(Everyday Is) Halloween

Back in the Eighties, as a punk in New York City, this song by Ministry was my rallying cry. Here's a taste of the lyrics:

well any time, any place, anywhere that i go
all the people seem to stop and stare
they say 'why are you dressed like it's halloween?
you look so absurd, you look so obscene'

o, why can't i live a life for me?
why should i take the abuse that's served?
why can't they see they're just like me
it's the same, it's the same in the whole wide world

well i let their teeny minds think
that they're dealing with someone who is over the brink
and i dress this way just to keep them at bay
cos halloween is everyday
it's everyday

I wonder if today's young weirdos identify with that. I'm sure they've got their own songs. I'm just out of the loop. Here's a fan's video of (Everyday Is) Halloween on youTube.



This refrain from The Smiths' How Soon is Now literally saved my life.

You shut your mouth
how can you say
I go about things the wrong way
I am human and I need to be loved
just like everybody else does

Singing it to myself kept me from lying down and succumbing to hypothermia on a twelve mile walk in forty degree below zero weather.



These songs are about youthful angst and alienation, sure, but also much more. If you listen closely, they ask for tolerance and kindness, compassion and acceptance.

Like many others, I have changed my appearance over the years. I no longer get strange looks on the street. I wave my freak flag on the inside these days. But underneath, I still long for the same things.