Happy #SongLyricsSunday! Today’s prompt is to find a song with “moon”, “sun”, “planets”, “stars”, or other celestial bodies in the title. This was such a hard prompt for me because I know a lot of songs with celestial bodies mentioned. I could name a ton of Sailor Moon songs with “moon”, “sun”, “planets”, “stars”, or other celestial bodies as that series featured a planetary themed. And, you know that I am a HUUUUUUUUUUGE Sailor Moon fan. I am wearing a t-shirt with those show’s characters as I type this.
But, I wanted to pick a song that didn’t superficially insert a celestial body in the title just for show. I wanted the song to have the “moon”, “sun”, “planets”, “stars”, or other celestial bodies as the song’s character. That is why I picked “MOON” by the 80s Japanese rock band Rebecca (name inspired by the story Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm).
This quartet was one of the biggest bands during their time. And, it also inspired future female rock vocalists to form their own bands as Rebecca was the first female-led band to have major hits on the Japanese charts. Maki Hamada (female vocalist for LINDBERG) and Chiaki (who also led her own group called Pocket Biscuits) have mentioned that NOKKO and Rebecca as their inspirations.
But, before we divulge too much about REBECCA, let’s talk about “Moon” a little bit more. And, for those who don’t understand Japanese, there is a special version of the song for you! Let’s take a listen!
Moon You Follow Me Where I Go
“MOON” was released as the band’s ninth single on February 9, 1988. It was cut from the album Poison that was released a year before. The lyrics were written by NOKKO as she has written most of the band’s songs since their debut in 1984.
NOKKO paints a story about a rambunctious teenager or young adult who lives life in the trouble lane: stealing things, running away, and other things. The young character recounts her mom saying that the moon follows her everywhere and seeing everything. The moon knows everything about the character’s struggles, pains, precious moments, and happy times. The moon has seen the first kiss, first love, and the heartbreak that follows. Moon, you know everything,
Six months after the single was released, an English version was released on the remix album Olive. The lyrics for this version were written by Peggy Stanziale who wrote the lyrics for Madonna‘s “Dress You Up”. The story behind the English version has a similar premise to that of the Japanese version but is told in a different way. Gone is the characteristic of a rambunctious teenager but more of an innocent girl or young woman. There is also more of a plot that centers around the idea that the moon always watching us, always keeping our secrets safe. My secrets are safe with you forevermore
When I first got into Rebecca, I started with the Poison and Olive albums, thus discovering the dual versions of “MOON”. I always loved the English version better than the original Japanese version because I love the lyrics. “Nothing stays the same for long, Seasons change and life goes on, But eye in the sky you always remain the same” are my favorite lines featured in this song because it is so true. The lyrics reassure us that the moon is like our best friend, something that is sincere and always here for us in our time of need.
Listen to “Moon” down below and let me know what you think about the song!
Here is the English version (It is unknown why Rebecca made an English version of the song. The band had a couple of songs in English. Did NOKKO just wanted sing in English (which she is isn’t bad at) or did their label (CBS Sony) planned for a North American debut? Only Rebecca knows):
Lyrics to Rebecca’s “Moon”
In the night your light comes creeping
around my bed
Stirring up memories
Taking me back to the times we shared
when we were childhood friends
Seems like yesterday
the world was full of innocence
Moon you seemed so far away
on the night that you shined on my first
kiss
Oh nothing stays the same for long
Seasons change and life goes on
But eye in the sky you always remain the
same
Moon you follow me where I go
Moon whatever I am you know me
My secrets are safe with you forevermore
I look up and see you shining bright
I am not alone
Moon you know all of my dreams
With you I’m never far from home
I think of the years gone by
the tears I’ve cried the broken dreams
Moon you seemed so far away
But you were always right there watching
me
Nothing stays the same for long
Seasons change and life goes on
But eye in the sky you always remain the
same
Moon you follow me where I go
Moon whatever I am you know me
My secrets are safe with you forevermore
The Rules for #SongLyricsSunday
(This challenge is currently hosted by the generous Jim Adams.)
Anyone can participate in #SongLyricsSunday, even if you aren’t a music blogger! If you want to participate, here are the rules:
- Post the lyrics to the song of your choice, whether it fits the theme or not.
- Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due.
- Make sure you also credit the singer/band and if you desire you can provide a link to where you found the lyrics.
- Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song.
- Pingback to this post will eventually work, as long as you are being patient, but you can also place your link in the comments if you don’t like to wait.
- Read at least one other person’s blog, so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process.
- Feel free to suggest future prompts.
- Have fun and enjoy the music.
