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Rolling Stones songs: Child of the Moon
Oh, child of the moon/ Give me a misty day, pearly gray, silver, silky faced/ Wide-awake crescent-shaped smile…
Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Olympic Sound Studios, London, England, July 7-22, Oct. 16, 21 and 23 1967; March 23-29 1968 *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
Mick Jagger: vocals Keith Richards: guitar, backing vocals Brian Jones: soprano saxophone Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: drums Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano, organ), Jimmy Miller (backing vocals), Rocky Dijon (percussion)
More about Child of the Moon by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
Child Of The Moon: The Stones’ Psychedelic Farewell
Child of the Moon arrives like a lingering afterimage, the sound of the Rolling Stones letting go of one phase without quite stepping into the next. Released quietly as the B-side to Jumpin’ Jack Flash in 1968, it feels less like a statement than a mood caught in transition. Psychedelia hasn’t vanished, but it’s thinning out, turning inward, becoming reflective rather than explosive. The song opens in confusion, with a half-heard mutter that sounds more like an inside joke than a manifesto, before drifting into a landscape shaped by dusk, moonlight, and uncertainty. Mick Jagger’s lyrics resist narrative logic, preferring suggestion and atmosphere. Time passes from sunset to early morning, and the central figure remains elusive, more symbol than person. In retrospect, the track functions as a farewell note: not triumphant, not bitter, but hazy and unresolved. It captures a band pausing between worlds, aware that something is ending, unsure of what will replace it.
Lyrics As Moonlight
Rather than telling a story Child of the Moon sketches impressions. Jagger’s writing is unusually opaque, even for a period when ambiguity was fashionable. The verses move through stages of night, with the moon acting as both guide and witness. The woman at the center of the song feels unreal, defined by gestures and fleeting images rather than concrete traits. She could be a lover, a memory, or an idea—something the narrator reaches toward but never quite touches. The question of whether Marianne Faithfull inspired the song lingers in the background, but the lyrics never settle into autobiography. Instead, they float between romance and mysticism, grounding themselves only in mood. Jagger’s vocal delivery reinforces that uncertainty, stretching syllables and leaning into a drawl that sounds slightly detached, as if the singer himself is half-awake. The effect is intimate yet distant, drawing the listener in while keeping meaning just out of reach.
Mick Jagger (1968): “Child of the Moon is probably the more original of the two numbers we have cut for a single. It’s a pretty song. I think it will do well in America – it’s more for the American market. It has a country and western influence.”
Sound Between Eras
Musically the track mirrors this sense of suspension. Developed during the Their Satanic Majesties Request period and later refined during the Jumpin’ Jack Flash sessions, Child of the Moon bridges two distinct phases of the Stones’ sound. Reversed guitar textures open the track before Keith Richards settles into a steady rhythmic pattern, anchoring the haze. Bill Wyman’s fuzz bass looms large in the mix, giving the song weight and pulse, while Nicky Hopkins’ keyboards hover at the edges, enriching the atmosphere without drawing attention. Brian Jones contributes soprano saxophone, not as a showcase but as a subtle tonal layer. Produced by Jimmy Miller, the recording hints at the looser, more grounded direction the band would soon embrace. Psychedelia is still present, but it’s restrained, no longer reaching outward. The song breathes, drifts, and then fades, content to exist as a passing state rather than a destination.
Keith Richards: “Child of the Moon was one of the early open-tuning numbers on the electric guitars, because Street Fighting Man was all acoustic guitars.”
Shadows in the Trees
The promotional film deepens the song’s unsettling aura. Shot in a forest, it presents the Rolling Stones as figures removed from normal space, absorbed in their own isolation. Mick Jagger appears elevated and distant, while Brian Jones lingers at the margins, half-hidden, fragile, and uneasy. Two women gaze at the moon, reinforcing the sense of watching rather than acting. The imagery feels heavy with silence, and Jones’ presence casts a quiet shadow over the entire piece. Accounts from the shoot suggest growing tension, with Brian drifting away from the group even during filming. That sense of separation bleeds into the song itself, lending it an emotional gravity that goes beyond its lyrics. Later listeners and musicians would sense this undercurrent, hearing in Child of the Moon a rare convergence of country blues and fading psychedelia, touched by sadness rather than spectacle.
A Quiet Afterlife
Despite its obscurity Child of the Moon has never fully disappeared. Initially overlooked as a B-side, it gained a wider audience through later compilations, where it emerged as a curious footnote to a pivotal moment in the Stones’ history. Some dismiss it as minor or underdeveloped, pointing to its droning melody and subdued structure. Others hear it as an overlooked gem, valuable precisely because it doesn’t strive for impact. Its influence can be traced through the number of cover versions it inspired, particularly among alternative bands drawn to its atmosphere rather than its hook. The song doesn’t demand attention; it rewards patience. In the end, Child of the Moon endures as a document of transition—a song caught between styles, relationships, and identities. It may not define the Rolling Stones, but it quietly reveals them, standing in the shadows as one chapter closes and another begins.
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