October 29, 2005
Since I was a child, I have loved the moon.
We sang songs about it in on long car trips to the mountains out west or at Girl Scout outings around the campfire.
The words to those songs stay with me still. What a simpler world it was then when we sang, “Oh, Mr. Moon, moon, bright and silvery moon, won’t you please shine down on me?”
And nearly all of us in the 50’s learned the words to the famous Ziegfeld Follies song, written by Ed Madden and Gus Edwards, “By the Light of the Silv’ry Moon.”
The words go something like this:
“By the light of the silv’ry moon, I want to spoon, to my honey I’ll croon love’s tune. Honeymoon, keep a shinin’ in June. Your silv’ry beams will bring love’s dreams. We’ll be cuddlin’ soon, by the silv’ry moon.”
Then, we would have fun singing it a second time in vaudeville style. Remember?
“By the light (not the dark but the light) of the silvery moon (not the sun but the moon). I wanna spoon (not croon but spoon), to my honey I’ll croon love’s tune. Honeymoon (honey moon, honey moon) keep a shinin’ in June. Your silv’ry beams will bring love’s dreams. We’ll be cuddlin’ soon, by the silvery moon.”
In harmony now…big finish “The silv’ry moon!”
Don’t suppose too many of you still sit around singing those songs about the moon these days, but the powerful allure of the full moon is still a sight for all to behold.
It is no secret that farmers tend to their fields and livestock based on the stages of the moon, and they get much-needed light to harvest their crops, once again, thanks to the Full Harvest Moon. For the rest of us, that extra boost of light offered by the full moon may be a welcome sight as we drive home late or try to mow the lawn before dark. No one needs a night-light when the moon is full—just open the curtains and drink in that silvery light.
The full moon’s lore brings tales of myth and romance in the fall and in every other month of the year.
When fall does arrive, approximately around the third week of September each year, we get to gaze with wonder at that massive Harvest moon that signals the arrival of the autumnal equinox.
Then, in October, Mr. Moon really does his thing. Ghosts, and goblins and all the lore and legend of Halloween (All Saints’ Day) give us pause. We may wonder in disbelief, “Did I really see a witch on her broom cross in front of a cloud-covered moon? Or, perhaps, you have been spooked by the moon’s eerie light. I certainly have been. Late one night, I was walking the dog. I happened to look up at the moon just about the time a bobcat or coyote wailed somewhere in the woods behind the house. Lickety-split, I made a beeline for the safety of the garage and electric lights.
Each month the full moon has a different name. In November, the full moon is called the Full Beaver Moon or the Full Frost Moon, In December, it is simply called the Full Cold Moon. In January, the full moon is often called the Full Wolf Moon or, by some, the Full Winter Moon. It lets us know that long, cold nights are ahead. February’s full moon is named the Full Snow Moon because everyone knows that snow can come anytime in that short month. March is the Full Worm Moon, announcing the beginning of Spring. April is the Full Pink Moon, some say because of the haze around it. Others say a pink moon simply means spring flowers. May is Full Flower Moon; June is Full Strawberry Moon; July Full Buck Moon; and August Full Sturgeon Moon, a good time to fish.
There’s one other moon, the Blue Moon, that is said to bring good fortune, health, and happiness. Unfortunately, we don’t see this Blue Moon too often.
In our Midwest vernacular (our local speech), we say “once in a Blue Moon” to describe something that doesn’t happen very often. Since most full moons only come every 29-and-a-half days, it is rare to have two full moons occur in a single calendar month. Such an occurrence only happens once every two-and-a-half years (41 months). Thus, that second Full Moon in one calendar month is the Blue Moon.
As my Dad used to say, “Puts me in the mind of another song,” so get ready, here it comes…
“Blue Moon, you saw me standing’ alone, without a dream in my heart, without a love of my own. Blue moon…you hear me saying a prayer for, someone I really could care for…and when I looked, the moon had turned to gold…Blue Moon…”
Give me a room full of Baby Boomers and a piano. I’ll bet, anywhere, anytime, we could find someone who could play either the base or melody or both for that wonderful old song, “Blue Moon.”
I know you remember.
