Dead Man's Party by Oingo Boingo

Album: Dead Man's Party (1985)

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Songfacts®:

Oingo Boingo was led by Danny Elfman, who wrote their songs. "Dead Man's Party" fits into the horror-comic genre, his forte. It's about attending funeral and being buried, framing these death rituals as a party, which they are in some cultures. Note the lines:

I got my best suit and my tie
With a shiny silver dollar on either eye

Being dressed in his best suit refers to the tradition of dressing the dead in their finest clothes; the silver dollars were once used to weight the eyelids closed, and the dead would use them to pay the ferryman to cross the river Styx from Greek mythology.
This song was featured in the 1986 Rodney Dangerfield movie Back To School, where Oingo Boingo play it at a college party.
"Dead Man's Party" is the title track to Oingo Boingo's 1985 album, which also includes their song "Weird Science," the closest they got to a hit. They had a pretty big following in Los Angeles and got some scattered airplay on MTV, but the band never became nationally famous, in part because they went out of their way not to follow trends.
Danny Elfman of Oingo Boingo is the well-known composer for many Tim Burton movies, including The Nightmare Before Christmas (on which he is also the singing voice of Jack Skellington) and Batman. He also composed the theme songs for the Simpsons and Desperate Housewives.
Regarding the lines:

I hear the chauffeur comin' to my door
Says there's room for maybe just one more

The chauffeur saying there is room for one more refers to campfire horror story were a man is woken up in the night by a car honking. As he looks out the window, he sees six of his friends in the car dressed in suits. The driver then tells the man that there is room for one more. Later, the man tells a friend the story before dying in a car wreck - the friend believes the man had predicted his own death.
The song is a great addition to Halloween playlists. The Oingo Boingo Halloween concerts were the stuff of legend; when they called it quits in 1995, their last show was on October 31 at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
The music video combines footage from Back To School with animated dancing skeletons, a big part of Oingo Boingo's iconography.

Comments: 8

Justin from UtI submit to you an alternative and deeper meaning behind this song.

This song was released in 1985 (one year after the cause of AIDS was discovered).

In the 1980's, bands would often mask their message behind euphemisms. (Especially when dealing with controversial topics such as homosexuality in their time)

At this time, AIDS was ravaging the homosexuality community and some had accepted their fate and embraced it as an inevitably that came with the territory of their lifestyle. Tired of dealing with the fear of the disease and wanting to return to the care free lifestyle they once enjoyed, aids parties were organized where they faced their fears head on and intentionally contacted the disease. The lyrics seam to plead to the listener to not fear being close to him "its only him" "don't be afraid of what you can't see" (the virus).

Could this song be a message about the song writer having burried his gay friend, having not much left to lose, accepted his fate and decided to attend one such party?
Seventhmist from 7th HeavenAlong with his work for OB and his superb movie scores, I also remember Elfman's song (using his name, not the group's) "Gratitude" that appeared on the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack.
Aidan from Pretoria, SaI am fascinated by this band, don't know why, but I love its high energy and mixture of styles, keeps me listening to each song in detail, definitely takes you on a journey. Great to see others out there that also like it. Struggled so hard to get an original album in my country and no one seems to know it here. I wish they would do "Heard Somebody Cry".
Nancy from Washington, DcI don't know why, but I can never get bored of this song. I love it! The beat and Danny Elfman's voice is so cool...
Kandys from Lompoc, CaI so agree. I love most all Oingo Boingo songs and would like to know more about the stories behind them.
Blake from Placentia, Cafirst oingo boingo song i heard
Kristi from Hillsboro, MoAn episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," episode #3.2 was named "Dead Man's Party."
Anonymous from Dixon , CaThis song is a great Halloween song, but I wish Songfacts.com included other Oingo Boingo songs,
like "Stay", "Just Another Day", "Wake Up(It's 1984)", and "Weird Science". All are great songs.

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