C'est l'Halloween
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "C'est l'Halloween" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Matt Maxwell | |
| from the album Comment ca va? | |
| Recorded | 1984 |
| Genre | Children's music |
| Label | A&M Canada |
| Songwriter | Matt Maxwell |
"C'est l'Halloween" (lit. It's Halloween) is French-language children's song written and performed by Canadian teacher and children's entertainer Matt Maxwell. It was written in 1981 for his Halifax-based grade-school French-language students the day before Halloween. Years later, he recorded the song for his first album Comment ca va? (lit.How are you?).
"C'est l'Halloween" lyrics mostly pertain to a list of spooky Halloween imagery and features a chorus that invites its audience to participate by shouting "Hey!". Maxwell left teaching after recording the album and went on to work as a children's entertainer for the next 15 years. The song is Maxwell's most well-known song, with Dave Shumka of the CBC.ca writing in 2012 that thousands of students learning French across Canada have sung "C'est l'Halloween" to help learn the language.[1]
"C'est l'Halloween" was written in 1981 by Matt Maxwell. At the time, Maxwell was in his first year of teaching French in Halifax and was writing songs to try and make French more fun for his students with "C'est l'Halloween" being one of his first.[2][1] He wrote the song on October 30, thinking he would have it ready for his grade school students the next day.[1] The song was written in about 10 minutes with Maxwell saying he "spent more time talking about it than writing it."[2] He recalled that the students all liked performing the shouted chorus of "Hey!".[1]
The success of the song with his students inspired him to record his first album, Comment ca va? three years later in Toronto. The song is included on the album and recorded with Ben Mink, who performs the reverse violin on it. Children from the Gabrielle-Roy school in Toronto also contribute vocals.[1]
The lyrics of "C'est l'Halloween" mostly contain a list of spooky Halloween imagery, such as gloomy nights, witches, and ghosts.[1] The two-word chorus "C'est l'Halloween" means that "It's Halloween" and is followed by an opportunity for kids to shout "Hey!" loudly.[2]