Recording and Mixing Dates: Recorded January 13 and February 15, 2010. Mixed April 5, 2016.

 

Genesis: Sometime around 1976 I read a volume of poetry by Charles Baudelaire in English translation. In one of his poems he writes of the “sorrows of the moon.” I liked that phrase and recorded it in my lyric notebook. Two years later I used it as the title of this week’s song. I imagined the moon looking down on us and having no recourse but to observe our human follies. The singer is trying to console a friend or lover over some predicament but is also suggesting that things could be much worse and that it was time to move on.

I was deeply into singer-songwriters at the time, so it is no surprise that Jackson Browne influences my lyrics and music in this song.

 Production: Bass Guitar, Piano, Drums.

Lyrics

SORROWS OF THE MOON

 The teardrops angle down your face

Your voice begins to crack

Your words come in a torrent

As you take the long road back

Sad tales and bitter stories

Find their way into this room

But they’re nothing when compared to

The Sorrows of the Moon

 

So many disappointments

You’ve taken them to heart

Now your dreams are either hiding

Or trying to depart

Your song may be a sad one

But it’s an old familiar tune

And the music pales when compared

To the Sorrows of the Moon

 

Silent and forsaken

A piece of frozen stone

Shining bright – reflected light

Not its own

The dark side holds a secret

In the never-ending night

And whatever must be concealed

Time will not make right

 

You could be two miles wide of paradise

And never find the gate

You could miss your fateful moment

And never know you’re late

Your prayers have not been answered

If they are it may not be soon

So while you wait contemplate

The Sorrows of the Moon

 

Posted like a watchman

An eye upon us all

Observing our mistakes and lies

The risings and the falls

It takes these sights in nightly

Unless obscured by clouds

And then it hears our voices

Crying soft or shouting loud

 

I’ve dried your salty tears

But I don’t see a smile

I think you kind of like this mood

You’ll keep it for awhile

In time you will feel better

Freed from memory’s tomb

You will mend but they’ll never end

The Sorrows of the Moon

Copyright 2016 Fred Grittner All Rights Reserved