Ghost Rule Lyrics Analysis
Hello! This will be my analysis on the song Ghost Rule, written by DECO*27 and sung by Hatsune Miku. I’ve added the song at the end if you would like to give it a listen, along with a summary of my individual notes. Feel free to leave your own thoughts about the lyrics or comments on my analysis at the end!
We start off with the lyrics:
Having lied about the most inconsequential of things, I’m unable to go back. No statute of limitations for my crime, robbed of forgiveness for that thievery of mine
Starting with these lines, we know that Miku has 1) lied for no reason about the most minuscule things, and 2) has faced the consequences because of this. She is aware of the mistakes she has made, but we don’t really know much else yet. With the second line, Miku uses the term “statute of limitations.” A statute of limitations is the maximum amount of time after an event that legal action can be taken. By saying this, Miku continues the theme of being aware of the consequences of her actions, and, if anything, feels that she deserves to be punished, saying her crimes have no expiration date for punishment. The second part of that line is also interesting as she explains that she has been robbed of forgiveness for her own thievery. This means that she does not deserve to be forgiven, she took away that privilege.
Things don’t look any better today, unable to keep up this deception the way I’d hoped
This next line shows that whatever facade Miku was playing into, it didn't turn out the way she wanted, and based on the next line, we can assume that instead of her facade breaking like one might assume, she slowly became her facade, to the point that it isn't a facade anymore, and it is who she is now.
Slowly lapsing in depravity, I hardly realize what has already become rotten
Corruption is slowly taking Miku over, she hadn’t even noticed when her lies didn’t become of her own will, it was part of her now, and it happened in a way that she didn't even notice who she had become before it was too late.
Come here, stay
We (as the listener,) are unsure of who this is directed at yet. Is it about her facade? Her past self? The person she deceived?
I hid it away
Pretty self explanatory, she hid her true self away.
Mayday! Even if you realize it's me, you don't need to hold me in your arms again. Mayday! If you realize it's me, will you kindly laugh at me once more?
We arrive at the chorus, starting off with “Mayday!” , which can be used as a distress signal or a plead for help. The next part conveys that even if they (the person the song is directed to) realizes the real Miku isn't her and this wasn't how she was, she doesn't need forgiveness or comfort. The second line here seems more hopeful than the last line, as if she wants them to realize who the real her is even though Miku thinks she doesn't deserve forgiveness, but presents the question of “Would you still forgive me?” to them.
I know I'm nothing of a ghost
An empty shell built of lies, hey!
She is a ghost of her past self, a ghost that evidently has taken over. The next line is also sort of self explanatory, she’s an empty shell of who she once was, having the lies build up over time and have become who she is now.
Though I’m sure that “no” is what I'm trying to say, strangely, it comes out as “yes”
Over the past lines, Miku sings about all the lies she tells, some seemingly for no reason, but his line further my belief that Miku has become a pathological liar, but upon further research, she seems to be a compulsive liar, the difference being that pathological liars are more manipulative, while compulsive liars question their sense of compassion or empathy. This line could also not mean any of that and instead show how she struggles with being her true self.
The bad thing about regret is that you start to realize that if you can fool someone completely, you're innocent
She hates feeling regret, especially after she realizes that she can get away with all her lies.
Choosing to act cowardly, unfairly? No big deal, a prayer or two can take care of that
The second part of the sentence implies that it was easy to be forgiven, and might have taken that for granted since this line contrasts her previous statements about her guilt.
That affected talkativeness of mine, just digging my own grave, burning myself out
By continuing to talk and not having a stopping point, she made the situation worse for herself.
That sense of guilt, beholding like this for how long? It's all going gray
She’s getting tired of lying all the time, to the point where shes either numb to her other emotions or is just going through the motions, living her life with her guilt as the main focus.
Even if it's just me acting the victim
This line is really interesting because I’m unsure if Miku believes that she’s just faking her pain and doesn't deserve to feel it or Miku is continuously manipulating him in to thinking she’s the victim, but I feel stronger about the former.
Mayday! Feel free to berate me, if honesty seems like such a wonderful thing
Mayday! Bring down the gavel and seal my fate, I who’ve chosen to act spoiled to the end
And we’re back to the chorus! In the first line, Miku seems accepting, almost like she wants the punishment at this point, but this seems double sided with the addition of the second half of the line, like she hasn't learned why her lies are bad, which counteracts what she has previously said. In the second line, again Miku uses the court analogy relating to her punishment, as she knows she deserves it. In the second half of the second line, she acknowledges her mistakes, but based off all the previous lines, I don’t think she understands her mistakes, just knows she did wrong.
I’m just a wandering spirit, dead and gone
A blank empty void, empty as can be, hey!
As previously stated, Miku is just a shell of what she used to be. This can also be referencing the fact that she knows her time is up and that she’s basically just a dead girl walking. The same thing applies to the second line.
Wishing for what I lacked, I came face to face with a version of “me” that was nothing like myself
And yet I kept going, even through the dark night that made my head swim
What was she lacking? Miku lacked whatever she saw as the perfect version of herself, but when she tried to get to that image she’d envisioned, she had changed so much about her that it she was a completely different person. The second line appears to show that she lacked self control or didn’t know how to stop.
Love me! I lack so much. I was raised by that selfish egotism of mine after all
We found her motive! Now we know that what she lacked was love, she had just wanted to be wanted by someone. Miku saying that she “lacks so much” has a different meaning now. Instead of it being a better image of herself it’s now the affection and attention she’s never received. For the third part of this line, Miku can either mean that she never got love because everyone avoided her or because she pushed everyone away due to how she acted.
Can you really see me? This lonely, poisoned clown
Here Miku is asking if they can see past her lies to who she truly is.
Mayday! Even if you realize it's me, you don't need to hold me in your arms again
Mayday! If you realize it's me, will you kindly laugh at me once more?
Mayday! Feel free to berate me, if honesty seems like such a wonderful thing
Mayday! Bring down the gavel and seal my fate, I who’ve chosen to act spoiled to the end
And back to the chorus once more! This time, the chorus has a much darker tone to it now that we know what her purpose for her actions was. She feels defeated and has accepted her fate, still hoping for forgiveness if there is any chance.
Mayday! Expose me for what I really am, for this world is about to meet its end
Mayday! Dance with me! Did you realize “I” was never truly here to begin with?
Miku is asking to be condemned, to receive retribution. “This world is about to meet its end” refers to Miku herself, as previously stated she has a large ego, seeing herself as the world, and has made several references in past lyrics to her coming to an end.
I know I'm nothing of a ghost
An empty shell built of lies
I’m just a wandering spirit, dead and gone
A blank empty void, empty as can be
Again, Miku is accepting of her fate, she feels an empty numbness, she knows she’s finally at her end.
Having lied about the most inconsequential of things, I’m unable to go back
No statute of limitations for my crime, robbed of forgiveness for that thievery of mine
She uses the first lines of lyrics again, but with a much darker and depressing tone, it comes off as a lot more defeated and sad.
Summary:
Miku starts the song out by singing of how she has lied and is facing the consequences for her actions. We see her talk about how she doesn’t think she deserves to be forgiven, and how the facade that she had put up had become who she is now. She played into this facade so well that nothing was suspected of her, until recently, since the song is about her facing retribution. She’s lost too much of herself, and the chorus seems like she pleads for help. A little over half way through the song, she slips in that she wishes to be loved. She had created this mask because love is what she lacked, and I presume that her egoistic out view had started in an attempt to be self sufficient and convince herself she didn’t need it. From here on, all the lyrics she has previously stated take on a more dark and depressing tone, as now we know she acted out because she craved affection and attention.The song ends with the same lyrics as the first lines, but now she seems more defeated and accepting of her condemnation.
And that’s the end! Of course, this is just a lyrics analysis and doesn’t take into account other musical elements like key changes or breaks and pauses. Please let me know what your thoughts are about the song or my analysis, was it too long? I’m open to feedback!
★ My ask box is open if you would like to submit a song for analysis!
- rebbs☆彡
^^ghost rule for anyone who hasn’t listened!