Song: "Moonshadow"
Writer: Cat Stevens
Original Release: September 1970
To my mind, Cat Stevens is the world's most under-appreciated songwriter. Born Steven Demetre Georgiou and now known as Yusuf Islam, he may not have the overall body of work to compare with the McCartneys, Dylans, Paul Simons and Joni Mitchells of the world. But Cat Stevens has a remarkable gift for creating authentic-sounding folk songs. I don't mean the political anthems created by Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger for the labor movement. I mean songs that genuinely sound as if they sprung from an ancient oral tradition. The two best examples I know are "The Wind," which I featured in this post, and "Moonshadow."
While I probably first heard the song in my early teens, I never gave much thought to moon shadows as being a real thing until I moved to Vermont in my late 20s. For the Londoner Yusuf, the revelation came while on vacation in Spain. For me, it was on I-89. On my way to White River Junction to be an All-State judge the next morning, I saw moon shadows of pine trees on virgin snow. So enchanted, I was tempted to turn off my headlights in order to see them more clearly but fortunately thought better of it. The following evening, I dragged my wife out for a night drive to find more. Poetically, the direction we picked led us towards the more rural area where we live now. 15 years later, I still look forward to clear winter nights when the bright moon reflects off the snow to create quasi-daylight and reveal those magical shadows.
So many Cat Stevens' songs have stayed with me through the years. Moonshadow is one of them. I can sing the entire song right now.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
He wrote so many good ones.
DeleteSongs are always better when they have a memory to go with them.
ReplyDeleteAs long as it's a good memory...
DeleteAt a young age, though, I decided I was never going to let anyone ruin a song for me, especially an ex-girlfriend. Songs are too important for that.
Tried to play the video and it was gone. Here's an alternate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag4NhsfemvE
ReplyDeleteThank you for catching that and your suggested video should now be up and running.
DeleteI never gave a lot of thought to the significance of Cat Steven's songs. The idea of moon shadows sounds nice.
ReplyDeleteThey're beautiful, like magic.
DeleteAs songwriters go, I've always put Cat Stevens in a catagory of meaningful, deep lyrical storytelling. I'm a huge fan of this tune and many others ("Two Fine People," "Father and Son," too many to name).
ReplyDeleteI hope I'll be around more often, I got a little off track with an onslaught of family issues that pretty well stomped me, but I see a little light ahead. Missed reading your posts!
Cherdo! Great to hear from you.
DeleteI'd love to be able to see shadows like that on snow regularly, but alas I only see them when I travel to other, colder climes than the one I live in!
ReplyDeleteMy aunts and parents appreciate Cat Stevens, but I admit I haven't ever given him a proper listen to get to know his back catalogue. Sounds like the sort of poet I can appreciate though.
One can see them without snow, too, of course, though they are especially spectacular on the white stuff. The real problem is city lights. You'll always have the best chance of seeing them out in the country.
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