With You Lyrics – Ghost the Musical

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Artist: Caissie Levy
• Album: Ghost: The Musical (Original Cast Recording)
• Track #: 10
• Release Date: July 24, 2011
• Composers: David A. Stewart & Glen Ballard
• Book/Lyric Author: Bruce Joel Rubin
• Genre: Musical-theatre pop ballad
• Mood: Yearning, bittersweet resolve
• Instruments: Piano, chamber strings, brushed kit, subtle synth pad
• Label: Ghostlight Records
• Length: ~3 min 34 sec
• Language: English
• Copyright © 2011 Ghost The Musical Ltd.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Some ballads reach straight for the tear-ducts; With You sidles in like a half-remembered dream, gentle piano first, then those strings that hover like mist over London Bridge at dawn. In the story of Ghost: The Musical, Molly has just lost Sam — her partner, her anchor, her bantering co-conspirator. The verses unfold as a private monologue: shirts in a dry-cleaning bag, a cheery hello from Mr. Reynolds, and suddenly the everyday collapses into grief. Levy’s vocal phrasing mirrors that spiral, lingering on the down-beats before leaping an octave on “cry,” as though breath itself can’t keep up with memory.

Musically it’s a waltz-ish 6/8, but the percussion is so soft you barely notice the lilt until the chorus swells. Stewart and Ballard sneak in tiny suspensions (listen to the piano on “days”) that resolve just a hair late — a sonic eyebrow raise that says, “Wait, is he really gone?” That hesitant harmony is the song’s beating heart.

Culturally the piece sits in a lineage of West-End grief anthems — think Fantine’s lament or Diana’s soliloquy in Next to Normal — yet it trades the grand tragic arc for intimate domestic snapshots. A half-folded T-shirt becomes a relic; unfinished conversations haunt like radio static at 3 a.m.

Verse 1

I picked up your shirts this morning…

The mundane chore lands like a gut-punch. Clothes = proof of life; now they’re ghost-skins draped on a wire hanger.

Chorus

You took my days with you / Took my nights with you

Notice the binary: day/night, hopes/dreams, life/world. She isn’t merely lonely; her entire circadian rhythm is off-kilter.

Verse 2

Those unfinished conversations we used to have…

The songwriter weaponises tense: “used to” hammers finality, while present-tense “speak” hints at delusion — Molly’s mind replaying audio loops like a broken answer-phone.

Bridge

I keep thinking that you’ll be coming…

The orchestration thins, leaving piano and voice almost naked. It’s the sound of bargaining: if she says it softly enough, maybe reality will rewrite itself.

Final Chorus

You took my life with you / Took my world with you

By the last repetition the strings soar, but Levy restrains vibrato, giving us steel where we expected sobbing. Acceptance? Not quite — more a white-knuckled promise to keep breathing.

Similar Songs

1. “I Dreamed a Dream” – Patti LuPone (Les Misérables)
   Both songs dwell on life derailed by loss, though Fantine’s tragedy is social as much as romantic. Harmonically they share a minor-to-major lift in the chorus, signalling fragile hope. Rhythmically, each sits in compound meter, giving the melody that rocking-chair comfort which belies the pain beneath. LuPone belts; Levy leans into a conversational hush, yet both deliver that hair-raising swell just before the final line. Historically, both numbers became stand-alone concert staples, treasured by fans who haven’t even seen the full show.
2. “Still Hurting” – Sherie René Scott (The Last Five Years)
   Structurally they are sisters: solo voice, sparse accompaniment, diary-entry candor. “Still Hurting” skews more contemporary pop-rock with syncopated piano, but both pieces unwrap the immediate aftermath of a breakup/death before scars have time to form. Lyrically, Jamie’s ghost lingers in every corner of Cathy’s apartment just as Sam lingers for Molly. The emotional arc—denial to reluctant acceptance—maps almost beat-for-beat across the two songs.
3. “Send in the Clowns” – Judi Dench (A Little Night Music)
   Sondheim’s wry resignation contrasts with Levy’s raw ache, yet both use everyday images (clowns, dry-cleaning tags) as emotional shrapnel. Each number sits in a moderate tempo, allowing actors to play sub-text between lines. Dench whispers, Levy floats; both performances hinge on restraint rather than show-stopping volume. And like “With You,” “Send in the Clowns” escaped its parent musical, finding new life on concert stages and late-night radio dedications everywhere.

Questions and Answers

Who is singing “With You” in Ghost: The Musical?

Caissie Levy voices Molly Jensen in the original London and Broadway casts, delivering this ballad with her signature crystalline belt.

Is the song performed exactly as heard on stage?

Almost. The cast-album mix smooths out ambient stage sounds and nudges the string section forward, but the structure and key are identical to the live version.

What key is the piece in?

It begins in C-major but pivots to A-minor for the bridge, mirroring Molly’s slide from tentative calm into raw disbelief.

Why do fans compare it to “Unchained Melody”?

Both songs anchor pivotal moments in the Ghost narrative; “Unchained Melody” was the film’s love theme, while “With You” fills the same emotional slot on stage, echoing its longing without repeating the melody.

Has Caissie Levy recorded other grief-focused ballads?

Yes, tracks like “Nothing Stops Another Day” from the same musical and “Let It Go” in Frozen (albeit triumphant rather than mournful) showcase her knack for portraying loss and renewal.

Fan and Media Reactions

“This track got me through my dad’s funeral—nothing else captured that mix of heartbreak and stubborn hope.” — @StageDoorDreamer

“Levy’s soft head-voice on the final ‘with you’ is a masterclass in restraint; I tear up every single time.” — @BroadwayNerd22

“Hard to believe this sits between show-stoppers; it feels like time stops when the first chord lands.” — @GhostFan4Life

“The orchestration is so delicate you can almost hear Molly’s apartment echoing around her.” — Theatre Times Review

“Twelve years on, and it still hits the UK iTunes Top 100 every Halloween—grief is the real phantom.” — @ChartWatcher