One Track Mind #5: Moon Shadow

"This song is really weird, dad? What's it about?"

Al Green - What's It All About?

This is the kind of question that fills me with joy, because if Sam cares what a song is about, he's clearly engaging with it. In the case of Moon Shadow though... I really don't have an answer. I have an idea... but it's not one that Cat Stevens, Yusuf Islam or Steven Demetre Georgiou appears to agree with. Neither is it an interpretation I see echoed by online "experts". Does this mean I'm wrong?

Putney Bridge - What's It All About?

Any number of poets, writers and lyricists will tell you that when they let their words out into the wild, it's not up to them to enforce an interpretation on the audience. Some writers actively refuse to discuss the "message" behind their stories, preferring to allow the individual reader or listener to infer their own meanings. Sylvia Plath wrote...

"Once a poem is made available to the public, the right of interpretation belongs to the reader..."

Run DMC - What's It All About?

Nick Cave agrees, saying that when he writes songs, he wants his listeners to come to their own conclusions. He refuses to "take away their power by attaching my own meaning to them". 

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - We Call Upon the Author

This is the power of art - we add our own connotations, beliefs, prejudices, life experiences and emotions when we consume it. As I often tell my students: in English, there are no right answers. You just need to be able to explain your own interpretation so that it makes sense to someone else. They might not agree with you, they just need to be able to see how you've arrived at your conclusions. 

The Sundays - What Do You Think?

Moon Shadow, then, is not - for me, at least - "softly tailored folderol from Cat Stevens [which] shows his whimsical side". Nor does it persuade me to "See life as it is, right now, and [not] compare it to others' lives, or other times in your life." Neither am I convinced of any religious message behind the lyrics, despite Stevens' later conversion from Christianity to Islam. Although interestingly, when that conversion took place, Yusuf Islam stopped singing any of his old Cat Stevens songs... except this one, which he later claimed was his favourite. 

In 2009, Cat Stevens tried to explain Moon Shadow to Chris Isaak...

"I was on a holiday in Spain. I was a kid from the West End – bright lights, et cetera. I never got to see the moon on its own in the dark, there were always streetlamps. So there I was on the edge of the water on a beautiful night with the moon glowing, and suddenly I looked down and saw my shadow. I thought that was so cool, I'd never seen it before."

Chris Isaak - Dark Moon

Which all sounds very positive, doesn't it? Over on the tube of you, people agree. Some call it "the ultimate optimist song". "There's something about the imagery of total freedom and dancing under the moon," says an old 'hippie kid', "which appeals to my wild self." Another youtuber, who says the song got them through a very dark period, explains, "this song is like, 'No matter how dark it gets, it can always be worse... but there's always light". 

Labelle - Moon Shadow

If you want to consider alternative interpretations to songs, youtube is definitely the place to look. In the past week, quite a few American commenters have suggested Moon Shadow as "the official song of the 2024 solar eclipse". While someone else can be found reminiscing over the time it was used in an episode of Airwolf with Jan Michael Vincent. This was my favourite though...

"Now I know why Moonlight Shadow sounded better in my childhood. It was actually Moon Shadow!"

Mike Oldfield & Maggie Reilly - Moonlight Shadow

And let's not forget this quirky little reimagining: an animated fairy tale devised by Cat Stevens and narrated by Spike Milligan in which a boy and his cat attempt to rescue the moon when it falls out of the sky...

Faced with this overwhelming barrage of evidence that Moon Shadow is a sweet, life-affirming tune... am I the only one who finds it creepy? And by that, I mean creepy in a good way. Creepy in an excellent way!

Yes, I'm bein' followed by a moon shadow

Moon shadow, moon shadow

Leapin' and hoppin' on a moon shadow

Moon shadow, moon shadow

Have you ever seen the movie It Follows? To me, the Moon Shadow is like the monster from that film. Some kind of weird supernatural entity that's following Cat around, menacing him, threatening to rob him of his hands, his eyes, his legs and his mouth...

And if I ever lose my hands

Lose my plow, lose my land

Oh, if I ever lose my hands

Oh if, I won't have to work no more

And if I ever lose my eyes

If my colors all run dry

Yes, if I ever lose my eyes

Oh if, I won't have to cry no more

The interweb suggests all this graphic body horror is linked to the time Cat Stevens almost died from tuberculosis back in 1969. His recuperation led him to reconsider his spiritual side, and may well have spurred the fears voiced in this song.

And if I ever lose my legs

I won't moan, and I won't beg

Oh, if I ever lose my legs

Oh if, I won't have to walk no more

(Meanwhile, back on youtube, there's always some Debbie Downer ready to spoil the party...

"All I can think of is the videos I have watched from Palestinians. The boy with no arms, a missing leg (and a missing foot and ankle on the other side). Listening to this, the day after the opening of the trial in The Hague. That tragic genocide has ruined this song for me.")

And if I ever lose my mouth

All my teeth, north and south

Yes, if I ever lose my mouth

Oh if, I won't have to talk

It's great that Cat can remain so upbeat - defiant, even - while being pursued by this vicious phantom... but maybe that's because his motive isn't escape. Let's not forget, this Cat is armed and dangerous...

Cat Stevens - I'm Gonna Get Me A Gun

Oh yes. And here comes the Edgar Allen Poe twist... the Cat wants to get caught!

Did it take long to find me?

I asked the faithful light

Oh, did it take long to find me?

And are you gonna stay the night? 

Hooohahahahahahahaaa. Imagine those lines delivered in Vincent Price tones and maybe you'll get where I'm coming from. It's worth noting that Cat amps up his own delivery here, adopting a much more in-your-face singing style than the alluringly amiable tone he uses for the rest of the song. For me, that's the bit that confirms all my theories. Suddenly the tables are turned and the hunter becomes the prey. 

Cat Stevens - A Bad Night

"This song is really weird, dad? What's it about?"

It's about monsters, son. Monsters that want to eat - your hands, your eyes, your legs, your mouth. And it's about how to catch them... and make them pay.

Title Fight #10: Lesbian Seagull

Engelbert Humperdinck vs. Muhammad Ali... who would your money be on? Well, in the Title Fight, Cassius Clay may well float like a butterfly and sting like a bee, but Arnold George Dorsey has a Lesbian Seagull in his corner.

Lesbian Seagull was written by songwriter and gay rights activist Tom Wilson Weinberg in 1979 in response to a university study of long term monogamous lesbian behaviour in seagulls on Santa Barbara Island, USA. Engelbert's version later featured in the movie Beavis And Butt-Head Do America and was released as a double A side single with The Red Hot Chilli Peppers version of Love Rollercoaster.

"Beat that!" I hear you cry. I'll be Damned if I can't...

Captain Sensible -  The 4 Marys Go Go Dance All Night at the Groovy Cellar

That was the Captain's 1984 b-side of There's More Snakes Than Ladders (as almost featured in this week's Saturday Snapshots). They should both have been hits, if you ask me.

Here's one that Ben suggested. He describes Alpha Male Tea Party as a Maths/Post Rock band. Make of that what you will. I'd be more impressed if they could afford a singer. Still, this one did make me think of George...

Alpha Male Tea Party - You Eat Houmous, Of Course You Listen To Genesis

Speaking of George, here's some Julie Andrews-influenced prog...

Atomic Rooster - A Spoonful Of Bromide (Helps The Pulse Rate Go Down)

And how could I follow that but with a classy slice of soul from 1980? No sniggering on the back row, please... 

Joyce Lawson - Stop Dogging Me

Almost at the end. Just time to squeeze in a 1987 song celebrating the joy of taping your favourite songs off the wireless...

This Poison! - Poised Over The Pause Button

We started today with a Lesbian Seagull. I was going to close with a Canadian Woodpigeon... that just can't get out of bed.

Woodpigeon - In The Battle of Sun vs. Curtains, Sun Loses and We All Sleep Until Noon

However, then I heard this... from gay country star Orville Peck - you know, the guy who wears a mask and loves rattling cages and challenging redneck prejudices. And guess what? He's only roped Willie Nelson to help chuck his latest brickbat... and it's a doozy. Willie, of course, has never been one to shy away from ruffling a few feathers... and at 90, I guess he's long past worrying about upsetting the more conservative members of his fanbase. (UPDATE: Ernie kindly informed me this is a cover version, previously done by Willie, but originally recorded by Ned Sublette back in 1981... when I'm guessing it would have been a lot more controversial.)

Orville Peck & Willie Nelson - Cowboys Are Frequently Secretly Fond Of Each Other  

Neverending Top Ten #6.8: Cup Final

Sunday was the first time in my life I've had a vested interest in a Cup Final.

James - Goal Goal Goal

By hook or by crook, Sam's football team, The Hawks, made it into the local cup final. They were very much the underdogs, and had been all season. It was easy to tell him to relax and enjoy it, that it was just another game, and it didn't matter if his team won or not. What an achievement it was getting to the final anyway! We were proud of him whatever the result. All these things were true, but they were far more true for us, his parents, than for Sam himself. At his age, you still believe that life is fair and that if you try your hardest, the underdogs will come out on top... just like in the movies. Winning is everything.

William Bell - Everybody Loves A Winner

The opposition were a better team though, so the result was inevitable. They also had some particularly unpleasant supporters (mostly older brothers, I guess) who heckled Sam's team from the sidelines and made the final even harder. They were playing in a proper stadium too - well, there were stands on one side, so it was more like an actual stadium than anywhere they'd ever played before. Sam told me later that this in itself made the game tougher - he'd rather just be on a field in the middle of nowhere, like usual.

The Nazz - Only One Winner

Regardless of all this, the Hawks did OK. They didn't win, but they had some good chances and kept the effort up right to the end. They played better football at times, but the goals just didn't come. Still, a 2-0 defeat wasn't the worst they've suffered this year, and we all felt they could hold their heads up high. (Look at me, writing about football: using the vernacular!)

Holly Golightly - Second Place

Although initially sanguine in his defeat, Sam felt the disappointment later in the afternoon. He bounced back pretty quickly though. I admire his resilience... I hope the world doesn't beat that out of him. It's easy to say that losing in a situation like this is a better life lesson than winning... but that's no consolation for a ten year old. 

Namesakes #81: The Rolling Stones

Unbelievable... but true. There's more than one band called The Rolling Stones...

THE ROLLING STONES #1

Let's start in 1930, thirteen years before Mick 'n' Keef were even born. The original Rolling Stones were Jimmie Adams and Bud Jamison, a pair of singing comic vagabonds who toured the US in the early 30s.

THE ROLLING STONES #2

Next stop 1958. Well, 1955 to begin with, as these Rolling Stones originally started out as the backing band of one Lucky Hill from Mississippi. Three years later, they were backing one Andy Anderson (not to be confused with Neighbours love song warbler Angry Anderson). Presumably, Lucky Hill had retired by this point and was living off all the cash he'd made by, ahem, inventing rock 'n' roll...

THE ROLLING STONES #3

From the same Philadelphia-based record label that released a song by "The Beatles" in the mid-70s. Apparently these guys were originally called The Time Tones. According to the label, this was written by M. Jackoff, J. Lemmon and K. Richard, produced by Mickey Most, Andrew Loog Oldham and Philip Spector, and featured "Charlie Watts on toilet". 

  

THE STONES #4

Not technically Rolling, but it takes some stones to name your band The Stones in 1982. These guys were from Dunedin in New Zealand though, so perhaps they'd never heard of Mick n Keef?

  

ROLLING STONES #5

Whereas these American punks were clearly just taking the piss in 1987... in more ways than one.

THE ROLLING STONES #6

From 2019, and a cassette only release called Who the Fuck is Mick Jagger? The Very Best of the Rolling Stones. By this point, all bets are off.

THE ROLLING STONES #7

Not chronologically the newest Rolling Stones, but I saved them for the end anyway... despite being unable to find any info about them on the interweb.

Which Rolling Stones gathered no moss... and which were like a complete unknown?

Cnut Songs #26: Boy Racers

King Cnut could not hold back the tide, and I cannot hold back society's full-throttle descent into dystopia. All I can do is watch helplessly from the sidelines, and nod my head sagely when others hold a mirror up to the madness. 

We live on top of a moor looking down on the picturesque Yorkshire town jumped-up village of Holmfirth. By the way, before I begin today's rant, I discovered my first Holmfirth song earlier this week...

The Watersons - The Holmfirth Anthem

I do like folk music, but that's probably a bit too folky even for me. And it makes the town village sound even more yokely than Last of the Summer Wine managed, which is going some. We are way more cosmopolitan than the Watersons give us credit for. The police were called to investigate a couple of weekends back because some Huddersfield gangster fired a gun outside one of the local hostile-ries. They shut the road for over 24 hours while forensic teams combed the area for a bullet. I'm not sure they found it, but they probably found lots of dog shit. Clearly we're less sedate than Chatteris...

Car crime's low, gun crime's lower,
The town hall band CD, it's a grower,
You never hear of folk getting knocked on the bonce,
Although there was a drive by shouting once.

Half Man Half Biscuit - For What Is Chatteris

I'm getting sidetracked. Today's post isn't about local gun-toting hoodlums... if it's about hoodlums of a different variety.

Morrissey - Boy Racer

The Haywains - Boy Racers a Go Go

Squid - Boy Racers

The Wolfhounds - Boy Racers, Rm1

Metronomy - Boy Racers

Boyracer - I've Got It And It's Not Worth Having

Who knew there could be so many songs relating to this particular kind of social irritant? 

Do I need to add much more? We live up on top of a moor, and though the road that passes our house is just a link connecting two main roads, the boy racers still love to floor their pedals as they pass us by. I'll never understand this, or why your car needs more than one exhaust pipe, or why you prefer a car that rumbles like a jackhammer. If my car made that kind of noise, I'd be taking it to the garage. 

Anyway, the purpose of this post isn't just to whinge about boy racers. It's to highlight another excellent song by Wolves of Glendale. Be warned, I will probably find any excuse to feature this band over the next few months. Those of you who feel that comedy and popular music should never mix, feel free to look away now. The rest of you... well, all I can add is that Louise generally has very little time for much of the music I feature on this blog, but she loves this. Then again, she hates boy racers even more than I do. Here's a tip - don't switch it off until it's well past the 90 second mark...