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"Last night Richie crawled up under the house and sang. I listened to it rise up through the floor, and I couldn't sleep." (Ward 247)

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"Last night Richie crawled up under the house and sang. I listened to it rise up through the floor, and I couldn't sleep." (Ward 247)

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Richie sings in the night as a way to comfort himself, but those in the living world who hear it are far from comforted. Richie does not belong with the living, and so his song is not appreciated by them. Both Jojo and Mam hear Richie's song during the night, and Mam at first believes it is a cat's screeching. Jojo too is disturbed by the song and he is unable to sleep throughout the night because of it. Richie's singing does not belong among the living, as neither does Richie. Unfortunately he is stuck there due to his violent death and unable to go to where he truly belongs.

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"So many of us...hitting. The wrong keys. Wandering against. The song."

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"So many of us...hitting. The wrong keys. Wandering against. The song."

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Richie describes the predicament of himself and the other ghosts to Jojo using the language of music. He says that they are stuck, locked out of "the song". In this novel the song is used as a symbol for the afterlife. Once you are in it and have crossed over, everything is as it should be and you become the song yourself. However, for some individuals, like Richie and the others in the tree, it is not so easy to cross over. They yearn to understand the song and to be a part of it, yet they keep "hitting the wrong keys", forcing them to remain in the cruel world that brought about their deaths. Mam and Given were able to reach the afterlife, but those who faced more violent deaths and have no one are unable to participate in the song and unable to cross over. The ghosts in the tree, as well as Richie, want nothing more than to hit the right keys and gain access to eternal peace, but their violent deaths along with the fact that they don't have anyone condemn them to a dismal not-life on earth, with only Kayla and her song being able to provide them with some comfort.

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"A song. This place is the song and I'm going to be a part of the song." (Ward 183)

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"A song. This place is the song and I'm going to be a part of the song." (Ward 183)

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Richie is explaining to Jojo his goal, claiming that he is trying to find a home, or song; someplace he belongs and can be a part of. Often in the book we see Richie equating a happy place to one of music or singing. Here we see this again as he describes a home as not simply a place, but somewhere where you feel connected with everything. It seems that this home he is looking for is one different from the house that he grew up in. The language used to describe the two is vastly different, as in one he refers to songs, something generally happy, and calls his former house a place with "no heartbeat."

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"So Kayla begins to sing, a song of mismatched, half-garbled words, nothing that I can understand. Only the melody, which is low but as loud as the swish and sway of the trees...and I know it, know the movement, know it's how Leonie rubbed my back, rubbed Kayla's back, when we were frightened of the world." (Ward 284)

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"So Kayla begins to sing, a song of mismatched, half-garbled words, nothing that I can understand. Only the melody, which is low but as loud as the swish and sway of the trees...and I know it, know the movement, know it's how Leonie rubbed my back, rubbed Kayla's back, when we were frightened of the world." (Ward 284)

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In this quote, Jojo and Kayla are standing in the woods, looking at the ghosts of black people killed by racial violence. Jojo stands there and simply contemplates the weight of their sorrows, but Kayla brings them comfort through song. This song not only soothes the lost souls, but reassures Jojo. This shows Kayla's innocence, and Jojo's lack thereof. Unlike Jojo, Kayla does not consider the horrors that these people experienced; she only sees souls in pain. Her childlike innocence brings Jojo, and the ghosts, a moment of peace. She reminds them that despite all suffering, you can find comfort. This message is so strong that it reminds Jojo of Leonie, despite her being a poor mother. Kayla's singing reminds Jojo of the Leonie's nuturing side, allowing him to return to a more peaceful and innocent time. This shows how Jojo not only cares for Kayla, as he clearly does throughout the book, but how Kayla also protects him. She protects him from the pain of the outside world, and reminds him of the innocence that he has lost.

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"become something else. Maybe, I could. Become. The song" (Ward 281). 

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"become something else. Maybe, I could. Become. The song" (Ward 281). 

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In this scene, Jojo is still able to see Richie as it was unclear in the previous chapter if he did her not. The twelve year old-ghost explains how he thought he would be able to pass on in the afterlife, but he keeps hearing“the song” that he yearns to be a part of. The metaphor of the song represents the sense of belonging he is yearning for that can only happen in the afterlife. He feels that he is unfulfilled as a ghost and in order to be complete he needs to pass on.

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"It is the most beautiful song I have ever heard, but I can't understand a word." (241)

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"It is the most beautiful song I have ever heard, but I can't understand a word." (241)

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Richie has a vision of a perfect world connected with nature with people who are happy and together and he hears a song emanating from them. He describes how even though their mouths are not moving, music comes from the people , connecting them with the earth and water. Richie acknowledges in this quote the beauty of their song and life but comes to the sudden realization that he is not a part of it, and never can be. The song that the individuals are singing is closely linked to the beauty of the world he sees in his vision and its perfection. This relates to the archetype a place a part because the place that he sees in his vision is one of innocence and timelessness, where everything is well and good. Unfortunately his vision is ruined by the archetype of a serpent, which comes in the form of his realization that he can not understand what the people are singing and thus can never be a part of the world they inhabit.

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"The saltwater woman...looks at Leonie with so much understanding and forgiveness and love that I hear the song again; I know that singing. I have heard it from the golden place across the waters. A great mouth opens in me and wails; I am an empty stomach." (Ward 245)

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"The saltwater woman...looks at Leonie with so much understanding and forgiveness and love that I hear the song again; I know that singing. I have heard it from the golden place across the waters. A great mouth opens in me and wails; I am an empty stomach." (Ward 245)

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In this scene, Richie is watching Leonie prepare to perform the ritual that will send Mam off to the after life. Richie observes them, and notes the love and care that Mam has for Leonie. He says that he hears a familiar singing. This song is used to symbolize both love and affection from caregivers, and inner peace in the afterlife, both of which Richie cannot attain. For much of Richie's life, River was the one who loved and protected him. Richie craves to be nurtured and comforted by River, but his circumstances as a ghost mean he is unable to communicate with him. This leaves him without anyone to bring him peace and comfort like Mam does Leonie. This lack of care causes Richie to feel incomplete; he doesn't know how he died, and has unfinished business on earth. In contrast, Mam is  content with herself and her death, meaning she is prepared to cross over to the afterlife. Richie desires to finally find peace lake Mam, and transition to a more "golden place".

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"The songs come to me out of the same air that brings the sound of the waters:  I open my mouth, and I hear the rushing of waves" (240). 

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"The songs come to me out of the same air that brings the sound of the waters:  I open my mouth, and I hear the rushing of waves" (240). 

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In this scene, Richie is soothing himself by singing because he is envious of the way Riv cares for his grandchildren: Jojo and Kayla. The song he sings shows that even though he is dead, as a ghost he can comunicate by singing songs to Jojo and and tell his story As he is waiting in the Earth to fall asleep, he sings and songs are a way to stay connected to the world and to tell his story in a way that he can when he is dead.

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"He sings nursery rhymes to Michaela through the pout: the baby clasps her hands...and looks bored and fascinated in flashes." (152 Ward)

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"He sings nursery rhymes to Michaela through the pout: the baby clasps her hands...and looks bored and fascinated in flashes." (152 Ward)

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Before this quote, Leonie wakes up Jojo and Michaela to pack up and go back home. Jojo is frustrated because they have no room to take the bags they packed back with them. Despite that fact that Jojo is feeling tired, upset and angry he still spends his time comforting and occupying Micheala. Leonie, the mother, who should be the one caring for Michaela is paying more attention to Micheal. This shows how Jojo, despite being only a young teenager, has had to become a provider for Kayla. Their mother, although present, is emotionally unavailable. Jojo singing songs for Kayla, shows his role as a mother figure in Kayla's life. Typically nursery rhymes are sung to children by their mothers.; when Jojo was a child, Leonie even sang to him. However, Jojo is the one left to sing as a "mother" to Kayla, not Leonie.

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"Here he come. Been singing for weeks" (156). 

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"Here he come. Been singing for weeks" (156). 

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Mam reveals through her words that she can hear Jojo “singing" before Leonie told her that she was pregant. This could be foreshadowing of his powers and how he can see ghosts. It highlights how in many moments of the book, singing is referred to as an abundance of secrets that characters like Leonie hold.  It also shows how nothing goes past Mam, who is the only maternal figure in the book, and how singing is used as a sort of release of communication between Mam and Leonie as Mam guesses her big secret.

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¨I sing the nursery songs all wrong; Leonie sang them to me so long ago I remember them only in snatches, light shining on a moment here or there when I was on her lap...¨ (Ward 179)

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¨I sing the nursery songs all wrong; Leonie sang them to me so long ago I remember them only in snatches, light shining on a moment here or there when I was on her lap...¨ (Ward 179)

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During this part of the book, Jojo is singing songs to Kayla in order to keep her content during the long car ride. He is reminiscing about the the when he learned these songs. He looks back with fondness, recalling how years ago his life was simpler. However, now as a teenager, Jojo is unable to properly remember the details of the songs. He used to live a carefree life, but because of the burden and expectations put on him by society and family, he has had to grow up quickly. He had to stop being a  innocent child to pick up the slack of his mother and take care of himself and Kayla.  Jojo’s inability to sing the songs he learned as a child, shows his loss of innocence.

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"I am singin nursery rhymed with Kayla while Leonie throws up because I want Kayla to pay attention to me" (Ward 179). 

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"I am singin nursery rhymed with Kayla while Leonie throws up because I want Kayla to pay attention to me" (Ward 179). 

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In this scene when Leonie is high, Jojo is soothing his baby sister as she cries because their whole entire car is messed up in their mother's problems. Instead of the mother caring for her daughter, Jojo has to step uo and care for her and this scene further illustrates how Jojo gives motherly care to his sister. Singing nursery rhymes for Kayla can distract her from her parents and their surroundings. In this scene, singing is sort of an escapism for Jojo to distract themselves, especially Kayla, from the harsh realities of their life like their mom being a drug addict and Michael indifference towards it. This highlights how Jojo is turning into sort of a parental figure for Kayla and how he matures throughout the book as he has to because of the struggles of his family.

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"The high would trill through my veins like a discordant song." (Ward 104)

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"The high would trill through my veins like a discordant song." (Ward 104)

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This quote highlights the gap between Leonie's way of life and Mam's. In this case, singing is used to reveal the contrast between the chaotic high of drugs and the subtle magic rooted in nature, which Mam embodies. Earlier in the story, Leonie recounted the singing her mother described to her as a part of the connections between people and the mystical realm. Now, she describes her drug induced high as a discordant song. It's like her mothers magic, but different—darker and more perilous. It's as if the same musical notes are there, but the tune has veered off into a dangerous melody, illustrating the stark contrast in their approaches to life's challenges.

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"Where you at, Boy?' It sounds like a caress, like Pop's singing it." (Ward 45)

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"Where you at, Boy?' It sounds like a caress, like Pop's singing it." (Ward 45)

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In this quote, Leonie is describing the way that her father, Pop, calls out to Jojo. She explains that his voice is caring, and sounds like a song. This language communicates how deeply Pop cares about Jojo; he treats him with love and affection. This is a contrast to the way Pop and Leonie communicate, as they often argue and Pop addresses Leonie by name. She picks up on the differences in the way Pop speaks to both of them, and envies the relationship that Pop has with Jojo. Leonie wishes to return to a simpler time when she felt loved unconditionally by her family.

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"How she might hear a multitude of voices ringing from any living thing, and how she followed the loudest voices, 'cause there was the most likely. How the clearest voices rang over the jumple of the rest. (Ward 41). 

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"How she might hear a multitude of voices ringing from any living thing, and how she followed the loudest voices, 'cause there was the most likely. How the clearest voices rang over the jumple of the rest. (Ward 41). 

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In this quote, Mam is explaining to Leonie the stories of how women were able to hear voices and Leonie remembers how she hears voices singing too. Her words of  'followed the loudest voices' show that this women follows the crowd. This can be seen in Leonie's life and how she is easily influenced by  Michael who is seemlingly the "loudest" voice, even though he is not as dominant in her life. She follows Michael because he is white and Leonie admires and is jealous of this. She can be seen as trying to act more white and to appear to be like Michael.   This metaphor above can explain how a character like Leonie can hear these voices singing and highlights the struggle of her navigating the real world as well as listening to the voices in her mind.

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"When the happy birthday song starts, it's only Leonie. She has a pretty voice, the kind of voice that sounds good singing low but sort of cracks on the high notes" (Ward 28).

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"When the happy birthday song starts, it's only Leonie. She has a pretty voice, the kind of voice that sounds good singing low but sort of cracks on the high notes" (Ward 28).

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During this part of the book, Jojo's family is supposed to singing 'happy birthday' for him, but Leonie is the only one singing. Jojo's observation about his mother's voice gives the readers an insight into his mother's character and family dynamics. Although Leonie has a pretty voice, Jojo notices that her voice "cracks" on the high notes. This mirrors her parenting, as when things become strenuous and difficult, her ability to parent "cracks" and falls apart. However, she is the only one in her family singing for her son, showing that she is willing to put in the effort for her family.