Green Sky is the first single release from Ghost Weather (2025) Dark Homes Records), the eight song debut from NC's The Goodbye Horses.
It was around St. Patrick’s Day, so naturally the conversation turned to the absurd: “What if, since we don’t have a Greensboro River, the city just turned the sky green?” We were high on the idea alone. So Chris blurts out Green Sky like it was nothing- just another random title in a sea of half-formed noise, scribbled nonsense, and logic files named things like “!Untitled23.wav,” in the digital waiting room of maybe-brilliance. We were sick of sifting through them, so we started naming everything: riffs, loops, synth burps- even if it was just a vague feeling or the ghost of a tune. Some names stuck; most didn’t (yet).
Then Dagger strolls in clutching this little pop nugget synth part that was practically glowing with energy. We heard it once and grinned like idiots- boom, just like that, we were in it. No debate, no overthinking. Just smiles and the kind of instinct that smells like a song. I figured the smartest thing to do was to stay out of the way: keep the guitar simple and sparse, the vocals vulnerable, a bit clumsy, and let that glorious synth breathe.
The lyrics started like a sugar rush. Childhood dreams in denim jackets. Running through downtown like a pack of goofball werewolves. Dipping into corner stores. Wasting quarters. Laughing too loud. Collapsing on some busted old couch, watching rerun garbage on TV, and somehow feeling like you’d hit the jackpot. The stuff nobody tells you is everything.
But then there’s that sneaky death theme that always taps your shoulder mid-smile. When Dagger dropped the riff for the chorus, the first line that came out of my mouth was “I might die right here tonight.” Just placeholder lyrics. A scratch vocal. Didn’t mean anything, right? Except it did. The band loved it. “Keep it. Use it. Just let it happen.” We didn’t need another gloomy, dark goth song. But this song? Nah, this wasn’t one of those. This one had sunlight. It grinned in your face while whispering about the void. It got church giggles during the funeral. Not about giving up, but about letting go. About loving the stupid, tiny, perfect seconds of being with the people who matter before they know better.
When I began working on liner notes for Ghost Weather (2025, Dark Homes Records), I began to realize that Green Sky became kind of a “callout” song to Goodbye Horses. Yeah, that song by Q. Lazarus- the song that gave us our band name. Digging deeper, I discovered that it’s kinda based on a Hindu proverb about letting go of the horses—the earthly weight pulling your chariot into the mud. And suddenly Green Sky became sort of a cathartic shrug. Freedom from the weight. Not forgiveness or being forgiven, but letting go of the burdens holding us down. Saying goodbye to the horses, and flying over them.
Also, yeah—a lot of people think it’s a weed song. Which is fine too.
-mm
Hey! If you like this song, you probably already listen to The Cure, The Replacements, John Cale, Lou Reed, Velvet Underground, INXS, PJ Harvey, Nick Cave, and The Pixies.
"We don't really know what we're supposed to sound like. We just start writing and it happens, and whatever is on the other side is what we sound like"
'Ghost Weather' is the debut eight-song record from this all-original North Carolina-based four-piece known for their blend of post-punk, americana, and garage rock. Capturing the extensive range of the band’s distinctive sound and style, 'Ghost Weather' takes listeners on a journey through synth-driven dance, punk, goth, pop, and rock—landing somewhere between The Cure and Crazy Horse, with a touch of twang and plenty of thunder for the ride.
