Ghosts

Japan * Track #3 On Tin Drum

Download "Ghosts"

Album Tin Drum

ALBUM

Japan

1981

Ghosts by Japan

Release Date

Fri Nov 13 1981

Performed by

Japan

Produced by

Japan & Steve Nye

Writed by

David Sylvian

About

“Ghosts” was first released in 1981 as part of Japan’s fifth and final studio album, Tin Drum. It was issued as a single in 1982, reaching No. 5 in the UK singles chart, making it the band’s most commercially successful single.

The song is slow and dark in both atmosphere and lyricism, making use o...

Ghosts Lyrics

[Verse 1]
When the room is quiet
The daylight almost gone
It seems there's something I should know
Well, I ought to leave
But the rain it never stops
And I've no particular place to go

[Chorus]
Just when I think I'm winning
When I've broken every door
The ghosts of my life
Blow wilder than before
Just when I thought I could not be stopped
When my chance came to be king
The ghosts of my life
Blew wilder than the wind

[Verse 2]
Well, I'm feeling nervous
Now I find myself alone
The simple life's no longer there
Once I was so sure
Now the doubt inside my mind
Comes and goes, but leads nowhere

[Chorus]
Just when I think I'm winning
When I've broken every door
The ghosts of my life
Blow wilder than before
Just when I thought I could not be stopped
When my chance came to be king
The ghosts of my life
Blew wilder than the wind

[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
Just when I think I'm winning
When I've broken every door
The ghosts of my life
Blow wilder than before
Just when I thought I could not be stopped
When my chance came to be king
The ghosts of my life
Blew wilder than the wind

Ghosts Q&A

Who wrote Ghosts's ?

Ghosts was written by David Sylvian.

Who produced Ghosts's ?

Ghosts was produced by Japan & Steve Nye.

When did Japan release Ghosts?

Japan released Ghosts on Fri Nov 13 1981.

What did Japan say about "Ghosts"?

It was the only time I let something of a personal nature come through and that set me on a path in terms of where I wanted to proceed in going solo.

David Sylvian, in an interview with Mojo music magazine in 2009

What has David Sylvian said about the commercial success of the song?

When asked about this in 1988, Sylvian said the following of the song:

Working within the kind of classical ballad form allowed me a great deal of freedom because everybody knows roughly how that form works; everybody knows verse–bridge–chorus. And if you work within a very simple form like that, y...