Bad Moon Rising

I see the bad moon arising
I see trouble on the way
I see earthquakes and lightnin'
I see those bad times today

Don't go around tonight,
Well it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise

I hear hurricanes a blowing
I know the end is coming soon
I fear rivers over flowing
I hear the voice of rage and ruin

Well don't go around tonight,
Well it's bound to take your life,
There's a bad moon on the rise, oh right

Hope you got your things together

Hope you are quite prepared to die

Looks like we're in for nasty weather

One eye is taken for an eye.

 John Fogerty

1969

The leader of my ukulele group sent out some Halloween songs on the group email to play when we meet Monday.  That "Monster Mash" is a tough one, with awkward chord changes and rhythm. We'll butcher it.

"Bad Moon Rising" is a simple flowing melody with just three easy chords (C, G7 and F.)



The perfect song for this scary season, don't you think? That jaunty music makes it sound happy, but the lyrics are bleak and describe a coming apocalypse.

I was never a big Credence Clearwater Revival fan, but John Fogerty nailed this one. He said the lyrics were inspired by an old movie called "The Devil and Daniel Webster" in which a hurricane wipes out a town.  Of course the counter-culture picked it up, and it became the theme song of the demonstrators during the People's Park riots in Berkeley, California, in 1969.

Speaking of spooky, I made weird Halloween sugar cookies for John to take to work today.  Hey, isn't yellow+red food color supposed to make orange icing? These pumpkins turned out creamsicle pink.