The Waterboys The Whole Of The Moon | Final theme of one of the best series in history, ‘The Affair’
I don’t know if I like the end of the extraordinary series ‘The Affair’ because of this song, or if I’m amazed by ‘The Whole of the Moon’ because it fits like a glove at the end of the series. No matter what, it was about time to dedicate an article to this wonderful song by The Waterboys 😊
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Video | The Waterboys The Whole of the Moon (Livingston Mix)
- Trembol | Story behind The Whole of the Moon
- You can’t miss | Best parts of the song
- This is what it saysa | The Whole of the Moon lyrics
- Did you know? | Fun facts about The Waterboys and The Whole of the Moon
- Much more | Best version of The Whole of the Mooon
- Technical Note | The instrumentation of The Whole of The Moon
Video | The Waterboys The Whole of the Moon(Livingston Mix) | The Affair finale
Trembol | Story behind the song of ‘The Affair’ finale, The Whole of the Moon
‘The Whole of the Moon‘ talks about those people who see further than most mortals, those who when you are at the starting point have already reached the end.
Written in 1985 by Mike Scott when he was 26 years old, it made many think that the band he led, The Waterboys, would rub shoulders with the groups that were filling stadiums at the time, such as U2. Although Mike self-proclaims his compositions as ‘great music’, he would not reach the level of popularity of his contemporaries.
‘The Whole of the Moon’ was released as the lead single from his 1985 album, ‘This Is the Sea’. While it wasn’t a huge hit at first, the press at the time already saw that it was pointing in the right direction. ‘The Sound’ said:
“The Whole of the Moon” sweeps you up in its vast, visionary embrace and swings you at the sky, as soprano saxes scream like shooting stars.
In 1991 the track would live a second youth winning the Ivor Novello Award for “Best Song for Music and Lyrics” and reaching number 3 in the UK after its re-release.
“The Whole of the Moon” is undoubtedly The Waterboys’ most famous song on its own merits.
Mike Scott said of the song’s success over time:
Mike Scott, The Waterboys frontman (Press image)
The Waterboys ‘The whole of the moon’ cover
I guess it has timelessness in its sound and I know the lyrics mean a lot to people,” frontman Mike Scott tells Rolling Stone. “If a lyric was true when it was written, it’ll be true today. ‘The Whole of the Moon’ still means a lot to me and it’s one of my old songs that I never tire of hearing or performing
🎵 Discover the story behind other legendary songs
You can’t miss ⭐️ The best parts of The Whole of the Moon
1.-The first minute of the song is an all in: beautiful instrumental opening with the famous melody, full of contrasts lyrics and the famous ‘I saw the whole of the moon‘.
2.- The bridge led by the wonderful trumpet of Lorimer (member of The Waterboys).
3.- We hear an explosion, the saxophone comes in and Mike sings: “too high, too far, too soon”. This is the reason why it continues to thrill so much!
This is what it says | The Whole of the Moon lyrics
THE WATERBOYS | THE WHOLE OF THE MOON | ORIGINAL LYRICS
I pictured a rainbow
You held it in your hands
I had flashes but you saw the plan
I wondered out in the world for years
While you just stayed in your room
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the Moon
The whole of the Moon
You were there at the turnstiles
With the wind at your heels
You stretched for the stars
And you know how it feels
To reach too high
Too far, too soon
You saw the whole of the Moon
I was grounded
While you filled the skies
I was dumbfounded by truths
You cut through lies
I saw the rain-dirty valley
You saw Brigadoon
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the Moon
I spoke about wings
You just flew
I wondered, I guessed when I tried
You just knew
I sighed but you swooned
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the Moon
The whole of the Moon
With a torch in your pocket
And the wind at your heels
You climbed on the ladder
And you know how it feels
To get too high
Too far, too soon
You saw the whole of the Moon
The whole of the Moon
Unicorns and cannonballs
Palaces and piers
Trumpets, towers and tenements
Wide oceans full of tears
Flag, rags, ferry boats
Scimitars and scarves
Every precious dream and vision
Underneath the stars
Yes, you climbed on the ladder
With the wind in your sails
You came like a comet
Blazing your trail
Too high, too far, too soon
You saw the whole of the Moon
THE WATERBOYS | THE WHOLE OF THE MOON | LYRICS IN SPANISH
Yo me imaginé un arcoíris
Tú lo sostuviste en tus manos
Yo tuve destellos pero tú viste el plan
Me pregunté por el mundo durante años
Mientras te quedabas en tu habitación
Yo vi la media luna
Tú viste toda la luna
Toda la luna
Estabas allí en los torniquetes
Con el viento en tus talones
Te estiraste hacia las estrellas
Sabes cómo se siente
Alcanzar lo más alto
lo más lejano, muy pronto
Tú viste la luna completa
Yo estaba en tierra
Mientras tú llenabas los cielos
Yo me quedé atónito por las verdades
Tú pasaste a través de las mentiras
Yo vi el valle sucio por la lluvia
Tú viste Brigadoon
Yo vi media luna
Tú viste toda la Luna
Yo hablé de alas
Tú simplemente volaste
Yo me pregunté, dudaba cuando lo intenté
Tú simplemente lo supiste
Yo suspiré pero te desmayaste
Yo vi la media luna
Tú viste toda la Luna
Toda la Luna
Con una linterna en tu bolsillo
Y el viento en tus talones
Subiste la escalera
Y sabes cómo se siente
Alcanzar lo más alto
lo más lejano, muy pronto
Viste toda la Luna
Toda la Luna
Unicornios y balas de cañón
Palacios y muelles
Trompetas, torres y viviendas
Anchos océanos llenos de lágrimas
Banderas, trapos, transbordadores
Cimitarras y bufandas
Cada sueño y visión preciosos
Bajo las estrellas
Sí, subiste por la escalera
Con el viento en tus velas
Llegaste como un cometa
Abriendo tu camino
Demasiado alto, demasiado lejos, demasiado pronto
Tú viste toda la luna
Did you know...?
Much more | Fiona Apple’s version for ‘The Affair’ finale and others
Fiona Apple covered the song for The Affair series finale. Scott said Apple’s version was “beautifully performed and arranged”. Hands down our favorite.
The Whole of the Moon has been covered on many other occasions. The best ones for Trembol are:
- Mandy Moore on her 2003 album Coverage.
- Terry Reid on his album The Driver.
- The Killers at the TRNSMT festival in Glasgow in 2018.
Although there are versions for all tastes: Jennifer Warnes, Human Drama, Peter Mulvey, Susan McFadden, Kirin J. Callinan, Little Caesar.
Even Prince did two versions. One during his 2014 tour and another at his Paisley Park Studios recording studios during an event in 2015.
Technical Note | The exquisite instrumentation of ‘The Whole of the Moon’
One of the keys to the success of The Whole of the Moon is its instrumentation, each element is wisely selected, adding to the final result:
🎹 The piano follows two patterns, a simple rhythm with one finger and another with three fingers.
🎺 The trumpets, played on the disc by a classically trained artist named Lorimer, are antiphonal. A piccolo trumpet on the left responds to a piccolo on the right and then the same thing again, growing, adding a trumpet in B.
🗣️ Background vocals in falsetto, sung by the trumpeter, Lorimer,
🎷 The saxophone solo near the end that starts right after an explosion sound. They achieved this sound by adding echo to the sound effect of a firework.
🥁 The percussion, in Mike Scott’s words, sounds like a bag of weird stuff you rub and shake.
🎛️ The synth line, inspired by Prince’s ‘1999’.
🎼 Mike recorded the piano and vocals live with the drum machine playing only.
The Waterboys ‘The Whole of the Moon’ (Created by ImageGear, AccuSoft Corp.)
Video | The Waterboys The Whole of the Moon
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