Halloween Song: “My Girlfriend Is A Witch”

Another Halloween-appropriate song from the BHT vault. One that would be well-suited for a party.

October Country’s “My Girlfriend Is A Witch” sounds like it could have been the theme song for a mid-1960s sitcom. Which makes sense since it was written, performed, and recorded in 1968 by producer Michael Lloyd, who later used an updated version for the Saturday morning cartoon series The Cattanooga Cats. He formed October Country with guitarist Marty Arsenault, keyboards player/vocalist Jimmy Greenspoon, and drummer Jim Gordon but the act never achieved a following beyond the West Coast music scene.

“My Girlfriend Is A Witch” is just one of the many audio artifacts to be found on the very fun Rhino CD compilation, Where The Action Is! Los Angeles Nuggets: 1965-1968. The boxed set comes with a book that provides background info for each track. In addition to singing lead, Lloyd joined Arsenault on some furious garage rock guitar licks. Almost half of this catchy psychedelic gem is taken up by the band’s spirited jamming, creating a live performance at a go-go club ambience.

 

Lloyd introduces the lead character with the opening lines, “Riding high/Leaving trails of smoke across the sky/On a broom,” and quickly adds “Glad that I am safe within my room.” The girlfriend’s telepathic ability and other creepy talents don’t seem to cause any harm, but they do inspire a bit of competition. “What a fate/A worshiper of magic for a date/But tonight I become a warlock just for spite.”