The Very Counterintuitive Inspiration For The Song “Dancing in the Moonlight”
There’s possibly no less brutal song than “Dancing in the Moonlight.” Even “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” had that part where they were knee-deep in flowers, so imagine all the thorns and insects they were dealing with. Meanwhile, King Harvest’s Sherman Kelly specifies that the people in “Dancing in the Moonlight” neither bark nor bite, seeing as they are feeling warm and bright. Furthermore, they never fight. Never! Not even about who finished off the sprouts. All they do is sit around waiting for night to fall so they can foxtrot, apparently. Honestly, they sound like a bunch of dweebs.
It’s surprising, then, that the song was born out of a savage gang beating. “On a trip to St. Croix in 1969, I was the first victim of a vicious St. Croix gang who eventually murdered eight American tourists,” Kelly later wrote. “At that time, I suffered multiple facial fractures and wounds and was left for dead.” So where does the whole lunar dancing deal fit in? “While I was recovering, I wrote ‘Dancin in the Moonlight,’ in which I envisioned an alternate reality, the dream of a peaceful and joyful celebration of life,” he continued, because he’s a lot better than us. We would have written a song called “Jerkasses Who Attempted Murdered Me Get Kicked in the Molars From the Inside.” But thanks to his optimism, “the song became a huge hit and was recorded by many musicians worldwide.”
In fact, it was actually recorded by a bunch of different musicians at the same time. Kelly first recorded “Dancing in the Moonlight” with his band Boffalongo in 1970, and the same year, a band called High Broom released it as a single. It wasn’t until two years later that King Harvest recorded the song, and they actually broke up well before the single became a hit. It would seem they do fight after all. The song went on to be repeatedly covered, most notably by Toploader in 2000, meaning random and merciless violence is responsible for that one really sweet Umbrella Academy scene. We think Kelly would agree it was worth it.
