Radiohead - Give up the Ghost

I’m not entirely sure if it’s weird to like a certain saying or phrase but something about ‘give up the ghost’ always, affected me, for some reason. One of the processes in getting over my breakup was through many great friendships that included discussing music, movies and well, life. There’s something to be said about simply being able to discuss your passions and desires with people in sharing a close bond. One close friend I had made was a wiser person who was chock-full of great advice and was always able to convey certain notions in the best of ways. And I remember one day being paranoid and bitter and annoyed and he said, “man you need to give up the ghost already” (or something very close to that nature). Now, I’m the kind of person that if someone says something like that and I obviously don’t get it, I’m gonna ask first what it means before I bother thinking about it. Yeah, it’s very annoying in it of itself to be that way but hey, I like being taught. Ha. So he took a while to get back to me and in the meantime, I came across a bunch of different meanings for the saying. Eventually, he vaguely said something else about it and by then, I had already sorted out my own ideas on the saying myself. Where this goes is that I’m guessing it’s best to try and learn and discover and find things on your own, too. It’s amazing to have great guidance but sometimes, life needs to be battled with on an independent level and maybe then, the successes and ‘overcoming the impossibles’ are that much better. And now, I love that saying because of its simply subtle imagery and well, it has its own personal stuff too and that’s probably more significant, heh.

Anyways, so Radiohead decided to write a song entitled “Give up the Ghost” and it serves as that head-changing moment on The King of Limbs where maybe – for some, finally – it makes sense just why people love this band so much. For starters, it’s this broken down, stunning acoustic guitar melody that supplements Thom Yorke’s voice in the sweetest of ways. His voice sounds so sad and disappointed when he sings lines like “I think I have had my fill…in your arms” and the memorable way he sings the song’s title is definitely amazing. Then there’s all the gorgeous details intertwined in it: the soaring birds that sing to introduce the song’s lush sounds, and the fact that the first uttered words are “don’t haunt me.” It’s a defiant request and it’s definitely uplifting; this is like the outpour of the album’s entire fruitions. There’s all these themes about letting go, about losing all of the bad and about finally just giving in and now, it’s time to give up the ghost. It’s like that lulling and bearing figure that has been haunting you for far too long and you’ve been just dreading its presence – it’s finally time to shake it off you. I think that’s what I’ve developed is maybe what it means but either way, it feels amazing when one is rid of it. I mentioned how “Lotus Flower” was followed by the album’s two heaviest hitters and so this incredibly spooky but soothing song is what precedes “Separator.” Hopefully others have enjoyed it so far too. – Bryan