Halloween

i think the song is how fake people are they hide behind mask (holloween) that its hard to connect with people and when you do get the nerve to make contact you never know what you are going to get (holloween/trick or treat)

Shabd Khalsa ENG 112-17 RR #4 03/20/06

If you don't know or care you'll be alright
I heard it's modern to be stupid
You don't need to talk to look good

This is the chorus from the song “Halloween,” by Matt Pond PA. Many of the group’s songs are culturally, or socially, driven. Though not in the way that Public Enemy or Bob Dylan might have been. PA is commenting on something less broad than politics or social change. The song is talking about individual life, in this case, a party, and why we might go to them, or why not. The chorus illustrates the feeling of disdain for superficiality in the song.
The narrator is telling a story and starts by describing a scene at, what seems like, a neighborhood house party. “Went to where the people were on Saturday night.” The first line gives an idea of fun, or of being care-free. The next line immediately changes that. “Seems like it always seems/Where I go I want to leave/I thought we were doing fine with our lives.” He seems to be questioning why he is there to begin with. He sounds as though he has been dragged to the party by somebody who did not feel that they were doing fine with their lives. “There are people who will tell you/There is always something better.” He is content and happy, but the people around him are not. At parties there is, more than likely, alcohol and people to get drunk with, and perhaps, to go home with. Is this an escape to fill in some void?
The chorus uses sarcasm in the first two lines to communicate what the narrator feels. “If you don't know or care you'll be alright/I heard it’s modern to be stupid.” He seems to care about whoever he is talking to because his words are curt but not harsh. He tells them that they do not need to talk, or act, stupidly, perhaps like a “bimbo”, to be attractive. This alludes to a female companion, which is later confirmed, because it is often the trend for younger girls to act air headed, or “cute”, to be unthreatening to men and their ego, or more precisely, libido. 
The narrator, once again, sounds like he does not want to hurt his friend. “I surprised myself as my mouth started speaking.” He felt so strongly about what he observed that he started to, to an extent, lecture his friend, referring to the chorus. “There is nothing left of my nerves.” He can not bare to sit in a house full of, what he deems, unconsciousness or falseness. “As I lean over to ask her.” The line tells you that his companion is a woman.
“Pardon the intrusion/ Could we leave before it gets bad?” He comes across as timid, again, but concerned. He doesn’t want to remain in a place where people are getting more and more lost. It is affecting his contentment with life. The next lines produce emotion through action and imagery. “I might smash up all these windows/

And set fire to the curtains/Until it goes on and eats it with its blue and red orange/ Until the fire burns and eats it with its blue and red orange.” Smash, set fire, burns. The words emote aggression as well do the colors of blue, red, and orange: The colors of fire. He repeats the last line twice, emphasizing the fire. In certain schools of thought, or philosophies, fire is seen as a purifier. In Hinduism it is used in Yagna, a prayer that is held around a fire, to purify the soul and help realize God, or become God-conscious. In Christianity, fire is what greets those who end up in hell for bad deeds. Perhaps the narrator sees this party as a living hell and wants too purify it. He wants to help his companion elevate her consciousness.

Given that this entire album is about how shallow and careless the 'Big City' is, this is just the first song expressing distaste and disdain for the shallow people who populate the shallow city. I agree though...I pretty much hate people too

i think this has to do more than just a party. i believe that he's trying to get out that he doesn't feel right following the crowd and doing what everyone else does. i think this sort of as the unique anthem of society with the mentioning of the saturday night and the you don't need talk to look good (how people act stupid).

I really love this song because it speaks to a sense of social frustration I have at parties. I guess it has something to do with being around people you don't really want to be around. But that feeling that you should want to enjoy that, socializing, etc...so you keep going back. And the whole line about mouth started speaking. I love that. It just feels like the longer he is in the situation, the less he is able to control his emotions/thoughts/feelings, etc. Which I totally relate to. To the point where if you don't leave you're going to say/do something really outrageous like set fire to something. Haha. I love it.

The "until it goes..." part throws me off a bit, so unless you know the lyrics, or until mppa produces the lyrics... uh... yeah, I still wouldn't know the official lines.

Anyway, this is quite the catchy song and seems to be based on leaving a party, or a home, or just some place that obviously isn't too good. I like how the song continues to build on itself, and I am looking foward to their new album.

This was a totally different song to me before I read the lyrics. At first, I thought "Could we leave before it gets bad?" was "Could we leave before he gets back?" ...which made it seem like he was trying to pick up this beautiful woman who had a boyfriend (that was in the bathroom or at the bar) and he was going to burn the place down if he couldn't have her.

Now it's either a song about someone who can't fit in at parties (which I can relate to) or someone who's trying to get out of a relationship before it gets bad (the line "I thought we were doing fine with our lives/There are people who will tell you/There is always something better" supports that)

Either way, it's a freakin' beautiful song. I can't stop listening to it.

This song is gorgeous. I don't know what the real meaning is but it is worth listening to over and over.

i think this song just simply refers to a guy and a female friend of his going to a party on a saturday night. once there he realizes all the fake people around him hence saying, "heard it's modern to be stupid, you don't need to talk to look good." as the paty continues he begins to get drunk and i believe there's something that he thinks about everytime he gets drunk. maybe an ex of his or someone else who broke his heart. that's why he says," I thought we were doing fine with our lives, there are people who will tell you, there is always something better." and the drunker he gets, the more upset he is. and i think the chorus actually goes, "pardon the intrusion, could we leave before 'he' gets bad." he as in himself getting out of control because he can't supress his emotions."could we leave before it gets bad," just sounds weak and "could we leave before he gets back," sounds kinda pansy. so i think it's "he gets bad," because not only does it sound like that when you listen to it, but if it is that it's very deep and great poetry. but, i love this song, this song alone made me buy the album and i'm so glad i did!

This song is the best. awesome beat, sad/adorable vocals, perfect lyrics. great all around