"All Day" and "(Every Day Is) Halloween" are songs by American industrial band Ministry, written and produced by

Al Jourgensen Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is t ...

. They were originally released by

Wax Trax! Records Wax Trax! Records is an American independent record label based in Chicago. It began as a record shop in Denver, Colorado, opened by life partners Jim Nash and Dannie Flesher, who sold the store in 1978 and moved to Chicago. In November of that y ...

in 1984 as Ministry's "comeback" single following their departure from

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

, with "All Day" on the A-side and "(Every Day Is) Halloween" on the B-side, respectively. In 1987, they were included on the compilation album '' Twelve Inch Singles (1981–1984)''.

Composition

"All Day" has been described as a "hard-rocking antidote to

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

's sissy

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

." Its lyrics are about class inequality, how the common man works hard, but makes little profit compared to the rich, who sit around. "(Every Day Is) Halloween" is a synth-pop, industrial, new wave and

gothic rock Gothic rock (also called goth rock or simply goth) is a style of rock music that emerged from post-punk in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The first post-punk bands which shifted toward dark music with gothic overtones include Siouxsie an ...

song. Music writer Dave Thompson described it as being "adopted as the anthem of America's disenfranchised Gothic community," who are mocked for the way they dress.

Legacy

A remixed version of "All Day", titled "All Day Remix", was featured on Ministry's second studio album '' Twitch''. A synth-pop song, it adds distorted vocals and a sample; "I don't make the rules to give to you. Whether you like it or not, this world is not too easy. Reality is here. It's knockin' on the door. Y'all know it's beatin' the damn door down." "(Every Day Is) Halloween" is featured in the 1998

Rhino Records A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

compilation ''Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Halloween'' and used in an Old Style Dry beer commercial in the US. This popularized the song in dance clubs. On

October 31 Events Pre-1600 * 475 – Romulus Augustulus is proclaimed Western Roman Emperor. * 683 – During the Siege of Mecca, the Kaaba catches fire and is burned down. * 802 – Empress Irene is deposed and banished to Lesbos. Consp ...

, 2019, it was re-released as an acoustic version with

Dave Navarro David Michael Navarro (born June 7, 1967) is an American guitarist. He is best known as a member of the rock band Jane's Addiction, with whom he has recorded four studio albums. Between 1993 and 1998, Navarro was the guitarist of Red Hot Chili ...

on guitar. On March 21, 2025, it was re-recorded again as "Every Day Is Halloween (Squirrely Version)", and included on remix album '' The Squirrely Years Revisited'' a week later.

Track listing

1986 12"

2010 digital single

Every Day Is Halloween: The Remixes

Personnel

Credits adapted from liner notes of the "All Day / (Every Day Is) Halloween" single, '' Twelve Inch Singles (1981–1984)'' and '' Twitch''. *

– vocals, instrumentation, production * Brad Hallen –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

("All Day") * Stephen George –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

("All Day") * Patty Jourgensen – backing vocals ("All Day Remix") * Brian Shanley and Jim Nash – artwork (single)

References

External links

* 1984 singles 1984 songs Ministry (band) songs Wax Trax! Records singles Halloween songs Songs written by Al Jourgensen Song recordings produced by Al Jourgensen {{1980s-rock-song-stub