Chasing Ghosts is out now.
This song began with my story, but it doesnt only belong to me anymore.
Over the last few weeks, people have shared their own stories about feeling left behind. About watching friends build families, find careers and settle into lives that seem to make sense.
Meanwhile, you’re still trying to figure out where you fit.
That feeling is where Chasing Ghosts lives.
The verses are personal, but the chorus was made to feel bigger. It has this anthem energy, like something you can sing loudly even when the words are hitting somewhere painful.
Cause I’m still chasing ghosts down back roads
Still getting lost in who I’ve been
Everybody found a place to settle
I’m still wondering where I fit in
The ghosts can mean different things.
They might be people who are no longer in your life. They might be old choices, missed chances or the person you believed you were supposed to become.
For me, they are also the older versions of myself that I still try to understand.
The girl who left home at fifteen.
The person who kept everything hidden.
The version of me who believed surviving was the same as living.
I cant return to those versions of myself, but I can finally look at them without pretending they never existed.
The song also asks what happens when you spend your entire life trying to fit into places that were never built for you.
I dont even know
What I would’ve been
If I hadnt spent my whole life
Trying to fit in
I think alot of people lose pieces of themselves that way.
You become quieter so other people stay comfortable. You change how you dress, speak or feel because being accepted seems easier than being honest.
Eventually, you look at yourself and realize you dont know which parts are really yours anymore.
Now I’m trying to remember
The girl I used to be
Cause somewhere along the way
She stopped looking like me
That is one of the hardest parts of the song for me.
It isnt about becoming the person I was before everything happened. That version of me doesnt exist anymore.
It is about finding the pieces that still feel real and building something new from them.
Chasing Ghosts may sound sad, but I dont think it ends without hope.
Maybe I was built a little different
Maybe I just never learned to quit
Maybe being different isnt the reason you failed.
Maybe it is the reason you survived.
You dont need to have the same life as everybody around you. You dont need to reach the same milestones at the same time, and you dont need a perfect answer when somebody asks where you are going.
Sometimes continuing to move is enough.
Thank you to everybody who listened to the early clips, shared the song and told us what these lyrics meant to you.
“You are not behind because your road looks different.”
“You are allowed to outgrow the person you had to become.”
“Finding yourself can take longer than losing yourself did.”
“You still deserve somewhere to belong.”
Chasing Ghosts is available now on all streaming platforms. You can listen by following the link below.
Kelsey Rodgers
💜