Story Behind The Song

I had an exceptionalfriend who died young and as she made such an impact in my life I chose to honor her with looking at three concepts I struggle with and aim towards letting them go. "Ghosts" represent demons, "guns" a tendency for conflict and "butterflies" the scintillating aspect of excitement in life.

Song Description

A haunting, stirring and gorgeous ballad in memorial to a deceased extremely unique friend, with Petra Haden singing lead with me over a beautiful, fluid acoustic piano. "Ghosts" represent demons, "guns" a tendency for combat and "butterflies" idealism; and in her memory those things could be released and her death could serve as a turning point for positive change. The song crescendos to a rich violin and cello arrangement with toy piano and glockenspiel. As two of our shared favorite artists were Joan Armatrading and Kate Bush, I inserted titles of two of their songs, respectively, "Love and Affection" and "Love and Anger" into the poignant lyrics dealing with very personal issues.

Lyrics

Paint the town blue
'cuz it's the right thing to do
be a man with a fallen hand
be weak and be true
try to be someone new

Stay by my side
and don't tell me what to do
I know how to make a stand
picking firm and few
and I know how to love you

Ghosts, guns and butterflies
leave them alone

If you were here
would you tell me the truth
from the other side do you now know why
everyone seems to need to leave their mark
and why's it so hard to marry
love and anger
and move on

Ghosts, guns and butterflies
ghosts, guns and butterflies
to celebrate your life
I may leave them all behind
it all behind

Ghosts, guns and butterflies
ghosts, guns and butterflies
in honor of your love life
I can leave it all behind

Love and affection
is it just an illusion
just a figment of my imagination
in your shadow I'll discover clues
to the forever descendent questions

To celebrate your love
I should leave it all behind