Prepare to get chills — Hana’s angelic high notes will take you to the astral plane. Arguably one of the most relaxing songs I’ve heard in a while, “Spirit” is an emotional electro-pop single off of her new EP, Moonstoned. In the song, Hana takes on the metaphorical persona of a spirit stalking her love and getting the feelings off of her chest.
The artist really sings from the soul throughout this 4-minute track; the hair on my arms were standing on end the first time I heard it. While many artists reserve hitting high notes for the climax of their songs, Hana makes the bold decision to hold these notes the entire way through. Singing in this key gives the song its otherworldly feel, as one would think only an angel could produce sounds like that and hold the notes so beautifully.
While the music is absolutely gorgeous, the situation Hana finds herself in throughout the track is not so pretty.
Though I stand / Right in front of you / You never knew / A ghost I am
The first few lines explain the title of the song. The artist feels overlooked and unseen, like a spirit in the next life desperately trying to communicate with the living. She is expressing the deep sense of separation she feels from the object of her affection. Throughout the rest of the song, I imagined the artist floating behind this person like a ghost, haunting them with her chilling reminders of her undying love. She follows close behind and sings her desires.
The song starts off very bare, and we only hear the artist’s vocals and a silent melody playing in the background. That melody slowly gains momentum, building anticipation until finally the beat drops. Now that the artist has introduced herself and her intentions, we can get into the tragedy of the situation.
If I don’t win your love / I don’t know what I’d do / I don’t know where I’d go
We can feel more of the desperation from the artist here. After everything she’s done, the thought of still not winning the heart of her beloved is just too much to bear. It’s said that spirits linger in the land of the living because they have unfinished business. Hana’s “unfinished business” is winning this person over, and since this is her purpose, she feels she would be lost if the task were not completed. I think that failure is not an option, so the answer to her question is that she wouldn’t go anywhere — she would continue to hover over this person until she completes her mission. However, if the person never loves her back, then she’s stuck in a never-ending cycle.
I waited on, I waited all night / I waited on, I waited all night for you
This is exactly what she ends up doing. She waits and waits, and will continue to wait until the end of time. That is how deep her love goes for this person. The song fades out softly, like I would imagine her ghostly figure fades away as she loses herself in someone else. I’m not sure if I want to call this a love song, although the artist sings about love. I don’t want to call it a lament either, though, because the tone is still slightly hopeful. It’s like the artist believes she will earn this person’s heart eventually. Maybe she will – a spirit has all the time in the world.
