Weighty Ghost

Album: Welcome to the Night Sky (2007)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song finds lead singer Paul Murphy confronting his own ghost, which could represent another side of his personality. This ghost has not ascended to the clouds but his with him on Earth, although with a great deal of detachment. He sees the ghost as part of his soul, so he's not looking to excise it:

    I don't need no surgery
    Take those knives away from me
    Just wanna die in my own body
    A ghost just needs a home
  • This is the most popular song from the Canadian band Wintersleep. They performed it on the Late Show with David Letterman when it was released.
  • In his Songfacts interview, Paul Murphy talked about performing this song live, where it takes on a different meaning. "You can play a song so many times live and go through the element of going through the motions, but you have to have that connection," he said. "I try to get into the same headspace that I got into when I wrote the songs, so they're still definitely relevant. But then there's changes because you're doing it in front of an audience, so there's an element of celebration. So it's different - it's not just about the meaning of the song."
  • This was the theme song to the CBC TV series Cracked, which ran from 2012-2014.
  • The video, directed by Sean Wainsteim, earned the Much Music Award for Best Independent Video. The song also helped Wintersleep win the Juno Award for New Group of the Year.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Gary Lewis

Gary LewisSongwriter Interviews

Gary Lewis and the Playboys had seven Top 10 hits despite competition from The Beatles. Gary talks about the hits, his famous father, and getting drafted.

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

16 Songs With a Heartbeat

16 Songs With a HeartbeatSong Writing

We've heard of artists putting their hearts into their music, but some take it literally.

Creedence Clearwater Revival

Creedence Clearwater RevivalFact or Fiction

Is "Have You Ever Seen the Rain" about Vietnam? Was John Fogerty really born on a Bayou? It's the CCR edition of Fact or Fiction.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Cy Curnin of The Fixx

Cy Curnin of The FixxSongwriter Interviews

The man who brought us "Red Skies" and "Saved By Zero" is now an organic farmer in France.