Dull… Read Full Bio ↴Greg Dulli (born May 11, 1965) is a singer and instrumentalist.
Dulli was born and brought up in a working-class suburb of Hamilton, Ohio. He is of Greek (father) and Irish (mother) descent. He first came to public attention in Cincinnati in the late 1980s with The Afghan Whigs, when Dulli joined D.C. transplant bassist John Curley and Louisville, Kentucky, guitarist Rick McCollum. Dulli's half-hour-long on-stage cigarette breaks, complete with running commentary on sexual politics and attempts at matchmaking at first enraged, but later fascinated the clientele.
Dulli's budding career in the rock and roll production business was halted as The Afghan Whigs began playing more and better gigs, drawing bigger and bigger crowds. The band was soon brought to the attention of Sub Pop Records in Seattle. Sub Pop's signing of The Afghan Whigs created quite a stir; they were the first non-Northwestern U.S. band to record for the label. The Whigs split in 2001.
In 1994, Dulli was a lead vocalist in the Backbeat Band, an alternative-rock supergroup that recorded the soundtrack to The Beatles biopic, Backbeat. Other members of the Backbeat Band were Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), Don Fleming (Gumball), Mike Mills (R.E.M.), Dave Grohl (Nirvana, later Foo Fighters), and Dave Pirner (Soul Asylum).
In 1997, Dulli (with Ted Demme and director Mark Pellington) bought the movie rights to a book by Ann Imbrie called Spoken in Darkness but the film was never made. He is now the lead singer and main songwriter of the band The Twilight Singers who released their fourth album titled Powder Burns in May 2006.
Dulli is working with Mark Lanegan (Screaming Trees, Queens of the Stone Age, Mark Lanegan Band) in the project, The Gutter Twins. Lanegan also appears on The Twilight Singers new EP, A Stitch In Time. He released his first CD under his own name in 2005, Amber Headlights, and followed it with a live recording in 2008, Live At Triple Door.
A Ghost
Greg Dulli Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Back in the cinder and I'm free
Back in the city of night
Back up in heaven, I believe
The bird on the wire is me
Painting the corners
In a drop top diamond wing
Bleed, now you're fading away
Wave goodbye
Lord, now they swab for DNA
And I like what you're getting out of me
And I'm back in the cinder and I'm free
And I'm back up to heaven
And up jumped the devil
Knocked out the ceiling
Drop down the needle, I believe
And I like what you're getting out of me
And I'm back in the cinder and free
And I'm back up to heaven
And up jumped the devil
Knocked on the ceiling
Drop down the needle, I believe
Scent me two times
Love me three times
Now you're mine
The lyrics of A Ghost by Greg Dulli appear to speak to the theme of addiction and the idea of a person being caught up in something beyond their control. The first line, "I like what you're getting out of me," could be interpreted as the singer being addicted to a substance or a person that is draining them. The subsequent lines, "Back in the cinder and I'm free / Back in the city of night / Back up in heaven, I believe," suggest a feeling of being trapped and then freed from a cycle of addiction, as though returning to a dark city is actually heaven for the singer because it allows them to get back to their vices.
The following lines are similarly metaphorical, with the "bird on the wire" representing the singer and the "drop top diamond wing" being a reference to a flashy car. The verse ends with the lines, "Bleed, now you're fading away / Wave goodbye / Lord, now they swab for DNA," which could be interpreted as the singer's addiction causing them to deteriorate and ultimately end up in prison.
The chorus repeats the theme of addiction and the singer's desire to be free from it, with the lines, "And I'm back in the cinder and I'm free / And I'm back up to heaven / And up jumped the devil / Knocked out the ceiling / Drop down the needle, I believe." The repetition of "I believe" reinforces the idea that the singer is struggling with something beyond their control and is relying on their faith or belief in something to help them through it.
Overall, the song seems to be about the struggle with addiction and a desire to be free from it, as well as the realization that addiction can have a destructive impact on a person's life.
Line by Line Meaning
I like what you're getting out of me
I am enjoying what you are drawing out from me emotionally and mentally
Back in the cinder and I'm free
I am back to my previous state of living and I feel liberated
Back in the city of night
I am once again in a place where darkness prevails
Back up in heaven, I believe
I feel like I am back in paradise
The bird on the wire is me
I am currently in a vulnerable state
Painting the corners
I am trying to achieve something specific
In a drop top diamond wing
I am doing this in a luxurious manner
Bleed, now you're fading away
I see indications that you are leaving me behind
Wave goodbye
I get ready to see you depart from my life
Lord, now they swab for DNA
Authorities now have to collect genetic material to identify someone
And I like what you're getting out of me
I still enjoy the effects you have on me
And I'm back in the cinder and I'm free
I have returned to a basic level, but with a sense of liberation
And I'm back up to heaven
I am once again on top of the world
And up jumped the devil
I have encountered a harmful, negative force
Knocked out the ceiling
This force has disrupted everything around me
Drop down the needle, I believe
I am willing to inject myself with something to feel differently
Scent me two times
I want to be wooed and loved consistently
Love me three times
I request to be loved unceasingly
Now you're mine
I possess you now
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Greg Dulli
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
C G
Astonishing, Astounding, Incredible, Ineffable, Synchronitic, Spooky, Stunning, Superb.
One day Greg I'll get you a little story, a brief history of almost everything since 94 till the present day when I'm fifty on the 27th of Feb. From the hardest betrayal in 94, through the turbulent unforgettable times holding on to my beautiful talented now almost 24 yr old son - the same age I was in 94, to meeting Dawn in 2017 around the time I discovered Dynamite Steps having missed it initially in 2011 due to the bereavement of my father - meeting the indescribable Dawn unlike any other out of the darkest night had me fly from the most slender perch in a pit of desolation lifted by love and attention at the same time to the beat In Spades was released, heart swelling and bruised and invigorated falling heavily for her to lose her after the rescue rooms and the church then discovering her secret terminal illness 12 months on from when we were together and losing her for a second time and for good in October 2018, grieving for a year, a hole in the sky was my insides and the truth which was a lie then she died, a bucket list trip to Egypt at the time I didn't understand, her Arabian Heights, it fell apart without resolve and reason so It seemed and now eternally she's mine, every night, a ghost.
You Spooky mother fucker.
You've been the soundtrack to my life. I don't know how or why. Strangely I am at peace.
Incredible Greg. Can't wait for Manchester.
My ghost will be in attendance. She was she is amazing. 🖤
The devil ain't got nuthin on me.
After things falling apart before Dawn's passing in the Autumn 2018 i lost my home on Venus court in spring 2018, a place I loved in touching distance of the morning star, i ended up back in heaven where I was raised on the wheel across from cinder hill.
Spooky as fuck.
I don't drink nowadays.
I'm gonna get pissed.
This universe. This incredible universe. 🖤
Albert Salanitri
Love it. Honestly I’ve been waiting for material that would measure up to gutter twins ever since that album releases and I think this is it. Not knocking the other stuff , but gutter twins was just one of my favorite albums period.
Tom Hinds
♠️♠️ 3 days till the album drops, loving every track released so far!!! will be a belter of an album, GET THE ALBUM ORDERED FOLKS!! ♠️♠️
Steven Parsons
Got notification that my signed copy vinyl will arrive Monday, February 24th!!!
C G
Astonishing, Astounding, Incredible, Ineffable, Synchronitic, Spooky, Stunning, Superb.
One day Greg I'll get you a little story, a brief history of almost everything since 94 till the present day when I'm fifty on the 27th of Feb. From the hardest betrayal in 94, through the turbulent unforgettable times holding on to my beautiful talented now almost 24 yr old son - the same age I was in 94, to meeting Dawn in 2017 around the time I discovered Dynamite Steps having missed it initially in 2011 due to the bereavement of my father - meeting the indescribable Dawn unlike any other out of the darkest night had me fly from the most slender perch in a pit of desolation lifted by love and attention at the same time to the beat In Spades was released, heart swelling and bruised and invigorated falling heavily for her to lose her after the rescue rooms and the church then discovering her secret terminal illness 12 months on from when we were together and losing her for a second time and for good in October 2018, grieving for a year, a hole in the sky was my insides and the truth which was a lie then she died, a bucket list trip to Egypt at the time I didn't understand, her Arabian Heights, it fell apart without resolve and reason so It seemed and now eternally she's mine, every night, a ghost.
You Spooky mother fucker.
You've been the soundtrack to my life. I don't know how or why. Strangely I am at peace.
Incredible Greg. Can't wait for Manchester.
My ghost will be in attendance. She was she is amazing. 🖤
The devil ain't got nuthin on me.
After things falling apart before Dawn's passing in the Autumn 2018 i lost my home on Venus court in spring 2018, a place I loved in touching distance of the morning star, i ended up back in heaven where I was raised on the wheel across from cinder hill.
Spooky as fuck.
I don't drink nowadays.
I'm gonna get pissed.
This universe. This incredible universe. 🖤
Josh Russell
The album is gonna be sick! And it comes out a day after my birthday
Nehiru De-Shitpost
Love this song
poka hontas
Great Mr.Dulli!!!👏👏👏
ivan geld
This one is the best so far
SashaNYC00
Can't wait to here the new songs live. See you soon Greg!
Guilherme Amaro
Wow, my favourite so far.