Ghosts

Album: Startin' With Me (2006)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "This song," Jake Owen told us, "is about one of my favorite stories of all time." Jake never met his own grandfather, but all his life people have told me how much like his granddad he is. So this song is him wondering what his granddad would have told him if he'd had the chance. "My mom always told me about how great a guy he was, he just had a drinking problem. And any alcoholic can know, to the day, exactly how long it's been since they've been sober. And needless to say I wrote that song about how every day you live with the things that you do all your life, the ghosts of them. And in a way it kind of mirrors 'Startin' With Me' a bit, but it really revolves around somebody that has alcohol problems in their life. And I've had that in my family."
  • Jake went on tour with Kenny Chesney for the first time, and one of their stops was in Hershey, Pennsylvania. After the show, Jake says, "This guy came up to me with his little girl, and he was almost in tears. Full-grown man and he had this young girl with him, and he told me that his daughter was almost 6 years old. And he said, 'I just want to thank you so much for writing that song. It's changed my life.' He said, 'I listen to it all the time, and I want you to know how much you mean to people like me with songs like that.' He said, 'I almost lost my little girl here because of my problem with alcohol, and hearing songs like this is what reminds me every day of how lucky I am.'
    And he handed me this coin, and it had the Roman numeral for 3 on it - it was his Alcoholics Anonymous coin, he'd earned it for being three years sober. I said, 'Man, I can't take this from you. You've worked three years to get it.' And he just looked around, and he said, 'No, man. Don't worry about it, because I'm gonna be getting my four-year one here pretty soon.' And I just thought, What an amazing thing to say. It's something I'll never forget. And I was proud of that guy, I was proud of myself in a way, knowing that I touched this guy like that. I could look in his little girl's eyes… stuff like that's what matters, you know?"
    Jake still carries the memento with him everywhere he goes. "It's in my guitar case," he says. (Check out our interview with Jake Owen)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."

Edie Brickell

Edie BrickellSongwriter Interviews

Edie Brickell on her collaborations with Paul Simon, Steve Martin and Willie Nelson, and her 2021 album with the New Bohemians.

Mike Scott of The Waterboys

Mike Scott of The WaterboysSongwriter Interviews

The stories behind "Whole Of The Moon" and "Red Army Blues," and why rock music has "outlived its era of innovation."

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")

Phil Hurtt ("I'll Be Around")Songwriter Interviews

Phil was a songwriter, producer and voice behind many Philadelphia soul classics. When disco hit, he got an interesting project: The Village People.

Songs Discussed in Movies

Songs Discussed in MoviesSong Writing

Bridesmaids, Reservoir Dogs, Willy Wonka - just a few of the flicks where characters discuss specific songs, sometimes as a prelude to murder.

Janet Jackson

Janet JacksonFact or Fiction

Was Janet secretly married at 18? Did she gain 60 pounds for a movie role that went to Mariah Carey? See what you know about Ms. Jackson.