I always believed that this song was a juxtaposition of paranoia, isolation and mistrust surrounding Nazi Germany, Halloween season and the painful breaking of relationships. All of it.
This song came out on the quiet life album in 1979 which was the 30th anniversary of Germany officially breaking into East and West. East Germany had become official in October 1949.
Guitarist Rob Dean spoke about the political lyrical direction of the song:
“I think the title conjures up darkness and menace and therefore there needs to be some urgency to the guitars too. A scream seemed appropriate. Even the auto-wah guitar figure in the middle section tied with the synth emphasizes that”.
Also Halloween, October 31 is reformation day in many states of Germany. I don’t know if that’s relevant, but there is a lot of marching.
I always believed that this song was a juxtaposition of paranoia, isolation and mistrust surrounding Nazi Germany, Halloween season and the painful breaking of relationships. All of it. This song came out on the quiet life album in 1979 which was the 30th anniversary of Germany officially breaking into East and West. East Germany had become official in October 1949. Guitarist Rob Dean spoke about the political lyrical direction of the song: “I think the title conjures up darkness and menace and therefore there needs to be some urgency to the guitars too. A scream seemed appropriate. Even the auto-wah guitar figure in the middle section tied with the synth emphasizes that”. Also Halloween, October 31 is reformation day in many states of Germany. I don’t know if that’s relevant, but there is a lot of marching.