The Ghost of You
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Ghost of You" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Single by My Chemical Romance | ||
| from the album Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge | ||
| Released | August 30, 2005 | |
| Format | 7" vinyl CD digital download |
|
| Recorded | 2004 | |
| Genre | Alternative rock Disputed subgenres |
|
| Length | 3:23 | |
| Label | Reprise Records | |
| Producer(s) | Howard Benson | |
| My Chemical Romance singles chronology | ||
| "Under Pressure" (2005) |
"The Ghost of You" (2005) |
"Welcome to the Black Parade" (2006) |
"The Ghost of You" is the fourth single and sixth track from My Chemical Romance's second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. The song deals with the fear of loss. The song also crossfades into "The Jetset Life is Gonna Kill You". This song is the band's eighth single.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
Verson 1:
- “The Ghost of You”
Verson 2:
- “The Ghost of You”
- “Helena” (Live from the Warped Tour Bootleg Series)
Verson 3:
- “The Ghost of You”
- “I'm Not Okay (I Promise)” (Live from the Warped Tour Bootleg Series)
- “Cemetery Drive" (Live from the Warped Tour Bootleg Series)
[edit] Music video
The music video was shot over two days in Malibu, California, and cost over US $500,000 to make. Marc Webb directed the video. In an interview with FUSE, MCR said "We shot a movie and just edited it to be a video. It's like if you put "Helena" and "I'm Not Okay" together to make one long music video, it still would top that." It closely parallels the Omaha invasion scene from the movie Saving Private Ryan. Most of the video takes place at a USO dance where the band is performing, but the rest depicts a D-Day scene, in which the band members play as United States soldiers in fierce combat. (At the dance, one soldier's uniform bears the 101st Airborne Division "Screamin' Eagles" patch, however the 101st Airborne Division wasn't involved in beach landings, but were parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day, suggesting that several units were present at the ball.)
The video takes an emotional turn when bassist Mikey Way is shot and killed by German fire despite the medic's (played by Ray Toro) attempts to save him, adding emphasis to the aspects of loss in the song. He is seen wearing a 1st Infantry Division patch in the video. The 1st Infantry Division, the "Big Red One" were among the first wave on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944, so this makes sense. Gerard Way has to be restrained and is seen screaming (although there is no sound other than the song) as he tries to run to his brother. On Life on the Murder Scene, Ray is told to talk to Mikey to look like he's trying to save him. Obligingly, he shouts "Mikey! You're dead! [How do you feel!?]" On September 9, 2005, on its fourth day, it surprisingly rocketed up to number one on MTV's music-video countdown Total Request Live. This video marked the changes in My Chemical Romance's musical style, fanbase and overall image.
Mikey Way, in a recent interview with FUSE, stated that when the trap door on the landing craft opened and the band rushed forward the craft, due to the weight of all the members, extras and gears combined, capsized and filled with water to the point where the band nearly drowned.
On the Life on the Murder Scene DVD, it is stated that during their tour with Green Day, Green Day showed MCR their video "Wake Me Up When September Ends", which also had a war theme. Gerard feared the video would be the same as theirs for "The Ghost of You" but "The Ghost of You" was more about the loss of someone you love. Green Day in a way "gave us their blessing", as stated by Gerard.
[edit] Music video errors
While the soldiers are in the Higgins boats, we see a soldier with the 2nd Ranger Division patch on his shoulder. When the soldiers get onto the beach, they wear the insignia of the 1st Infantry Division. During the Normandy invasion, these two units were not together at Omaha Beach.
At the ball we clearly see Mikey playing an early model Fender P Bass. The electric bass sold from 1951. It would have been more historically accurate to use a double bass.
The leads being used also should have been the curly "telephone cord" types, as opposed to the more modern leads they were using.
At the end of the video, when the camera zooms into a distraught and shocked Gerard's eye, in the distance it is possible to see a soldier turn around and sit in a relaxed manner, despite the video not being over.
When the Higgins boats' door opens, no men are killed. Yet, during D-Day, many soldiers were killed by MG42s when the boats landed.
[edit] CD casing
The artwork on the case of "The Ghost of You" is in the same style as the opening theme of the HBO series Band of Brothers. Other notable references to the opening theme is the video game series Medal of Honor.
| My Chemical Romance |
| Gerard Way | Ray Toro | Frank Iero | Mikey Way | Bob Bryar |
| Matt Pelissier |
|---|
| Discography |
| Studio albums: I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me Your Love | Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge | The Black Parade |
| Live album: Life on the Murder Scene |
| EPs: Like Phantoms, Forever | Warped Tour Bootleg Series |
| Singles |
| “Honey, This Mirror Isn't Big Enough for the Two of Us” | “Vampires Will Never Hurt You” | “Headfirst for Halos” | “Our Lady of Sorrows” | “Thank You for the Venom” | “I'm Not Okay (I Promise)” | “Helena” | “Under Pressure” | “The Ghost of You” | “Welcome to the Black Parade” | “Famous Last Words” | “I Don't Love You” |
