Halloween (Dave Matthews Band song)
| "Halloween" | ||||||||||
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| Song by Dave Matthews Band from the 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(s) | David J. Matthews | |||||||||
| Composer(s) | Dave Matthews Band | |||||||||
| Producer(s) | Steve Lillywhite | |||||||||
| Before These Crowded Streets track listing | ||||||||||
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"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 Recently EP in 1994. It debuted live on Halloween of 1992 and was originally titled "The Halloween Song." It opened the show, and included Kristen Asbury on vocals. The debut was different from newer versions of Halloween, and it is also the longest version of the song (12:07) to date. "Halloween" was written by Dave Matthews about an ex-girlfriend, Julia Grey, who turned down his proposals of marriage three times. It is believed that Halloween is the second in a set of three songs written about said ex-girlfriend. 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.
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."
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 former status as an absolute rarity; from 2000 to 2007, it was only performed seven times. Nearly every performance since 2002 was saved for a "special" occasion pertaining to the concerts' placement in the tour; three performances took place near the end of a tour, and two occurred at Madison Square Garden.
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