Cat Stevens’ “Moonshadow” Lyrics Meaning
Cat Stevens initially got the idea for his classic song “Moonshadow” during his younger years. He had grown up in the big city. But during a visit to Spain, found himself in a much more-natural environment. And it was there that he first got a good look at the moon, unobstructed by artificial lights. Indeed he was able to see his shadow, as cast by the moon, in a waterbody nearby. So apparently, that was an experience which filled him with wonderment and serenity.
Theme of “Moonlight”
And what this song is actually about is an unabated appreciation of life, though Cat takes an unorthodox approach in getting this point across. That is he imagines his life devoid of some of the basics, such as a “plough” or “land”, which is basically an allusion to him being unemployed and in fact unemployable. But he takes things way further by also imagining what if he had lost his “hands”, “eyes”, “legs”, “mouth” and “teeth”. It is said that Stevens wrote this song while he was recovering from a case of tuberculosis which nearly took his life. Thus he was very much able to conceptualize a reality in which he was without essential functions.
A Sorrowful Song?
Despite the above, this is not a song of mourning, indeed quite to the contrary. Rather what the vocalist is doing is stating that he would still find a reason to relish his life even if he was devoid of these essentials. So for instance, if he lost his employability, then indeed he “won’t have to work no more”. Or if he had to live without eyes, then likewise he would no longer have to cry. And of course these conclusion are exaggerations. But they are just meant to point to the general idea that via finding “the faithful light”, i.e. the “Moonshadow”, the singer has come to realize that life is meant to be appreciated in the here and now.
And that is why we find him “leaping and hopping on a Moonshadow”. He is imbued with a sense of joy not due to any type of material gain but rather the simply joys of life, such as seeing his own shadow cast by moonlight.
Facts about “Moonshadow”
“Moonshadow” is recognized as Cat Stevens’ personal favorite song from the catalog of his prior life, if you will, before he converted Islam in 1978 and took up the moniker Yusuf Islam. In fact it is one of the tracks which convinced him to re-release some of his old songs, under his original stage name, after he had already forsaken it.
Indeed Yusuf Islam came out with a play in 2012, featuring music from his entire career (including the Cat Stevens’ years), entitled “Moonshadow”.
Another interesting story is that the director of the 1981 film “An American Werewolf in London”, John Landis, wanted to feature this song in the movie. However, due to his religious convictions, Yusuf Islam (aka Cat Stevens) did not allow him to do so.
“Moonshadow” was formally released on 1 October 1971 as part of Cat Stevens’ fifth album. That album is titled “Teaser and the Firecat”.
This is yet another Cat Stevens’ song which was written by the vocalist himself and produced by Paul Samwell-Smith.
“Moonshadow” peaked at number 30 on the Billboard Hot 100 but fared better on Billboard’s Easy Listening chart, reaching a peak of number 10.
Cat had only just begun. He was such a prolific writer and singer when he was just a teen.
Moonshadow is a song that I sang and danced too. Can we not all remember thinking that the moon was following us as we rode along in our cars. Perhaps Cat is the moon and we are his shadow.
This song is very poignant to me. You see, I suffer from Multiple Sclerosis. And losing my vision (if my colors all run dry) and losing the able to walk is also a real possibility for me. (I won’t have to walk no more)
I rescued a 10 week old puppy from an abandoned shed, now already 15lbs at 12 weeks the black furry ball of a puppy followed me “leaping and hopping” in joy across the fields. It was then her name came to me… “Moonshadow”. We call her by her last name, Shadow. DNA testing revealed she is a jet black Newfoundland Retriever destined to be at least 100lb. She remains by my side to this day.
Interesting! Thank you for being the Shadow’s savior!
I love the music of Cat Stevens. All of his music is overflowing with deep meaning & thought-provoking content. He covers all of the human emotions with intricate detail & passion. All of his songs are classics.
My first time to listen to the song. I was curious about the title Moonshadow and find the song inspiring. I love to check out more of Cat Stevens songs later. Hehe love to make it my next instagram captionsl.
This is a song I grew up hearing often and I now strongly connect it to my childhood. My mother died of cancer when I was very young. I remember when she was no longer able to speak, I stood at the foot of her bed and sang this song for her. Every time I hear this song I think about the happy memories she gave me.
This song is very personal.for me. I am still going through a time of emotional recovery after losing my wife of 42 years by suicide. It has been 5 years.
Hmmm. Given his pacifist stance, I always thought that this was an anti-war song. I imagined it being a song about a soldier in Viet Nam hopping and leaping on a moon shadow, fearful that he would struck down by a bullet or mortar round as the moonlight exposed him. The soldier consoles himself by considering what he would no longer have to do if he was in fact wounded — ironically, giving greater poignancy to the horrors of war. I am old enough to having served in the military at the conclusion of the Viet Nam war, and I know I am not alone among my contemporaries as having understood “Moonshadow” as an antiwar song. I don’t see any quotes from the artist explaining what the song was about. So, it may be that he had some experience in Spain that led him to want to work “moon shadow” into a song, but I’d like to see the evidence for this being a joyful song. I do not have any inside info on this, but I note that the quote about Spain did not surface until 2009, while the song was released in 1970, while the Viet Nam war was raging. He may have glossed over the true nature of the song in 2009 since he was trying to restore his mainstream acceptance at that point and thought pointing to the earliest origin of a visual that led to the song, rather than giving a full explanation of song’s full meaning would help in this regard.
I thought it was about the war also. My college friends were Viet Nam vets on the GI bill, trying to find a way to fit back into society. They just needed to have someone to listen to them…
My father loved this beautiful song. I think of him when I hear it.
I really enjoy this song, it just puts me in a different zone, very pleasant.
A stray cat adopted us several weeks ago. One day as my Husband was walking down our driveway, the cat was following behind him. I yelled to my Husband “You are being followed by a Moonshadow”. We are both old enough to remember the original song and I thought it was the perfect name.
I believe Cat is like any other great artist that has created a masterful painting. He allows the spectator to view, or listen in this case, and form their own opinion about what they (the viewer/listener) are beholding.
Our first child was conceived in September, 1971 and born in May, 1972. I sang “Moon Shadow” to her and one year later to her sister, while rocking them to sleep at night. For me it was a delightful and mischievous lyric plus comforting music.
The moon’s shadow is cast during a solar eclipse. I thought “colors running dry” was a metaphor for the shadows muting the effect of the the moon’s shadow upon color.
I never understood the deeper meaning to this song until today. You all
Are super wise. Anyway, Moonshadow was on my mind for 24 hours and I wanted to know all the lyrics and so it goes, I am now wiser. Thank you.