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Sunday, October 26, 2014

Ghost in this House, One of the Most Haunting Country Songs

Haunting Feelings From a Country Song

Country Music isn't Always About Parties and Beer Drinking Fun

The eerie music and lyrics to Ghost in This House by Alison Krauss breaks your heart while still sending shivers down your spine.

Listening to this song, I can't help but think of my mom in our family home alone now, without my father. However, the lyrics can apply to a loss from a break-up or death. 

Alison Krauss possesses a voice that pierces through you as she sings this heartbreak with haunted suffering. The story of loss and loneliness infects you, and you're left feeling the anguish that this woman lives with.
(Lyrics) I'm just a ghost in this house
I'm just a shadow upon these walls
As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls
I'm just a whisper of smoke
I'm all that's left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
You took my body and soul
I'm just a ghost in this house
Since the song has personal meaning, I find it hard to listen to. However, on the brighter side, if you like to sing, which I spend too much time doing, the key Alison Krauss sings this in works perfectly for me, so it gets played often ... just so I can belt it out and annoy the boys. The song combines something extraordinary with something painful and tragic, making it irresistible.

Ghost in This House goes a long way back. It was initially recorded and released by Country Group Shenandoah in September 1990. It was also covered by the Dixie Chicks. Alison Krauss released her cover on her 1999 album Forget About It.

Take a minute to listen below. You won't be disappointed. Free of a grand crescendo, the even-keeled musical approach to this spooky tale keeps you listening mainly for the story it tells ..., and if you like to sing in this key, you're hooked!



The lyrics below haunt me the most; they speak about the ghost in 'your chair' and 'lays his head on your pillow at night.' Mom recently donated my father's lift chair to someone in need, but that chair has been beside Mom's chair for decades (replaced a few times). Nonetheless, that chair haunted me after Dad passed, but I still loved it.

We were torn about letting it go; Mom and I had trouble sleeping the night before the couple came to pick it up. For over a year, when sitting in Mom's chair, I would glance at Dad's chair and imagine him in it again; it's a feeling that combines pain with beauty. In fact, the sense is best described in Dr. Seuss's quote, 'Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.'
 (Lyrics) I don't mind staying in
There's another ghost here
He sits down in your chair
And he shines with your light
And he lays down his head
On your pillow at night
I hope you get to listen to this song without all the associations I've personally attached to it! If you haven't suffered a profound loss and get to hear it for the pure joy of music, then I'll end this with an appropriate Halloween sentiment, BOO!

Update 2023: I'm revisiting articles and updating a few things. One update is that in 2021, my mom passed, too, and I must say, I'm not keen on not being someone's child in this world. For those who have lost their parents, my heart is with you. I love you, Mom, forever and ever until the end of time, and time never ends. So many unforgettable memories. Wow, I was lucky to have the parents I had - my hubby reminds me of that often. 

9 comments:

  1. I can easily imagine you working around your home and singing at the top of your lungs. What I can't imagine is that it annoys your boys. As always, a wonderful article that gives us much to ponder.

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  2. Cynthia, thanks for reading and stopping by again - lol at the singing part! My sons friends are ok with it, my sons are sick of it! but I sing anyway!

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  3. I just found this song recently, it really speaks to my life and the love and life my wife and I have lost in our marriage, while we're still trying to stay together for the kids and the memories of ourselves and the dreams we are barely holding on to. It is exactly how I feel, but it feels good to cry when I hear it, it reminds me my heart still works.

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    1. I'm editing pages today, and came across your response here, and I want to let you know that I'm sending hugs and good vibes <3

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  4. I've just read this by the songwriter: http://www.chickensoup.com/book-story/23558/19-ghost-in-this-house interesting

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  5. This song was on the radio before I left my father's cemetery. It was the first time I ever visited him. He committed suicide when I was 5, I am now 25. I finally had the chance to find him. I never knew what he looked like nor remember any memories of him. Two yrs ago I found him on a cemetery site and pictures of him. I never stopped trying to find him sense. Last Aug. Is when I finally made it to him in Mackenzie, Alabama. I feel that he was trying to tell me that no matter what he is always near in spirit but his body and soul haunt where he killed himself at his mother's house. I love this song it is the closest feeling I have of my father. I wish it could be diff. That I had just one min, one memory without him my life hasn't been normal. I found peace after visiting him and this song playing when I turned on the radio before I left.

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    1. Sorry for the late response, just editing pages, and I want to let you know that I feel for you <3

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  6. I know how you feel about this song, Barbara. I have been unable to listen to this song without dissolving in tears since my wife died. I imagine her sitting in her rocker, solving a crossword or playing with one of our cats. I remember the luminous beauty I met on her 18th birthday. I remember how years of sickness thinned her hair and sallowed her cheeks -- but never stole the brightness of her smile or kept it from lighting her eyes. I feel so much of her is still with me, as I feel much of who I was left with her. Twenty years, four months, six days, and fourteen hours after I met her (I have spent days thinking about how much time she and I had together), she was gone. The dear crystal goblet I could hold, but the sweet wine of blessedness was no longer filling it.

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    1. This is a very late response to this comment, but wanted to let you know that my heart is with you <3 So hard to go through this kind of loss

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