Sooner or later we all come home for Halloween. Whether it’s where we start off as kids, exploding onto the sidewalks through the crunch of leaves, tripping on our costumes and finding our way through masks at a time before they were an everyday accoutrement, or where we return after a night of trick-or-treating, spent and happily exhausted, but not enough to run to bed before a few hits of candy, home is where Halloween ends and begins. When we get older, it’s where we station ourselves to give back to the next generation of costume-clad children, opening our door and doling out candy from the other side of the scene in a time-honored tradition that forms the first peak of the fall season, and ushering in the earliest part of the holidays to come.
That idea of being home for Halloween – in whatever form home may take these days – informed the lyrics to this year’s Halloween song – our first in ten years. When the inspiration hit me, I was already tucked in bed for the night, but the Halloween spirits whispered and nudged and impelled me to the computer, where I groggily typed out these lyrics in a mixture of possession and mad delight. At the same time, a melody emerged to go with the chorus, and writing music is something that I don’t usually do. Having matriculated at the School of Madonna, which is by all accounts hardly a proper School of Music, I knew little to nothing about writing the musical part of a song, but I made a quick recording of what I was hearing in my head (in sad, pitiful voice) and stored it away to sing to the real music men later. Texting the lyrics off to Joe, I got a reply almost immediately that he was up for working on our Halloween song again – a reunion that had been ten years in the making.
No one talks about the way we all come home for Halloween
No one wants to be that weeping, screaming, mellow drama queen
No one knows the freedom some of us have found behind the mask
No one dares to be the brave soul, only one of whom will ask
The day I drove to Connecticut to visit Missy and Joe and their kids, Julian and Cameron, it was sunny and idyllic – the perfect fall day to inspire a new Halloween song. Within minutes of my arrival, Joe and I sat down beside his guitar garden and began pounding out the basic bones and structure of the song. I sang my little melody for the chorus, and an embarrassingly-rough verse, both of which he took and made into something beautiful and truly melodic. He recorded the basic notes, plotted the chord progressions, and the primitive blueprint began to take shape as an actual piece of music.
There’s a fright, there’s a cut, there’s a knife,
there’s a wicked way of making it through the night.
There’s a dream, there’s a scream, make a scene,
it’s a scary scheme for finding your way to the light.
We moved upstairs to where the keyboard and computer and real recording equipment was set up – in Julian’s Cozy Fall Studio – warmed by apple and pumpkin scented candles, seasonal gourds and garlands, and the warm glow of an afternoon sun moving deeper into the horizon. Joe masterfully pounded out the framework of the chorus, and then, to my surprise and delight, came up with the first jewel of the song: the pre-chorus above that is absolutely my favorite part of the whole song.
{Chorus}: Halloween, Halloween, will you answer, tell me why?
All the goblins, all the witches, all the children going by
Halloween, Halloween, will you treat before you trick?
Halloween, oh Halloween, I hear your tock, I hear your tick.
The next day we worked on finishing the basic structure and fitting the lyrics in, then the second jewel arrived in the form of Julian and his gorgeous cello stylings, which added just the right element to the second pre-chorus, as well as backing the breakdown of the chorus near the end. It lended a grounding beauty to the cheesy, over-the-top feel we were originally intending, and immediately made this song into something more than I initially thought possible.
Here we are now at the front door, giving candy to the kids
On the flip side of adulthood, trying not to flip our lids
Was it more fun on the outside? Oh that funny twist of fate
Still we sing this to the phantom and the pumpkin oh-so-great
That afternoon Doug and Julio arrived to join us for dinner and, to Doug’s surprise, to sing on the song. My singing abilities are solely for the car or the shower, in other words I have a voice that was made for isolation, with a tone and pitch that can only be compared to that of a howler monkey. Joe has a fine voice but since I’d already tasked him with just about everything else, it was left to Doug to step up and give his vocal talents to the project at hand. And step up he did – not only nailing every note and cadence, but adding the third jewel to this song in the form of those luscious melodies you hear in the second verse and the ending chorus.
There’s a fright, there’s a cut, there’s a knife,
there’s a wicked way of making it through the night (through the night!)
There’s a dream, there’s a scream, make a scene,
it’s a scary scheme for finding your way to the light (to the light!)
One of the absolute highlights of my year was simply being allowed in the same room as these two musical masters while they crafted and worked through the singing of a song I had a hand in writing. While they spoke in musical terms that went far beyond my barely-recalled memories of the Empire State Youth Orchestra, I was content to sit quietly in the corner and suggest we change the word ‘still’ to ‘so’. It was an honor just to be in the proximity of them as they worked and the song took flight.
{Chorus}: Halloween, Halloween, will you answer, tell me why?
All the goblins, all the witches, all the children going by
Halloween, Halloween, will you treat before you trick?
Halloween, oh Halloween, I hear your tock, I hear your tick.
While Julio and Missy toiled and troubled with the kids downstairs, we laid down all the tracks to get what we needed for the final mixing the next morning. It was one of the most fun nights of the year, and the good spirit and bonhomie bled into a song that I hope everyone loves as much as I do.
{Chorus}: Halloween, Halloween, will you answer, tell me why?
All the goblins, all the witches, all the children going by
Halloween, Halloween, will you treat before you trick?
Halloween, oh Halloween, I hear your tock, I hear your tick.
Many thanks to all of these great friends, who each contributed in their own way:
Joseph Abramo – For the musical prowess, the guitar garden, the skills and knowledge to make it all come together, and especially for the chance to do it all again.
Julian Abramo – For the magnificent cello work and use of the Cozy Fall Recording Studio.
Douglas Coates – For the vocals and those dreamy, creamy Carpenter harmonies.
Julio Vazquez – For the heartfelt talk and driving Doug home.
Cameron Abramo – For the fashion, the ferocity and the spider-walk.
Melissa Abramo – For the silence 🙂
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