Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: folk
Song Meaning of “Ghosts That We Knew – Live” by Mumford & Sons
Mumford & Sons’ song ‘Ghosts That We Knew – Live’ is an acoustic ballad departing from the group’s usual reflective folk sound. It is expressed in a melancholic yet hopeful tone that speaks to feelings of loss, nostalgia and missing those who have gone away.
The song is written from the perspective of someone left in the wake of a departed loved one, singing candidly about being surrounded and ‘haunted’ by memories of days gone by and all of the things they got to experience together. Despite this weighing heavy upon their heart, the narrator acknowledges that it is only right that those who have passed on should be allowed to fully move on, just as they themselves should continue to strive forward despite not knowing what lies ahead.
The lyric “indifference is a stony view” could mean that the narrator has to harden their heart as a defense mechanism in order to cope with the grief, or alternatively that they must accept being left on their own and the painful indifference that follows. This deep sense of loneliness can also be felt in the line “we keep long distance with the truth”, with the narrator not wanting to acknowledge the situation and instead choosing to close themselves off from reality. Towards the end of the song however, they come to terms with the fact that there is no running away from the pain – “the colours that you brought will sink away” – and come to graciously accept life’s hardships in order to keep on going.
The song is an emotionally stirring outpour of the raw sentiment of saying goodbye to someone you once held so dearly. Even in sorrow, the narrator finds closure by not allowing pain to linger, and instead honouring all the joy they shared in the past.