I.1—“Ghost in This House” by Allison Krauss

Ghost Sample
Ghost Sample

Romeo is heartbroken at the beginning of the play. He pines for Rosaline, and his depression is getting the better of him. Both of his parents notice, and Montague explains:

Many a morning hath he there [at the sycamore grove] been seen,
With tears augmenting the fresh morning dew.
Adding to clouds more clouds with his deep sighs;
But all so soon as the all-cheering sun
Should in the furthest east begin to draw
The shady curtains from Aurora’s bed,
Away from the light steals home my heavy son,
And private in his chamber pens himself,
Shuts up his windows, locks far daylight out
And makes himself an artificial night:
Black and portentous must this humour prove,
Unless good counsel may the cause remove. (I.1.123-134)

He becomes something like a ghost in his own house.

Allison Krauss’s words echo something that Montague is thinking, but they are more aptly from Romeo’s point of view:

I don’t pick up the mail
I don’t pick up the phone
I don’t answer the door
I’d just as soon be alone
I don’t keep this place up
I just keep the lights down
I don’t live in these rooms
I just rattle around

I’m just a ghost in this house
I’m just a shadow upon these walls
As quietly as a mouse I haunt these halls
I’m just a whisper of smoke
I’m all that’s left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
You took my body and soul
I’m just a ghost in this house

I don’t care if it rains
I don’t care if it’s clear
I don’t mind staying in
There’s another ghost here
He sits down in your chair
And he shines with your light
And he lays down his head
On your pillow at night

I’m just a ghost in this house
I’m just a shadow upon these walls
I’m living proof of the damage
Heartbreak does
I’m just a whisper of smoke
I’m all that’s left of two hearts on fire
That once burned out of control
And took my body and soul
I’m just a ghost in this house
Oh, I’m just a ghost in this house

There are several parallels here. To begin with, Romeo “Shuts up his windows, locks far daylight out” and Krauss sings of “keep[ing] the lights down.” They’re both dealing with their broken hearts in a similar manner.

Both the song and the play use metaphors of smoke as well. Romeo speaks of his unrequited love for Rosaline: “Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; / Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes.” (I.1.187,

Krauss speaks of a similar feeling: “I’m just a whisper of smoke / I’m all that’s left of two hearts on fire / That once burned out of control”

In her case, the love was returned but eventually died out. For Romeo, however, there is only the longing.