Bad Moon Rising

Review by J. Fogerty

This song is definitely not about astrology. The imagery came from a 1941 movie, The Devil and Daniel Webster, about a Senator who makes a deal with the Devil (played by Walter Huston). The idea of the film was that the Devil was protecting Daniel Webster because of the deal they had made. There's one great scene where there's a huge storm, and the neighbor's corn crop was completely knocked down. But next door, the Devil and Daniel Webster are standing side-by-side, looking out the barn door. You can see Daniel Webster's corn still standing tall in a straight row, six feet high. The contrast represented a very strong image to me. I took it in a Biblical sense, meaning hurricanes and lightening. "Don't go round tonight/It's bound to take your life/There's a bad moon on the rise." Scary, spooky stuff.

i think the song suggests things about dirty politics and violence. maybe fogerty just got tired of being always looked down on.

what about the Vietnam war. don't the lyrics apply describe battle? earthquakes and lightning being explosives shaking the ground and lighting the night sky. "voice of rage and ruin" could be a number of things, a commanding officer, inner voice. And the entire third verse would describe the fighting itself as "nasty weather" and the line "one eye taken for an eye" reflects the biblical quote "eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" about justify killing in war.

or may be it's just a littl' ol' country-rocktune refereing to a storm that might be seasonal.Anyhow folks ,do'ye all know that when John sings this live,he changes the words a little?observant fan will notice that on quite a few of his recent live recordings John sings"there's a bathroom on the right"

i think he has just had a bad month, a lot of coltures had one moon for one month

i was told that Bad Moon Rising is about Richard Nixon's time as president of the US

Anonymous
Anonymous
Anonymous

I have heard that he sings Bathroom to the right, maby a stupid question, but, was Fogerty realy in the Vietnam? (or has every older american been in Vietnam, so it seems)

//Sweden

Michael is right the song is influenced from the movie exactly as he describes in the fiirst post here.
Also JF wrote the song when he heard that Richard Nixon was about to run for the presidency so you might combine the film with that.

No JF never went to Vietnamn. Actually the song Proud Mary is about when he got his release paper from the army. He felt so happy that he just did some Cartweeling in his back yard. He had this intro in his head that became Prod Mary. Excellent song by the way

Kaj from Sweden

THIS IS ALL VERY INTERESTING BUT THE PART ABOUT NIXON SEEMS UNLIKELY. ONE VIRTUE OF CCR WAS THAT AT A TIME WHEN MANY BANDS WERE WRITING SONGS WHICH HAD A LOT TO DO WITH IDEAS AND SLOGANS AND LITTLE TO WITH ACTUAL PEOPLE, FOGERTY'S LYRICS WERE GROUNDED IN THE LIVES OF REAL PEOPLE, LIKE DISILLUSIONED SINGERS WHO FIND THEMSELVES PERFORMING AT SAD NIGHT CLUBS IN LODI, CALIFORNIA AND PEOPLE WHO CAN WRITE SONGS FOR EVERYONE BUT CAN'T TALK TO THE PERSON THEY ARE CLOSEST TO. AND THE CCR SONGS THAT ARE ALMOST POETIC, LIKE THE "RAIN" SONGS, EXPRESS A KIND OF WEARINESS AT ALL THE "ISMS".

THE "PROUD MARY" STORY OF CARTWHEELS IN THE BACKYARD SOUNDS CREDIBLE. VERY FEW KIDS, EVEN THE MOST PATRIOTIC, WANTED TO GO TO VIETNAM. SOME EVEN AVOIDED IT BY GOING TO EXOTIC PLACES LIKE STOCKHOLM.

GUSTAFSON OF THE PLAINS