Ariana Grande’s “Ghostin” Lyrics Meaning

‘Ghosting’ is a colloquial term used to describe the act of suddenly ceasing all communication with a loved one, most notably a romantic partner. But in this track, Ariana is refusing to ghost her ex. In other words, she still cries over him. In fact she admits that she loves him even more than her current beau, who she is addressing in this track. As such, she knows that he is in pain also, as he bears witness to her suffering romantically over someone who isn’t him. So Grande also expresses sympathy and appreciation for her present lover.

As with every similar track featured on the record Thank U, Next, there is a debate amongst Ariana’s fans as to which of her ex-lovers this song is aimed at – Pete Davidson, who she was briefly and recently engaged to, or Mac Miller, the dude she had the longest relationship with who passed away just few months before the song’s release. The general consensus is that Grande is talking about missing Mac Miller. To put it differently, she may be addressing Pete Davidson as her current boyfriend but talking about Mac as the one she misses. Perhaps another association can be found between the title of this track and the fact that Miller is indeed deceased. This is also an understandable explanation considering Ariana and Pete starting dating during the same month, May 2018, that she and Miller terminated their two-year relationship.

Additionally, critical listeners have discovered another possible connection between “Ghostin” and Mac Miller, in that the song features samples which some think were derived from a song previously released by Miller entitled “2009”.

“Ghostin” concludes with Ariana admitting that her past relationships take a toll on who she is now as a person. Yet she encourages her lover that they will overcome this currently troublesome situation.

Facts about “Ghostin”

• Writer(s): Ariana Grande co-wrote this track with her frequent collaborators: Ilya Salmanzadeh, Savan Kotecha, Victoria Monét, Max Martin,
•  Producer(s): ILYA and Max Martin are also credited as the producers of “Ghostin”.
• Album/EP: This is the eighth track featured on Ariana’s album, Thank U, Next. The album in question came out in 2019 as Ariana’s fifth studio album.
• Release Date: This song was released on the 8th of February, 2019.
• Record Label: Republic Records is the label behind this track
• Interesting Stuff: At 4 minutes and 31 seconds, “Ghostin” is the longest track on Thank U, Next. This song took much longer to write than all of the other tracks featured on the album.

Was this a single from Thank U, Next?

No. Three singles, including lead single “Thank U, Next” preceded the album. The other two are: “7 Rings” and “Break up with Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored“. These were the only singles from Grande’s Thank U, Next album.