Top 10 Moon Songs
A couple weeks back I wrote about the title track to Roger Daltrey’s Under a Raging Moon. This week, I thought about other moon songs. What were good ones? I actually had a more difficult time thinking up moon songs than I thought I would. You’ll notice I’m all over the place genre-wise.
In no particular order than other than when I thought of it:
1. Bad Moon Rising-Creedence Clearwater Revival
What’s cool about this band was that this wasn’t super technical. They played straight ahead rock that worked. Less is more. I have the tabs to play this on harmonica and it’s not too difficult to do a passable version.
2. Killing Moon- Echo and the Bunnymen
Dreamy and haunting. According to song facts.com the song is about death.
3. Blue Moon
There are hundreds of versions of this song that I could do a blog or book on this alone. You have your big band ballad version, the haunting Elvis version, and the Doo-wop Marcels version. Another song, I have harmonica tabs for this. I jam with Elvis to it.
4. Moon dance-Van Morrison
You don’t need to know all the words, just the right section and vibe and it’s fun to sing out. “Trees and the leaves are calling.” “Lalalala in the moonlight.” “You know the night’s magic”
5. Walking on the Moon-The Police
Another haunting Song. A new wave British reggae song with great bass. There are spaces of air between the music and vocals that make the song feel more vast than it is like walking alone on the moon.
6. Moonlight Drive-The Doors
Jim Morrison is remembered as this poet of rock. He also wrote simple songs that connect and you can sing along with like this one. The guitar is trippy.
7. Marque Moon-Television
Television was one of those bands I heard of but didn’t hear until the late 1990s. This song is one to find. It opens with this cool guitar, I can’t call it a riff, it’s more of a twangy effect. The lead vocal voice is quivering but strong. Then about a minute in, the song changes to fast and strong. The then the guitar effect comes back and the fast tempo and it all comes together.
8. Dancing in the Moonlight- King Harvest
It opens with the line “we get it almost every night.” Could be really dirty. Could be innocent. Either way can’t help,but feel warm and bright.
9. Harvest Moon- Neil Young
Neil Young is great. He can rock loud, protest, sing about maids, drugs, and he can do a really pretty romantic song like this. Guitar. Backup singers. Harmonica. The story of long lasting love. Just wonderful.
10. Shame on the Moon-Bob Segar
It feels like cliches in a bar band kind of song. As noted earlier, that works. The simple easy to recall song that doesn’t try to be more than it is can be great. A song easy to recall while sitting at a red light on the way home. A song you can recall right now and sing along with.