This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
You're with your baby
And you're parked alone
On a summer night
You're deep in love
But you're deeper in the woods
You think you're doin' alright
Did you hear that voice
Did you see that face
Or was it just a dream
This can't be real
That only happens, babe
On the movie screen
Oh, but he's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he crawled out of his hole
You're swimmin' with your girl
Out on lovers' lake
And the wind blows cold
It chills your bones
But you're still on the make
That's a bad mistake
But the moon was full
And you had a chance
To be all alone
But you're not alone
This is your last dance
And your last romance
Yeah, cause he's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he crawled out of his hole
Oh, if you see him comin'
Get away if you can
Just keep on runnin'
Run as fast as you can
He's a dangerous, dangerous man
And he's out tonight
And he's watchin' you
And he knows your house
No, don't turn out the lights
Yeah, cause he's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's after your soul
He's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's after your soul
He's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's after your soul
And you're parked alone
On a summer night
You're deep in love
But you're deeper in the woods
You think you're doin' alright
Did you hear that voice
Did you see that face
Or was it just a dream
This can't be real
That only happens, babe
On the movie screen
Oh, but he's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he crawled out of his hole
You're swimmin' with your girl
Out on lovers' lake
And the wind blows cold
It chills your bones
But you're still on the make
That's a bad mistake
But the moon was full
And you had a chance
To be all alone
But you're not alone
This is your last dance
And your last romance
Yeah, cause he's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he crawled out of his hole
Oh, if you see him comin'
Get away if you can
Just keep on runnin'
Run as fast as you can
He's a dangerous, dangerous man
And he's out tonight
And he's watchin' you
And he knows your house
No, don't turn out the lights
Yeah, cause he's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's after your soul
He's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's after your soul
He's back
He's the man behind the mask
And he's out of control
He's back
The man behind the mask
And he's after your soul
Lyrics submitted by i_love_liana
He's Back (The Man Behind the Mask) Lyrics as written by Alice Cooper Robert William Athis
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Erm...
It was written for "Friday The 13th Part Six: Jason Lives", not part five, and it's about Jason Voorhees, and how if you go out to Camp Crystal Lake, you'll wind up dead. It's an awesome song, the best he's ever done, in my opinion.
I agree with Solinus, this song, with all it's 80's cheese, is a perfect match-up with the F13 movies.
Jason kicked so much ass in that movie.....
good song + Friday The 13th rocks.
Im pretty sure its not ch ch ch ha ha ha, its ki ki ki ma ma ma, because on the friday the 13th's making the dude said they bought some stupid machine that makes echos. And the dude said ki - kill (him) ma - mommy .... i dunno if im right, or anything... but i just thought i'd say it
no it is chi chi chi ha ha ha, Alice Cooper misheard the ki ki ki ma ma ma sound effect
@Avenge&Revenge Avenge you are correct. It is ki ki ki ma ma ma. I played the game and listened to it carefully
I love this track for the aforementioned cheese. If you want to overload get the demo version that features the most awesome line,
"He crawled out of his hole just to rock and roll!"
I saw the film on TV & it wasn't my thing at all, just killing by numbers. Only the song at the end woke me up - wonderful parody, summed up the movie perfectly. You try & get your end away & the bad guy chops you up! I didn't know it was Alice then, tho' I should have guessed. I was so happy when I found the song on an album, it's a classic. "No, don't turn out the lights!!!"
The part where he says, "Did you hear that voice? Did you see that face?" is extremely ironic, because at least ninety percent of the time, the simple answer is no; Jason tends not to [deliberately] let anyone see his face or hear his voice!
Alice hates this song. For real.
Aside from the Friday the 13th stuff, I think this is a great song. I have always interpreted it as from the view of someone suffering with Dissociative identity disorder or possibly from the view of a psychopath that is trying hard to keep his mask on but feels he is starting to lose control.
I don't know if Cooper only thought of Jason when he wrote it or if he intentionally gave it a double meaning but in my opinion, the lyrics are written in a way that allows you to interpret it like the actual danger is coming from within the man himself (that is with the girl). It might seem farfetched at first but read the lyrics a couple of times. For instance it would naturally be best for him to run away as fast as he can if he starting to slip up and may end up harming or killing the girl. Obviously the killer would be watching him and would know his house if he was in fact a part of the man himself. The chorus and the whole part about the man behind his mask and how he crawls out of his hole also makes sense if it was an alternative personality starting to manifest itself/the mans true nature starting to show.
But yeah that's my interpretation of the song, I understand it is about Jason but it is interesting to look at it that way. I'll admit there are a few parts where my interpretation doesn't quite make sense. But lines like "This is your last dance/romance" would not necessarily need to indicate the man is about to die. It could be interpreted as a reference to him losing control and not being likely to be all sweet&romantic with a woman again, maybe even ending up in jail for what he is about to do.