Sep 18 2024 3 mins
A tribute to Mike Oldfield with a Guitar Instrumental rendition of the classic tune, Moonlight Shadow.
Thanks for listening.
Information gathered from Wikipedia;
Released as a single on the 6th May 1983 by Virgin Records, and included on his eighth album, Crises, of the same year.
It has been suggested that the lyrics of the song are a reference to the murder of John Lennon, despite the fact that the events in the song do not correspond with those of Lennon's murder.
When asked whether "Moonlight Shadow" is a reference to John Lennon's murder in a 1995 interview.
Oldfield responded..
"Not really... well, perhaps, when I look back on it, maybe it was. I actually arrived in New York that awful evening when he was shot and I was staying at the Virgin Records house in Perry Street, which was just a few blocks down the road from the Dakota Building where it happened, so it probably sank into my subconscious. It was originally inspired by a film I loved – Houdini, starring Tony Curtis, which was about attempts to contact Houdini after he'd died, through spiritualism... it was originally a song influenced by that, but a lot of other things must have crept in there without me realising it".
— Mike Oldfield
Lyrics;
[Verse 1]
The last that ever she saw him
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
He passed on, worried and warning
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Lost in a riddle that Saturday night
Far away on the other side
He was caught in the middle of a desperate fight
And she couldn't find how to push through
[Verse 2]
The trees that whisper in the evening
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Sing a song of sorrow and grieving
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
All she saw was a silhouette of a gun
Far away on the other side
He was shot six times by a man on the run
And she couldn't find how to push through
[Chorus]
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven, far away
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven one day
[Verse 3]
Four A.M. in the morning
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
I watched your vision forming
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Stars move slowly in the silvery night
Far away on the other side
Will you come to talk to me this night?
But she couldn't find how to push through
[Chorus]
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven, far away
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven one day
[Guitar Solo]
[Outro]
Far away on the other side
Caught in the middle of a hundred and five
The night was heavy and the air was alive
But she couldn't find how to push through
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Far away on the other side
But she couldn't find how to push through.
Mike Hilton - lead, rhythm, electric & acoustic Guitars.
Original composition written, produced & recorded from Feb - April, 1983 by Mike Oldfield, & released ©️ 6th April 1983 by Virgin Records.
Cover photo - From my backyard Astrophotography.
No copyright infringement intended.
This audio contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.
The above-mentioned audio on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information. I do not own the backing soundtrack to this music.
Thanks for listening.
Information gathered from Wikipedia;
Released as a single on the 6th May 1983 by Virgin Records, and included on his eighth album, Crises, of the same year.
It has been suggested that the lyrics of the song are a reference to the murder of John Lennon, despite the fact that the events in the song do not correspond with those of Lennon's murder.
When asked whether "Moonlight Shadow" is a reference to John Lennon's murder in a 1995 interview.
Oldfield responded..
"Not really... well, perhaps, when I look back on it, maybe it was. I actually arrived in New York that awful evening when he was shot and I was staying at the Virgin Records house in Perry Street, which was just a few blocks down the road from the Dakota Building where it happened, so it probably sank into my subconscious. It was originally inspired by a film I loved – Houdini, starring Tony Curtis, which was about attempts to contact Houdini after he'd died, through spiritualism... it was originally a song influenced by that, but a lot of other things must have crept in there without me realising it".
— Mike Oldfield
Lyrics;
[Verse 1]
The last that ever she saw him
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
He passed on, worried and warning
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Lost in a riddle that Saturday night
Far away on the other side
He was caught in the middle of a desperate fight
And she couldn't find how to push through
[Verse 2]
The trees that whisper in the evening
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Sing a song of sorrow and grieving
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
All she saw was a silhouette of a gun
Far away on the other side
He was shot six times by a man on the run
And she couldn't find how to push through
[Chorus]
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven, far away
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven one day
[Verse 3]
Four A.M. in the morning
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
I watched your vision forming
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Stars move slowly in the silvery night
Far away on the other side
Will you come to talk to me this night?
But she couldn't find how to push through
[Chorus]
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven, far away
I stay, I pray
See you in Heaven one day
[Guitar Solo]
[Outro]
Far away on the other side
Caught in the middle of a hundred and five
The night was heavy and the air was alive
But she couldn't find how to push through
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Far away on the other side
But she couldn't find how to push through.
Mike Hilton - lead, rhythm, electric & acoustic Guitars.
Original composition written, produced & recorded from Feb - April, 1983 by Mike Oldfield, & released ©️ 6th April 1983 by Virgin Records.
Cover photo - From my backyard Astrophotography.
No copyright infringement intended.
This audio contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.
The above-mentioned audio on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information. I do not own the backing soundtrack to this music.