Mike Oldfield - Moonlight Shadow

[Retro]

Released 41 years ago in 1983, this song is still really good. I do like Maggie Reilly's voice and I remember it being played on payola radio all the time.

If you're wondering what it's about, here's an explanation on Songfacts. Note that as usual with these things, there's nothing definitive out there and some descriptions say it's a ghost story inspired by the 1953 film Houdini.

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/mike-oldfield/moonlight-shadow

The song has apparently been remastered, but sounds the same to me.

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Here's the official music video. Note that the sound is mono and sound quality quite a bit poorer, but you get to watch the band perform the song.

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Spoiler: Lyrics

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 the riddle last 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.

The trees that whisper in the evening
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Sing the 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

Four A.M. In the morning
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
I watched your vision forming
Carried away by a moonlight shadow
Star was glowin' in a 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

I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven far away
I stay, I pray, I see you in heaven one day

 

[Mars]

Well, just shows you that a good song is a good song, no matter when it was written. And this is a good song.
But....to me, what lets it down are the obscure lyrics.

I mean, this is not Edgar Allan Poe; this is only a pop song. Lyrics of a pop song should not be too enigmatic.
They should make sense, but to me at least, these lyrics don't make sense.
Too many repeats of 'carried away by a moonlight shadow' and 'And she couldn't find how to push through'. Push thru what, exactly?
What is this all about?

HOWEVER, having said all that, I do like the song, I do. It kinda gives you snippets of a lost love, or something. Reilly's voice is not a favourite of mine, but the instrumentals and guitar solos/riffs are great, and that is what gets my vote here.

That's just my two pennies' worth anyway

 

[Retro]

Obscure lyrics annoy me too and unfortunately almost every song is like this since the year dot. Apparently, the idea is to make people wonder what it's about so that they talk about it more as they try to work it out and hence increase its popularity to sell more copies. Or, put another way, it's a way to manipulate people into spending their money on it by leaving them unsatisfied, which seems underhand to me.

You're right about it being about a lost love: her boyfriend was shot 6 times by a man on the run and she's grieving his loss, plus she thinks that she can see his ghost in the shadows. It's a pretty tragic song, really. The good thing about it is that I can actually understand every word she sings, which is a rarity as most songs are simply unintelligble in many places.

Have a look at my first post again, as I've added an explanation that I've found with a frantic Google and also the lyrics.

 

[Mars]

Indeed, obscure lyrics are definitely both annoying and done on purpose, for reasons you have mentioned above. (Oldfield's explanation totally makes no sense).

A classic example is that all-time great 'Hotel California'. When asked about it, the Eagles have never given a satisfactory answer, although the reference to needles and addiction is fairly obvious.
Same is with Elton John's 'Song for Guy'; that repeated phrase/word that Elton mumbles towards the end....is it love? life? it's anyone's guess. Nevertheless it is a great instrumental.