Two Ghosts

Did You Know?

• The song is written in the key of E major in common time with a tempo of 70 beats per minute.
• Styles performed Two Ghosts on The Late Late Show with James Corden on 17 May 2017, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar.
• On 9 June 2017, Styles performed the song from the rooftop of London venue Central Hall Westminster on The Late Late Show.

Critical reception

Leonie Cooper of NME described the song as subtle with a country-indebted Laurel Canyon sound. Jamieson Cox of Pitchfork wrote that Styles makes a convincing alt-country troubadour on the track. Anjali Raguraman of The Straits Times thought the sombre, country-tinged song lyrically borrows from Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here. Mikael Wood of the Los Angeles Times commented that it has the slow-rolling swagger of The Rolling Stones' Tumbling Dice. David Sackllah of Consequence of Sound noted the slide guitar could fit on Ryan Adams' Gold. Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune wrote that forlorn references drop to the Allman Brothers' Melissa. Annie Zaleski of The A.V. Club wrote that it acutely captures the discomfiting, empty feeling of realizing that the spark is gone. Kitty Empire of The Guardian said it packs some good writing. Allan Raible of ABC News found the song influenced by George Harrison's All Things Must Pass. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone thought the lovelorn song could pass for vintage Bread. Eve Barlow of Variety believed it is very easy to imagine an extended hyper emotional scene from The Notebook in the background while listening to the tragic, mystifying tale. David Dunn of The National thought its plaintive hooks and easy-going strum help the song fit in a teary scene of Grey's Anatomy. BBC Music reporter Mark Savage noted references to Taylor Swift's Style in the lyrics; Pitchfork's Cox stated the song only succeeds because it leans on these references. In an interview with Nick Grimshaw on BBC Radio 1, Styles said in response to whether the song was about Swift: I think it's pretty self-explanatory. Billboard's critics' list placed it seventh on Every One Direction Solo Single, Ranked in May 2017, stating it is a plaintive strummer in the mold of Beck at his most contemplative or Ryan Adams at his most hungover, largely underplayed and undeniably effective.