Kanye West – Ghost Town Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

Ghost Town Lyrics

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About

Genius Annotation

“Ghost Town” is perhaps the standout track on ye—at any rate, it’s the album’s sonic climax. Assisted by PARTYNEXTDOOR and long-time collaborator Kid Cudi, Kanye places Jersey newcomer 070 Shake center stage. The record culminates in her triumphant and memorable two-minute-long outro which captures Kanye’s feeling of liberation:

And nothing hurts anymore, I feel kinda free

The song is somewhere between high up and down low: Cudi’s mournful vocals express the feeling of being unloved and rejected, then Shake deliriously chants about feeling free, almost invincible. Painting a picture of deep depression and manic euphoria side by side, “Ghost Town” essentially is the musical epitome of Kanye’s bipolar disorder, which is one of the central themes of the album.

Kanye also once again demonstrates his knack for making good use of relatively odd samples. The short track “Someday” by Shirley Ann Lee serves as the intro before Royal Jesters’s “Take Me For a Little While” from 1965 builds drums and guitar and serves as the lyrical template for Cudi’s chorus.

Interestingly, Shake revealed that they finished the song on the day of the album’s release, which was also the day of Kanye’s listening party. Some earlier version of the song was apparently destined to feature on Kanye and Cudi’s collaborative album KIDS SEE GHOSTS, as the title “Ghost Town” appeared on an early tracklist. Eventually, KSG came with a sequel to “Ghost Town” called “Freeee”.

“Ghost Town” was voted best song of 2018 by the Genius Community!

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

When was "Ghost Town" finished? How did it make the album?
Genius Answer

I did the recording in Wyoming. We finished that song the same day it came out.

I had done a reference for it, and then I guess he forgot about it. We put that reference on another song, then Kanye did his own reference for that “free” concept. At the end we were talking and asking, “Is this the one right here?” And I kind of mentioned “Ghost Town,” and said maybe we could use something from that. He listened to the reference again, and said “Oh yeah, this is the one.” So “Ghost Town” almost didn’t make it.

“Ghost Town” and “Violent Crimes,” those are the ones I did for Ye. We worked on a lot of stuff, and you never really know what’s going to make it. All I know is Kids See Ghost is coming out soon.

How did 070 Shake end up signing to G.O.O.D. Music?
Genius Answer

A girl from my town played Kanye one of my songs, called “Sunday Night.” Initially, there were labels that were looking at me, but I said I’m not going to sign to anyone unless it’s Kanye West. And a week and a half later, Steven Victor found me.

Who is 070 Shake?
Genius Answer

070 Shake is a rapper/singer from New Jersey. She signed to Kanye’s GOOD Music label in 2017 and featured on GOOD president, Pusha T’s song Santeria.

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Credits
Featuring
Performance Rights
Mixing Engineer
Additional Vocals
Recorded At
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Release Date
June 1, 2018
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