For My Sunday Song #363, we are tackling Morgan’s Choice song #3 with SZA’s “Ghost in the Machine” which features it girl Phoebe Bridgers. The song was released on December 9, 2022 and is off SZA’s 2022 album ‘SOS’. The song cracked the Top 40 going to #40 and I am sure my daughter found the song on TikTok like so many of the songs she listens to every day.

The song is about the digital age and how we are losing our humanity due to being wired in all the time. For SZA, it is longing for that human connection that we can’t get through our devices. She wants to love and get hurt and basically live. For Phoebe, that Ghost in the machine is the long, lonely days in airports and hotels being far away from the people you love. People are using social media to connect with people, but you aren’t your true self this way. You can’t really look in to another’s eyes and see who they really are and connect to their soul. It is a wonderful truth that it would be nice if we’d wake up and realize that we are losing ourselves thanks to technology.

Musically, this isn’t my normal cup of tea, but it really is a great song. There is a lot electronica in the song as most everything is done through a keyboard or programmed through a computer which I find interesting considering the topic of the song. The singing is soft, gentle and filled with loneliness. There is a great groove to it as well and has a modern R&B vibe along with an indie sound. It is multiple genres rolled in to one. The music is sullen and dripping with sadness as the person feels lost. It isn’t a happy song at all, but it works.

Give the song a listen and let me know what you think. Is SZA right, have we lost touch with our humanity? Do we need to get back to more human contact? I think so, no doubt. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you all have a wonderful and Happy Sunday!

“Ghost In The Machine”
(feat. Phoebe Bridgers)

[SZA:]
Oh-oh
Oh-oh, mm-mm, mm

Everything disgustin’, conversation is so borin’
Heard about what? I ain’t heard, I don’t agree, I did it first
I give a fuck, I just wanna fuck, eat, sleep, love happy
Can you make me happy? Can you keep me happy?

Can you distract me from all the disaster?
Can you touch on me and not call me after?
Can you hate on me and mask it with laughter?
Can you lead me to the ark? What’s the password?

I need humanity
You’re like humanity, drownin’ in vanity
Cravin’ humanity
You’re like humanity, I need humanity
I need–

Anybody wanna be beautiful, scared of the unusual
Scared of givin’ mutual respect, all that you hate
You reflect all the godlike, you forget how to love somebody
I hate everybody, I hate everyone
Let’s talk about A.I., robot got more heart than I
Robot got future, I don’t, robot can’t sleep
But I don’t power down, I’m wide open, I’m awake
I’m on autopilot, I’m out of my mind and I’m wide open

Can you distract me from all the disaster?
Can you touch on me and not call me after?
Can you hate on me and mask it with laughter?
Can you lead me to the ark? What’s the password?

I need humanity
You’re like humanity, drownin’ in vanity
Cravin’ humanity
You’re like humanity, I need humanity
I need–

[Phoebe Bridgers:]
You said all of my friends are on my payroll
You’re not wrong, you’re an asshole
Screaming at you in the Ludlow
I was yours for free
I don’t get existential
I just think about myself and look where that got me
Standin’ on my own in an airport bar or hotel lobby
Waiting to feel clean
It’s so fucking boring

[SZA:]
Can you distract me from all the disaster?
Can you touch on me and not call me after?
Can you hate on me and mask it with laughter?
Can you lead me to the ark? What’s the password?

I need humanity
You’re like humanity, drownin’ in vanity
Cravin’ humanity
You’re like humanity, I need humanity
I need–

[SZA (Sadhguru):]
Those who have forsaken their humanity
They like to patch their life with morality
(I think I might be tryna patch my life with morality)
Curious, I’m curious

Written by Solana Rowe, Phoebe Bridgers, Rob Bisel, Carter Lang, Matt Cohn and Marshall Vore