28 April 2005. Author: Craig Ray
Email: craig@frankray.co.uk
Moonshadow - Cat Stevens
Oh, I’m bein’ followed by a moonshadow
Leapin and hoppin’ on a moonshadow
And if I ever lose my hands, lose my plough, lose my land,
Oh if I ever lose my hands, ... I won’t have to work no more.
And if I ever lose my eyes, if my colours all run dry,
Yes if I ever lose my eyes, ... I won’t have to cry no more.
And if I ever lose my legs, I won’t moan, and I won’t beg,
Yes if I ever lose my legs, .... I won’t have to walk no more.
And if I ever lose my mouth, all my teeth, north and south,
Yes if I ever lose my mouth, ... I won’t have to talk no more.
Did it take long to find me? I asked the faithful light.
Did it take long to find me? and are you gonna stay the night?
Cat Stevens - Moonshadow Mp3 audio file.( 2.2 Mb)
Dad was a big fan of Cat Stevens as long as I can remember. If I close my eyes and imagine I can still see and hear him out in the garden at Tyne Close in Chelmsley Wood in the late hours of the evening with all the garden lights on, smoking a rollup and playing Cat Stevens as loud as he could. Doing what he could for great neighbourly relations.
I remember when Cat Stevens converted to Islam and became Yusuf Islam Dad taking a great interest in the Qur'an. It was probably around this time, I think I was around 10 years old, that he first started talking to me about his upbringing in Dublin and his hatred of the Christian Brothers and the school he attended.
The song says so much about Dad's life and his constant struggle with manic depression.
Dad did spend most of his life working outside and, weather permitting, in the shadow of the sun, and this is the way I remember him most. Happy times, full of laughter and careless abandon, living life to the full. It was only from when I was around 16-17 years old that Dad started to split his years, living part of the time in the shadow of the moon.
It's easy to associate Dads depression with the moon and his mania with the light of the sun. But I think the 'Moonshadow' was far more than that. To me it symbolised his struggle with religion, and to a far lesser degree, the meaning to 'it all'. He always had a huge faith in God and the human race. Indeed the only people that he seemed to have no faith whatsoever in were politicians, the higher ranks of the Catholic faith and people striving to conform to the 'normal', people who liked to keep the status quo.
I think the 'moonshadow' was God in some ways to Dad. It sort of became his closest companion, his friend, the person he spend most of is time with in later years. I supposed Dad almost made peace in many ways. He knew the moonshadow would find him and stay with him through his nights, for always. Just as he stays with me.
Links:
Cat Stevens - Moonshadow Mp3 audio file.( 2.2 Mb)
Cat Stevens web site.
Yusuf Islam web site.
