The moon is an ancient symbol of wishing, secrets, emotions, healing and enchantment; unique aspects which embellish music about the moon, bestowing messages and celestial atmospheres like no other.
Our playlist collects some of the best country songs about the moon, whether you’re reaching for otherworldly levels of achievement, or roaming through the pale light of heartbreak.
Country Songs About The Moon
1. Neil Young – Harvest Moon
Often counted amongst Neil Young’s greatest hits, Harvest Moon captures a country sound as magically inspired as the track’s lunar focus.
Neil cleverly centres his song around the concept of the ‘harvest moon’ – the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox – adding a metaphorical layer to his lyrical story of wishing to thrive in love’s abundance.
This track lets the moon illumine the depth of a reunited couple’s romance; “When we were strangers, I watched you from afar, when we were lovers, I loved you with all my heart, but now it’s getting late, and the moon is climbing high, I want to celebrate, see it shining in your eyes, because I’m still in love with you, I want to see you dance again, on this harvest moon.”
2. Gabby Barrett – Footprints On The Moon
Gabby Barrett’s track, Footprints On The Moon, cleverly disguises its country influence, harnessing the sound of a pop anthem detailed with stylistic hints to its country roots.
The concept of ‘footprints on the moon’ is used to magnificently support the empowering lyrics, affirming your unique potential and shredding impossibility to pieces, “They’ll tell you that it’s hard ’cause it is, but you can do anything, anything you want to, there’s footprints on the moon.”
This is a track about fighting to achieve against all odds and letting nothing stand in your path, whilst harnessing an energy as magnetic as the pull of the moon to encourage you to reach for the stars; “Your knees, they’ll shake, you’re gonna wanna stay home, don’t stay, the more your heart wants it, the harder it’ll break it.”
3. Toby Keith – Does That Blue Moon Ever Shine On you
Toby Keith’s track Does The Blue Moon Ever Shine On You is blanketed in a rosy retro atmosphere, its dreamy country landscape illuminating a story of heartbreak and retrogression.
Toby draws on the rare celestial occurrence of a blue moon, his metaphor describing the unlikely yet wondrous wish for a separated couple to reignite their love; “Does that blue moon ever shine on you, I want to hold you close to me, feel just like it used to be, and baby, if you feel like I do, you can come to me.”
With only a pale chance of the narrator’s wish being granted, an otherworldly sense of loss is evoked through constellations of stunning evening imagery; “Night after night, I look to the stars, wondering where you might be, and I’ve thought to myself, is that very same moon, shining on you, like it’s shining on me.”
4. Dierks Bentley ft. Maren Morris – I’ll Be The Moon
Dierks Bentley’s track, I’ll Be The Moon, is woven with subtle hints to the moon’s illusionary visions and secrets shrouded by the dark, using these ancient lunar connotations to create a metaphor for a cheating girlfriend.
Written from the side-piece’s perspective, Bentley embellishes his chorus with the captivating celestial title lyric which masterfully anchors his emotions;
“I don’t wanna be a liar; I don’t wanna be a fool, I don’t wanna be a secret but I will if you want me to, you can leave me in the dark if that’s all I get from you, he can be the sun, I’ll be the moon.”
Maren Morris threads the girlfriend’s perspective through the second verse, crafting a conversation between her and the track’s narrator;
“Tomorrow you’ll be waking up beside him tell him that you love him but you still see me. In my mind when I’m looking at him & in my eyes it’s the obvious elephant in the room. He can’t see it, but girl, you do.”
5. Dolly Parton – Here To The Moon & Back
Dolly Parton’s track Here To The Moon & Back is a heart-touching serenade centred in the lush intertwining of piano and acoustic guitar.
The immense celestial stretch between the Earth and Moon is a timeless children’s metaphor for displaying the unconditional extent of your love; an aspect Parton captures in her love-letter of a song, whether you perceive it as reflecting love back to your children, your partner, parents, or the deceased;
“From here to the moon and back, who else in this world will love you like that? Love everlasting I promise you that, from here to the moon and back.”
6. Brooks & Dunn – Neon Moon
Brooks & Dunn’s 2009 country track carries a subtle 80’s style arpeggio beneath its clear-skied soundscape, harmonising the best of the past and present into one stunning piece.
The title, ‘Neon Moon’, is used as a metaphor to describe the loneliness which lingers through the night, whilst being blinded by desiderium to the beauty that surrounds you;
“When the sun goes down on my side of town, that lonesome feeling comes to my door, the whole world turns blue, There’s a rundown bar cross the railroad track, I’ve got a table for two, way in the back where I sit alone and think of losing you, I spend most every night, beneath the light of a neon moon.”
This is an anthem for anyone seeking an uplifting reflection of their crippling heartache, helping to release the stagnant energy; “If you lose your one and only, there’s always room here for the lonely, to watch your broken dreams dance in and out of the beams of a neon moon.”
7. Hank Williams III – Howlin’ At The Moon
Hank Williams III gives a new energy to his granddad’s vintage track, Howlin’ At The Moon. With the essence of country inherent in his blood, it’s no wonder this cover is a hit.
Howlin’ At The Moon brims with quirky imagery, illustrating the feral nature of falling in love, wildhearted emotions and the crazed inability to think of anything but them;
“Well, I took one look at you and it almost drove me mad, and then I even went and lost what little sense I had, now I can’t tell the day from night, I’m crazy as a loon, you got me chasing rabbits, pulling out my hair and howling at the moon.”
Hank’s characterful voice naturally compels and holds your attention to his lyrical storytelling, set in the heart of the country landscape, “I rode my horse to town today and a gas pump we did pass, I pulled him up and I hollered ‘Whoa!’, said fill him up with gas.”