“Two Ghosts” by Harry Styles is featured as the fourth track on his debut solo album, Harry Styles. It is my favorite Harry Styles song of all time and I had the pleasure to hear the chorus of this song live, which eventually transitioned into his hit “Falling”, at his Harryween show on October 30, 2021. When his first album came out in 2017, Harry was featured on “BBC Radio 1” discussing the meaning of this song. He stated, “It’s about… sometimes things change and you could be… doing all the same things. Sometimes it’s just different”. Although this may seem like a weird and confusing explanation, it seemed that the host of BBC, Nick Grimshaw, was making Harry very uncomfortable by hounding him if the song was about ex-girlfriend Taylor Swift. Therefore, Harry purposely gave him a very vague answer. Like Harry said, the song describes something changing into something different. It covers the break up between two people and now they have become two different and separate beings. Let’s analyze his lyrics:
Verse One:
“Same lips red, same eyes blue
Same white shirt, couple more tattoos
But it’s not you and it’s not me
Tastes so sweet, looks so real
Sounds like something that I used to feel
But I can’t touch what I see”
He describes how the people in this scenario physically look the same, with a few minor changes with tattoos, but they aren’t the same people they used to be when they were together. He further expresses how he can’t relate with this past relationship any longer. He tries to identify with his past relationship by reaching for it, but he is unable to.
Chorus:
“We’re not who we used to be
We’re not who we used to be
We’re just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me
Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat”
This verse further expresses the loss of connection between the two people that are being described. They both have changed and are “ghosts” imitating the lovers they once were. I think the heartbeat symbolizes the feeling of being alive and feeling something with the other person, which the other person no longer does.
Verse Two:
“The fridge light washes this room white
Moon dances over your good side
This was all we used to need
Tongue-tied like we’ve never known
Telling these stories we already told
‘Cause we don’t say what we really mean”
The first three lines of this verse describe how they used to be so easily content with one another. When they see each other again, they don’t know what to say to each other so they ramble on about things they’ve already talked about. They can’t express their true thoughts and feelings to each other anymore.
Chorus
“We’re not who we used to be
We’re not who we used to be
We’re just two ghosts standing in the place of you and me
We’re not who we used to be
We’re not who we used to be
W’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty
Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat”
Like the first chorus, the lyrics continue to describe the drastic change in the two individuals’ relationship. Harry adds a new lyric at the end, “We’re just two ghosts swimming in a glass half empty”, referencing the idea of seeing a glass half empty, which symbolizes a pessimistic point of view. This further stresses the weakening of the relationship and the sense of despair that surrounds it.
Harry repeats the chorus again and finishes the song with these two lines:
“Trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat
I’m just trying to remember how it feels to have a heartbeat”
These concluding lyrics highlight the effort to return back to the emotional state the individual was once in. Although they can’t seem to restore their old self at this moment, they may continue to try in the future.