Annotations for You Make Me Feel Like Its Halloween

Lyric: I see the writing is on the wall
Annotation:
The expression “the writing is on the wall”  indicates that there are clear signs that a situation is going to become very difficult or unpleasant. In relation to this song’s theme of domestic abuse, it means that the victim is attempting to ignore the red flags of their relationship. The line could also be a reference to the writing “REDRUM” on the wall in  he Shining (1980): https://youtu.be/FLjixsUEj5E?t=76s

Lyric: Elle Evans
Annotation:
This is incorrect, as Matt states in an interview, that it was not his wife Elle Evans who voices the number one fan part in this, but indeed, an actor they hire for this.

Lyric: I’m shackled, there is no way out
 (There is nothing I can do to escape)
 I can’t escape
Annotation:
Based on Matt’s  tweet, he sings two lines at the same time so the words “no way” and “nothing” collide midway through. On stereo headphones they are more separated. https://twitter.com/MattBellamy/status/1563607598846185473?refsrc=twsrc%5Etfw  These lines also serve as a reference to how victims of abuse are often either literally trapped in a relationship or feel like they are (reasons can range from things like financial dependence to physically not being allowed to leave).

Lyric: Are you the poison? Are you the cure?
Annotation:
This line shows the position in which victims of domestic abuse usually find themselves. They want to run away from the abuse (the poison), but oftentimes, they believe the abuser will change and will stop hurting them at some point, and they will get to live a good life together (the cure). Nevertheless, abusers rarely, if ever, change their behavior.

Lyric: I’m in misery (I’m your number one fan)
Annotation:
“I’m your number one fan!” is a  quotation from the 1990 film  Misery (based on the  novel by renowned thriller author  Stephen King), in which unhinged superfan Annie Wilkes (played by Kathy Bates) abducts and abuses her favourite author (played by James Caan) after they suffer a car accident near her secluded home.  This could be a reference to how some abusers will attempt to justify their abuse by telling their victims that they do it because they care about them

Lyric: [Outro: Vincent Price]
Annotation:
The melody played by the organ in the outro interpolates the  “Toccata and Fugue in D minor” by  Johann Sebastian Bach, specifically the end of the introduction in the Toccata, by using a diminished seventh arpeggio followed by a tonic chord featuring the exact same embellishments, though transposing it all a semitone lower. https://youtu.be/98w25S5yASc?t=49s The piece has often been associated with horror atmospheres for its dark and gloomy sound. The menacing laughter, in the style of horror icon  Vincent Price in  Michael Jackson’s  Thriller,  was performed by a hired actor. The actor also spoke the line “But you are the caretaker”, originally by Phillip Stone playing Delbert Grady in Stanley Kubrick’s  The Shining.

Lyric: You cut me off from my friends
 You cut me off from my family
Annotation:
In regards to the song’s subject of being about domestic violence during lockdown (and otherwise), this addresses one of the most common  abuse tactics. Abusers will force their victims into a state of isolation, slowly breaking their ties with friends and family until the victim only has the abuser to rely on. This would be particularly easy to do during COVID-19 lockdowns, as people were not supposed to go visiting others outside of their household. Given that the song also uses Halloween and scary movie imagery throughout, these lines can also allude to a common tactic in horror films where a killer will isolate their victim in ways such as splitting them up from their friends or disconnecting phone lines.

Lyric: (But you are the caretaker)
Annotation:
As  confirmed by Matt, this is a reference to Stanley Kubrick’s  The Shining, one of the most famous thrillers ever: https://youtu.be/SiZ-XgJKAIk?t=98s The thematic link between the song and the movie is not only their horror background, but also the double entendre of the word ‘caretaker’: while in the movie it’s meant to represent the guardian of the Overlook Hotel, in the song it hints at the role of a violent partner who abuses the protagonist instead of ‘taking care’ of them: as explained in an  interview with NME the song talks about the victims of domestic abuse during the COVID-19 lockdown. Further references to  The Shining are present in the music video, where a waterfall of blood makes its way through a long corridor, flowing from an elevator.

Lyric: You got me checking my mirror
Annotation:
The song and its music video include lots of references to horror movies. This line could potentially be a reference to the classic slasher horror movie  Halloween (1978), where Michael Myers murders his sister Judith with a kitchen knife while she is brushing her hair in front of a mirror. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lgfa0pkw7S8 More generally, this line speaks of gaslighting, a classic manipulation tactic seen in abusive relationship, and mentioned in  “Won’t Stand Down” too. A victim of gaslighting is so confused that they are not sure of the veracity of the reality they’re experiencing, represented here by their reflection in the mirror.

