I've been reading comments on Discord and Twitter which contend the new song "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween" is about domestic violence during the pandemic. There are even some on the latter site which have reportedly "dropped Muse" due to the upbeat nature of the song coinciding with said alleged theme of it. However, the only comment I can find potentially confirming that the song's inspiration was in fact domestic violence during the pandemic was courtesy of Mark Beaumont in an NME article he wrote about the band/album. Did any of the band members confirm this as well?
Reading over the lyrics, while I can see why Mr. Beaumont interpreted them to be about domestic violence, I'm getting the feeling it's not as clear cut as that. To me it almost comes across like a satire about COVID-conspiracists, spoken/sung from the vantage point of one such individual. He or she is paranoid, not so much about the pandemic, but about governmental control during it, and no matter what their problems were pre-COVID, all their problems before and after the virus's inception they now claim to be the fault of the government.
"You cut me off from my friends
You cut me off from my family
I'm in misery (I'm your number one fan)
Each day I fall to my knees
I see the writing on the wall
Now I'm in withdrawal"
They don't trust the government; they don't trust the CDC; they don't trust Dr. Fauci; and even though vaccinations for the virus started under the candidate they voted for - Donald Trump, they tend to not trust vaccines either. As new information comes to light regarding the virus, and narratives inevitably shift as a result; their suspicions grow; and they take to conspiracy-theorists on social-media for answers - their paranoia exacerbating in the process.
"You got me checking my mirror
You make me feel like I'm on the run
Where'd you hide the gun?
The kitchen knife in your hand
Are you the poison, are you the cure?
I'm not so sure"
They've been told we're now residing in a dictatorship, where freedom is a thing of the past, all the while many around them are somehow enjoying life and freedom - especially if precautionary measures were taken to help slow the spread of the virus.
"I'm shackled, there is no way out
I can't escape
When you turn out the lights
You make me feel like it's Halloween, it's Halloween
When you skulk 'round the house
You make me feel like it's Halloween, it's Halloween"
They see what's not there; are spooked by the thought of it; and believe they won't truly be alive and free again until they're overtaken by fear and paranoia over the illusory.
"I see your eye in the keyhole
I feel like it's Halloween
It's Halloween
Won't reset until I'm possessed
You make me feel like it's Halloween, it's Halloween"
The song ends ironically with the spoken words, "But you are the caretaker" - as it's noted that the entity about which the central character feels such intense fear and paranoia is essentially their doctor/nurse/mother/father, trying to protect them.
Like with the title track to the album, I think the central reason for the song's upbeat, and in this case spooky-fun, tone is because it's mocking right-wing conspiracy theorists, who are set on destroying that which they claim to love and be building (making great again); for buying into the nonsense that doctors and scientists have been brainwashing the masses, all the while they themselves get brainwashed on medical matters by some guy named TrustMeImNotADocter on YouTube.
Comments
Post a Comment