Same Old Moon

As with other songs I've written, the music to "Same Old Moon" came well before the lyrics. I had the basic guitar part for the intro and the verses for a few months or maybe years before the chorus appeared. I've learned to be patient about it. Some songs just need time to reveal themselves. The right conditions matter, too.

One night, in my soon-to-be wife's apartment, I was staring out of the floor-to-ceiling window at a glorious full moon high above Manhattan. Just zoning out and playing quietly on guitar, absorbing the complex beauty of the city and the moon, I found the chords to the chorus under my fingers and the words coming out of my mouth. 

As I kept repeating "It's the same old moon in the window", I remembered being alone, playing guitar, and doing this very same thing in the many different places I'd lived over the years. It reminded me of lonely times, but also of the people I would think of to feel better. Wherever we may be, our loved ones may be looking up at the same sky, maybe thinking of us. Somehow that felt like a reassuring connection.

Then the idea of longing began to work its way into my thoughts. We long for simpler times when things are laid out for us as kids; we miss the familiar trappings of home and family when establishing ourselves as young adults; and sometimes, we just need a way to make sense of the fear, greed, and cruelty in the world. Yet, because everything changes ceaselessly, we don't get to keep those comforting thoughts for long.

That's why the image of the moon above the city resonated. It, too, is constantly changing yet it feels permanent. It's been around since the beginning of life on earth and it has seen it all. Our thoughts and feelings—even our lives—are fleeting in the context of the universe. But this unavoidable transience doesn't only mean loss. It also allows for the possibility of surprise and change for the better.