be seen sitting up in a relaxed position. This is a possible mistake or maybe a portrayal of someone in shock.

It is also worth noting that Mikey is playing a Fender P bass, while the electric bass wasn't commercially available until 1951, and the leads used would be the curly telephone-style leads rather than the modern leads being used.

2011 Re-Release

On 17 January 2011, The Ghost Of You was re-released as a B-Side to SING. The B-Side is arranged as it is when played live. The main notable differences between the original release and the 2011 re-release are the piano intro instead of the traditional guitar, the slower tempo, longer length and the heavier, rock-oriented style now attributed to the song, following the musical theme of Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys.

Lyrics

I never said I'd lie and wait forever
If I died, we'd be together
I can't always just forget her
But she could try

At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are
Never coming home
Never coming home
Could I? Should I?
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever ever...
Ever...

Get the feeling that you're never
All alone and I remember now
At the top of my lungs in my arms she dies
She dies

At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are
Never coming home
Never coming home
Could I? Should I?
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me
Never coming home
Never coming home
Could I? Should I?
And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me
For all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me

If I fall
If I fall (down)

At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are
Never coming home
Never coming home
Never coming home
Never coming home
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me
Never coming home
Never coming home
Could I? Should I?
And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me
For all the ghosts that are never gonna...