# The Ghost of You

"The Ghost of You" is the third and final single of My Chemical Romance's second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. "The Ghost of You" was released to radio on September 27, 2005. The song deals with the fear of loss. The song's title is an allusion to an ad from Watchmen, reading "Oh, how the ghost of you clings".

## Background and release

My Chemical Romance began writing their second studio album, Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge (2004), while touring for their first album in 2003. "The Ghost of You" takes its title from a fictional advertisement from the graphic novel Watchmen, reading "Oh, how the ghost of you clings". Initially, the band intended to end "The Ghost of You" with a scream and a guitar-heavy outro. However, during the song's recording process, the producer Howard Benson convinced the band to instead end the song with a final chorus owing to his "formulaic approach" to songwriting. Towards the end of the album-recording cycle, Benson also returned to add harmonies to "The Ghost of You" after learning that Gerard Way could properly sing backing vocals.
"The Ghost of You" was initially released on June 8, 2004, as the sixth track on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge. The song was later released on August 29, 2005 in the United Kingdom, as the album's third single. The track was also included on the 2006 live album Life on the Murder Scene and on the band's 2014 greatest hits album May Death Never Stop You. A live version of "The Ghost of You", recorded during a BBC Radio 1 session, was later released as the B-side of their 2011 single "Sing". The band has also performed the song in their live shows on various occasions, including as part of the setlists of the Black Parade World Tour, the album release party for Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, the 2022 editions of Riot Fest and the When We Were Young festival, and their reunion tour.

## Composition and lyrics

"The Ghost of You" is a ballad which has been described as being emo and gothic rock, with a hint of the arena rock sound the band would embrace on their subsequent album, The Black Parade (2006). The song's dynamics shift between quiet verses and loud choruses. Instrumentally, the song prominently features guitars: notably, the song opens with guitars made to sound like they are "submerged underwater", they play the same notes as the vocal melody on the line "Never coming home" in the chorus, and the bridge of the song features guitars "weaving over the wails". Mike Diver of Drowned in Sound stylistically compared the song to those by Glassjaw and Faith No More, while Winston Robbins of Consequence compared Gerard Way's "raw" and "frantic" vocal performance to that of Matt Bellamy, the lead singer of Muse. Lyrically, Arielle Gordon of Pitchfork described "The Ghost of You" as being a "seething song about loss", while Ed Walton of Distorted Sound Mag instead characterized the song as an "exploration of grief and the impact of war".

## Critical reception

"The Ghost of You" received positive reviews from music critics. Bram Teitelman, writing for Billboard, praised the song for being a strong ballad, particularly highlighting Gerard Way's vocals for being "much less whiny than his emo/screamo contemporaries". Diver similarly praised the single for its "soaring vocals and genuinely rockin' chorus", giving it a 6/10 ranking, while Kaj Roth of Melodic called the song a "beautiful but aggressive tune" uncharacteristic of the emo genre. Both DaveyBoy of SputnikMusic and Andy Greenwald of Blender declared the song a highlight on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, with the former calling it a "cleverly placed mid-album ballad that works a treat".
The song has also been deemed as one of the best in My Chemical Romance's discography as a whole. The staff of Billboard included it in their list of the 15 best My Chemical Romance songs, with Taylor Weatherby noting how it "may not be as hook-heavy as the other singles on Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge, [but its] impassioned chorus makes it just as special". Chad Childers of Loudwire placed the song at #6 in his ranking of the band's 10 best songs, lauding its power despite Marianne Eloise of Louder Sound placed the track at #7 in her ranking of the band's 20 greatest songs, calling it an "eerie, earnest love song with tinges of grief", while Sam Law of Kerrang! placed the song at #16 in his list, praising its songwriting. In rankings of the band's entire discography, Cassie Whitt and Jake Richardson of Loudwire and Chloe Spinks of Gigwise placed "The Ghost of You" at #40 (of 71) and #45 (of 79) respectively, with the latter writing that the song "feels a bit flaccid and a musically muddy [...] but somehow is a fan favorite".

## Commercial performance

In the United States, "The Ghost of You" initially debuted on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart in the week of November 12, 2005, before debuting and peaking at #84 on the Billboard Hot 100, being the only new song to enter the chart in the week of January 14, 2006. The song also reached #9 on the Alternative Airplay chart and #38 on the Mainstream Rock chart. In the United Kingdom, the single topped the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart, and reached #27 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached #27 on the Scottish Singles Chart and #49 on the Irish Singles Chart. In 2024, "The Ghost of You" was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), signifying sales of 200,000 units, and was certified gold by Music Canada, signifying sales of 40,000 units.

## Music video

The music video was shot over two days in Malibu, California, and cost just over US $1,000,000 to make. Marc Webb directed the video. In an interview with Fuse, My Chemical Romance 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 (I Promise)' 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, often switches over to 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 was not involved in beach landings, but were parachuted behind enemy lines on D-Day, suggesting that several units were present at the ball. 1st Infantry Division, and Ninth Air Force patches can also be seen.) Ranger lozenge patch can be seen on one shoulder, as well as the orange diamond on the back of one Soldier's helmet indicating the 2nd Ranger Battalion.
The video takes an emotional turn when bassist Mikey Way is shot and killed by Axis fire despite the medic's (played by Ray Toro) attempts to save him, adding emphasis to the aspects of loss in the song. This is foreshadowed in a bar scene where vocalist Gerard Way, his brother, appears to be reassuring him that he will be alright, and that there is no reason to be afraid. He is seen wearing a 1st Infantry Division patch in the video. Mikey "dies" with his eyes open. Gerard is restrained by his squadmates/band members as he sees his brother die, and is seen screaming (although there is no sound other than the song) as he tries to run to him. The 1st Infantry Division, the "Big Red One", were among the first wave on Omaha Beach, June 6, 1944. In Life on the Murder Scene, Ray is told to talk to Mikey to look like he is trying to save him. Obligingly, he shouts "Mikey! You're dead! [How do you feel!?]"

## Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from Apple Music.

## Charts

| Chart (2005–06) | Peak position |
| Ireland (IRMA) | 49 |
| Scotland (OCC) | 27 |
| UK Singles (OCC) | 27 |
| UK Rock & Metal (OCC) | 1 |
| US Alternative Airplay (Billboard) | 9 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 84 |
| US Mainstream Rock (Billboard) | 38 |

## Certifications

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Canada (Music Canada) | Gold | 40,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Silver | 200,000$^‡$ |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |||

## Release history

| Region | Date | Format | Label(s) |
| United Kingdom | August 29, 2005 | CD single | Warner |
| United States | September 26, 2005 | Active rock modern rock | Reprise |
| Various | January 2, 2006 | Digital download streaming | Reprise Warner |