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The first time ever she saw him,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
He passed on worried and warning,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Lost in a riddle that 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 a 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.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven far away.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven one day.
Four a.m. in the morning,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
I watched your vision forming,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Stars roll slowly in a silvery night,
Far away on the other side.
Will you come to terms with me this night,
But she couldn't find how to push through.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven far away.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven one day.
Far away on the other side.
Caught in the middle of a hundred and five.
The night was heavy and the air was alive,
But she couldn't find how to push through.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Far away on the other side.
But she couldn't find how to push through.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
He passed on worried and warning,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Lost in a riddle that 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 a 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.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven far away.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven one day.
Four a.m. in the morning,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
I watched your vision forming,
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Stars roll slowly in a silvery night,
Far away on the other side.
Will you come to terms with me this night,
But she couldn't find how to push through.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven far away.
I stay, I pray
See you in heaven one day.
Far away on the other side.
Caught in the middle of a hundred and five.
The night was heavy and the air was alive,
But she couldn't find how to push through.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Carried away by a moonlight shadow.
Far away on the other side.
But she couldn't find how to push through.
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I wish he'd written "4 o'clock in the morning'... But that's a small thing. I do love the song.
That being said, I've heard about a half dozen versions of this song from various artists, not even sure if he was the first or not. Think his was the best version of it however, despite that Missing Heart's cover was pretty good too, but think I prefer this one over the other.
Love his instrumentals but it's a shame there's so many of them, the whole 'lyrics' listing is empty for most of his stuff due to it XD
"The tree's that whisper in the evening/ sing a song of sorrow and grieving" part also refers to the woman constantly thinking about the man and how everything reminds her of him.
People remember the details of the day someone so important to them dies, what they were doing at the time, things that were said etc. "The night was heavy but the air was alive" makes me think of a storm, which meant to me that the night was both heavy and charged in terms of emotions and the weather. Lastly, the "Carried away by a moonlight shadow" parts are describing the woman remembering that precise moment over and over again, and how that is more powerful than and interrupts whatever else she might be thinking or doing at that time. The lines "carried away by a moonlight shadow" interrupt the rest of the lyrics in a similar way.
Lennon was shot four times, there wasn't a fight, John was shot int he back, and his killer didn't run. He sat down and waited for the police after shooting him.
"It was long believed that the lyrics are a reference to the murder of John Lennon, although when asked about this in a 1995 interview, Oldfield responded:
'[It's] not really [about Lennon]... well, perhaps, when I look back on it, maybe it was. I actually arrived in New York that awful evening when he was shot and I was staying at the Virgin Records house in Perry Street, which was just a few blocks down the road from the Dakota Building where it happened, so it probably sank into my subconscious. It was originally inspired by a film I loved - Houdini, starring Tony Curtis, which was about attempts to contact Houdini after he'd died, through spiritualism... it was originally a song influenced by that, but a lot of other things must have crept in there without me realising it.'
—Mike Oldfield, tubular.net/articles/…
The Lennon story may have arisen as a consequence of the content of the promo video that accompanied the song, which juxtaposes footage of Oldfield and his band playing the song with a loose storyline in which Oldfield plays a man who gets killed in a pistol duel. It is worth noting that there are two versions of the video, the full-length original, and a shorter one which omits a verse (the reason for the shorter version being created is unknown), and the way both versions are edited suggests that Oldfield's touring guitarist "Ant" performed the second, rockier half of the memorable guitar solo, which is not the case.""
So I guess most of you were correct. John Lennon, a duel, it all seems to fit in. Still I find Mike Oldfield's explanation kind of.. sloppy. :)
Nevermind the "real" meaning, for me it is one of the greatest songs I ever heard, Maggie Reilly's voice is just amazing. I also love the guitar solo, wish it was longer/more elaborate. By the way, I prefer the short version, the extended version sounds kind of strange, even tough the additional lines give full "context".
Have a nice night, best regards from Germany!
However, I feel it is really just an artisitic creation rather than having any SPECIFIC meaning. IE Mike sat down to create an dwrite a good song, and worked from there. Very talented performer, and a great choice of female vocalist.
The meaning it carries to me is about the last days of summer- I don't know why, really just that feeling when nights are drawing in, a little bit sad and melancholy- Moonlight of course implies longer nights, so maybe thats where I get the impression from.
Know all of it by heart and myself am a great fan of Mike Oldfield. =)x
The song though in a nutshell means a person's loss of someone she adored and how she could do nothing to prevent it. All she can do is look forward to seeing him again in Heaven.
i always thought this song was a version of the poem.