Mike & The Mechanics debuted with their stellar eponymous album in 1985 which highlighted Rutherford's innovative guitar work and the vocal talents of the two Pauls, amongst other guest vocalists. Initially, the group's albums were released between Genesis albums, all three Genesis members having solo projects of their own, most notable in the huge chart success of singer/drummer Phil Collins. This ended with the disbanding of Genesis in 1998.
The classic song "The Living Years" from the album of the same name was to be the height of their critical success to date; the #1 single was written by and about the dissension between singer BA Robertson and his father, a situation that was never rectified prior to his father's death, sung with great passion by Carrack. The album also featured the song "Nobody's Perfect" which received considerable airtime as the music to a successful television advertising campaign for Tennants bitter. Their third album "Word of Mouth" followed in 1991 with less commercial and critical success although the lead single, with vocals by Paul Young, reached the Top 20. The fourth album "Beggar On a Beach of Gold" was a high watermark in the quality of their material, with both the album and first single "Over My Shoulder" charting well with many considering the album the band's best work.
After a hiatus following Young's death from a heart attack on July 17, 2000, the band reformed in 2004 as Mike & the Mechanics featuring Paul Carrack releasing the album "Rewired".
A new Mike & the Mechanics album (titled "The Road") was released in the spring of 2011, supported by a 22-date UK tour. Replacing Carrack and Young as vocalists for the group are Andrew Roachford and Canadian actor/singer Tim Hower.
The Ghost of Sex and You
Mike & The Mechanics Lyrics
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She was an unremarkable girl
You may not call it poetry
But it changed my world
It was an unforgettable dawn
She was an indisputable fact
Even if I could have
It's an unexceptional day
She's an unavoidable truth
Uncompromised elation
Suspended since my youth
It's an unforgivable lie
I have nothing in my defence
There can be no forgiveness
To caution this descent
It wasn't in a dream
A film or on TV
This was really happening
Happening to me
Though I may protest
Suggest I never knew
The ghost comes back to haunt me
The ghost of sex and you
I held her hand outside the hotel
Kissed her mouth in the back of the car
Whether fact or fantasy
I knew we'd gone too far
I feel her breath on the back of my neck
She's lying naked here on the floor
Wrap the sheet around her
Disappear beyond the door
It wasn't in a dream
A film or on TV
This was really happening
Happening to me
Though I may protest
Suggest I never knew
The ghost comes back to haunt me
The ghost of sex and you
It was an unbelievable night
She was an unremarkable girl
You may not call it poetry
But it changed my world
The ghost of sex and you
It was an unforgettable dawn
She was an indisputable fact
Even if I could have
I might not have it back
Sex and you
It's an unexceptional day
She's an unavoidable truth
Uncompromised elation
Suspended since my youth
Sex and you
It's an unforgivable lie
I have nothing in my defence
There can be no forgiveness
To caution this descent
The ghost of sex and you
The Ghost of Sex and You is a contemplative song by Mike & The Mechanics, that speaks of the lingering memories and emotions that haunt the singer following a single-night stand. The song is about a moment that changed the singer's life, though he can't decide if he's happy or regretful about it. The lyrics recount an experience that rebuffed his preconceived notions of what makes passion extraordinary. The song talks about the transformative power of such an encounter and how it has tainted the singer's outlook of life. The chorus "The ghost of sex and you" refers to the memory of what transpired that evening and the longing the singer has to recreate it.
The lyrics detail the encounter between the singer and the girl, which took place at a hotel. Though she was an "unremarkable girl," she left an impression that has been forever etched in his mind. The lyrics talk about him holding her hand outside the hotel, kissing her in the back of the car, and having sex on the floor of the hotel room. The lyrics demonstrate the visceral experience of being caught up in the moment and how it has an impact beyond the physical act itself.
Throughout the song, there are various references to the aftermath of the encounter. The lyrics hint that the experience has had an impact on the singer's life, but he can't express or comprehend it fully. The song concludes with the singer being haunted by the event, with the girl in his memory, a haunting presence that he can't shake off.
Line by Line Meaning
It was an unbelievable night
The night was impossible to believe or comprehend.
She was an unremarkable girl
The girl was not particularly noteworthy or interesting.
You may not call it poetry
It may not meet the standards of what is typically considered poetry.
But it changed my world
Despite not being poetry, it had a profound impact on the artist's life.
It was an unforgettable dawn
The dawn was impossible to forget.
She was an indisputable fact
The girl's existence was certain and beyond debate.
Even if I could have
Even if it were possible for the singer to recover what had been lost,
I might not have it back
he still may not be able to retrieve it.
It's an unexceptional day
The day is not particularly noteworthy or interesting.
She's an unavoidable truth
The girl's existence is certain and cannot be denied or avoided.
Uncompromised elation
Joy that is pure and untainted.
Suspended since my youth
The joy has been present but inactive since the artist's youth.
It's an unforgivable lie
A lie that is so bad it cannot be forgiven.
I have nothing in my defence
The singer has no argument to defend himself against the lie.
There can be no forgiveness
The lie is so bad that it cannot be forgiven.
To caution this descent
To prevent the artist from descending any further into a negative state of mind because of the lie.
It wasn't in a dream
What the artist experienced was not a dream.
A film or on TV
The singer did not see what happened in a movie or on television.
This was really happening
The events being experienced were real and not imagined.
Happening to me
The event was happening to the artist.
Though I may protest
Even if the artist objects or disagrees,
Suggest I never knew
they cannot deny or pretend that they did not experience what happened.
The ghost comes back to haunt me
The memory of what happened continues to bother the singer and affects them emotionally.
The ghost of sex and you
The memory of the girl and their sexual encounter continues to haunt the artist.
I held her hand outside the hotel
The singer held the girl's hand outside the hotel.
Kissed her mouth in the back of the car
The singer kissed the girl in the car's backseat.
Whether fact or fantasy
The singer is not sure if what happened was real or imagined.
I knew we'd gone too far
The artist realized that they had gone too far in their encounter with the girl.
I feel her breath on the back of my neck
The artist still remembers feeling the girl's breath on the back of their neck.
She's lying naked here on the floor
The image of the girl lying naked on the floor is still in the singer's mind.
Wrap the sheet around her
The singer remembers covering the girl with a sheet.
Disappear beyond the door
The artist left after the encounter, not turning back.
Contributed by Claire I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.