“Ghosts” by Jay Moussa-Man intimately tells the story of a traumatic experience that ultimately shaped her as an artist and person, using haunting visuals and narrative lyricism that feels as if we’re reading her diary. The song begins with Jay pleading to her parents “I’ve changed my mind I don’t want to stay/Please take me back but it’s too late” and is then promptly whisked away to a boarding school, entering a world far from the one she has spent the first fourteen years of her life knowing. She “Lost everything in one plane ride,” with no family left to support her and surrounded by cruel classmates who “use freezing words.” With lyrics like “took my passport and my purse” she poetically describes how she was stripped of her identity, an identity she was able to rebuild through music. In the bridge, she says “And sit at a row of ivory keys/And let my desolation sing back to me/Maybe it made me,” with music becoming the means by which she found her voice and confidence again after losing everything. This song is beautiful and poignant, and her vulnerability allows the listener to truly connect with her.
The production of “Ghosts” is stripped back and raw, with a haunting piano melody serving as a constant throughout the song. The raw and emotional vocals accompanied by the piano seem to recreate the scene Jay sings about in the bridge, with her singing and playing piano in the middle of the night, with her words being her only comfort. The song builds up to the bridge, which comes in full force with haunting background vocals and drums. It’s incredibly cathartic but also reflects the confidence she has gained through music. All her pent up emotions finally have an outlet, and as the listener, we get to experience that journey with her through the song.
Jay Moussa-Mann is a UK based singer-songwriter, known for her genre-defying music. Jay’s music has received airplay on BBC 6 Music's Tom Robinson Mixtape and BBC Tees Introducing, and has been featured in Music Crowns, Skope Magazine, NE Volume, NARC Magazine, Love Life; Love Music, and Headstuff. Her single 'American Tennessee' was highlighted in the BBC Introducing Tees Best of 2021 roundup, earning Track of the Week on BBC Tees Introducing. Additionally, it has been aired on Amazing Radio and Roxanne de Bastion's Monday Morning Shake Up Show on Boogaloo Radio. The song was also among the last 50 semi-finalists for the Road to Nashville International Song Contest, selected from over 20,305 submissions.
Written By Rachael Bach
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