City of Ghosts is a song about towns abandoned because of human-made disasters such as the ghost town of Pripyat’ near Chernobyl, or due to armed conflicts such as the once fancy tourist town of Varosha after
the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
Cover art features a photo of Varosha Anastasia took as a guard pointed a gun at her because photography was forbidden at the time.
This song was also inspired in part by the Arab Spring, as evidenced by the first lines of the lyrics: “Lay down your arms - spring has come,” - and in part by Alan Weisman’s book The World Without Us, which explores what would happen to our cities if human race were to suddenly disappear.
It was the first song Martini and Anastasia worked on upon meeting each other in Barcelona, Spain, and although City of Ghosts is a rock ballad, there are elements of flamenco in Martini’s guitar melodies.
Song and vocals: Anastasia Gorbunova
Guitars and arrangement: Maiquel Martini
Drums: Ruslan "drumming fox" Parkanov
Bass: William Sitnin
Recorded and mixed at DTH Studios by Ilya Gorokhvodatsky in Moscow, Russia
Mastered at TuranAudio in Oxford, UK
Lyrics
Lay down your arms
Spring has come
Divided we conquer no one
Rules of the land
With fire in their hands
Those who believe
The means justify their ends
War everywhere, but there's nothing to fear anymore
So many years, the waves have reclaimed the shore
Can you see people leave? They flee to avoid their doom
In the city of ghosts – forever in bloom
This used to be your home
Where's your Right to Return?
There used to be sun
Now it never will warm anyone
You could turn it around
You could build it up from the ground
But damage is done, the damage is already done
War everywhere, but there's nothing to fear anymore
So many years, the waves have reclaimed the shore
Can you see people leave? They flee to avoid their doom
In the city of ghosts – forever in bloom
Forever in bloom
The world without us
Will not miss a beat
Sharp blades of grass
Grow under our feet
The smell of defeat
Like summer so sweet
It shatters like glass
This world around us
This world without us
Will not miss a beat
Sharp blades of grass
Grow under our feet
The smell of defeat
Like summer so sweet
It shatters like glass
This world around us
War everywhere, but there's nothing to fear anymore
So many years, the waves have reclaimed the shore
Can you see people leave? They flee to avoid their doom
In the city of ghosts – forever in bloom
Forever in bloom
Nothing to fear, there's nothing to fear
Nothing to fear
Forever
In bloom, in bloom
Forever in bloom, bloom
Forever