How C'est l'Halloween songwriter Matt Maxwell wrote the children's classic
'I've spent a lot more time talking about it than writing it,' says songwriter Matt Maxwell
For the past three decades the song C'est l'Halloween has been a children's classic, but did you know it was written in just 10 minutes by a teacher to get his students excited about learning French?
"I've spent more time talking about it than writing it," said Matt Maxwell, who now lives on Bowen Island.
Maxwell wrote the song while working as a French teacher in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
"When I first started teaching French, I was trying to make French more fun," he said.
"So I started doing lots of songs. This was one of the first ones."
The two-word chorus "C'est l'Halloween," means that "It's Halloween," and it's followed by an opportunity for kids to raise their fist and yell "Hey!" at the top of their lungs.
"They get a big lift out of that," he said.
Maxwell eventually left his job as a teacher to become a full-time children's performer and toured across North America singing the high-energy tune for kids.
"Not quite like AC/DC, but we have a lot of fun," he said.
He believes the song works because everyone likes Halloween.
"We get a chance to be someone other than ourselves," he said. "[The song] talks about being what you want to be, a tiger, a snake, a wolf, a ghost, a witch."