Halloween (Dave Matthews Band song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Halloween”
Song by Dave Matthews Band
Album Before These Crowded Streets
Released April 28, 1998
Recorded The Plant Studios, Sausalito, CA & Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY
Genre Rock
Length 5:07 (6:30 on Recently)
Label RCA
Writer David J. Matthews
Composer Dave Matthews Band
Producer Steve Lillywhite
Before These Crowded Streets track listing
Stay (Wasting Time)
(5)
Halloween
(6)
The Stone
(7
Recently track listing
"All Along the Watchtower"
(Track 4)
"Halloween"
(Track 5)
End of Album
)


"Halloween" is a song by Dave Matthews Band from the 1998 album Before These Crowded Streets. The song was originally released as a live track on their EP Recently in 1992. It debuted live on Halloween of 1992 (10/31/1992) and was originally titled, "The Halloween Song." It opened the show, and featured Kristen Asbury. The debut was different from newer versions of Halloween, and it is also the longest version of the song (12:07) to date.[1] "Halloween" was written by Dave Matthews about an ex-girlfriend Julia Grey who turned down his proposal of marriage three times. It is believed that Halloween is the second in a set of three songs written about said ex-girlfriend.[2] The first being "I'll Back You Up," and the third being "Grey Street."

"Halloween" is the only track on Before These Crowded Streets not to have lyrics included in the CD cover. Additionally, live versions of the song feature Matthews singing different and sometimes nonsensical lyrics that do not correspond with the studio version. Matthews claimed that he chose not to include the lyrics in the cover because he did not want his mother reading the offensive words. However, the song was copyrighted with the lyrics "Love... love... love..."

The track on Before These Crowded Streets features orchestral arrangements by John D'earth with D'earth on the trumpet and The Kronos Quartet on strings, and segues directly into the following track, "The Stone."

[edit] In Concert

As stated above, the lyrics of Halloween vary from the "official" lyrics of the song when it is performed live. Also, the song frequently features a short drum intro by Carter Beauford. The end of the song also differs from the studio version in that it tends to lead into a drum solo by Beauford with the band playing a two note "melody" on top. Sometimes, at the end of the song, the tempo will increase greatly.

Among dedicated fans, it is one of the most sought-after songs at live shows. This is attributed not only to the impassioned performance of every band member involved, but its status as an absolute rarity; it has been performed only seven times in the past seven years. Nearly every performance since 2002 has been saved for a "special" occasion pertaining to the concerts' placement in the tour; three performances have taken place near the end of a tour, and two have occurred at Madison Square Garden. With the exception of 12/10/05, all of these performances have been officially released.

[edit] Live releases

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Rob Bokon; Andy Bouwman. dmbalmanac.com. Retrieved on 2008/04/02.
  2. ^ Delancey, Morgan (2001). The Dave Matthews Band: Step Into The Light. E C W Press. ISBN 9781550224436.