The Song of the Day is:
Neil Young – “Harvest Moon”
From the album Harvest Moon (1992)
But now it’s gettin’ late
And the moon is climbin’ high
I want to celebrate
See it shinin’ in your eyeBecause I’m still in love with you
I want to see you dance againNeil Young
Welcome to charm school, with your instructor Mr. Young. I can’t really explain why, I haven’t otherwise heard this song lately, but I have spent a few mornings recently with this song playing in my last dream before waking. Honestly though, it’s been a pleasure to have this song dug up from deep inside of me for a morning greeting. “Harvest Moon” is such a simple song that it doesn’t need tricks or flourishes to earn your adoration, it just comes out like a gentle nighttime groove. Harvest Moon, the album was a semi-sequel to Young’s most commercially successful album Harvest, and he brings along his previous backing band, the Stray Gators. The Stray Gators were Ben Keith on steel guitar, Tim Drummond on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums, and the late Jack Nitzsche on piano, replaced for Harvest Moon by Spooner Oldham. At the time of this song’s release, the world was in experiencing the MTV Unplugged acoustic arrangement craze, and “Harvest Moon” could easily be seen Young’s (latest) audition piece. Unsurprisingly, Young would soon be tapped for the show and his next release was his live Unplugged album, which happened to feature this song as well. This song, as were others on the album of the same name, were affirmations to his wife Pegi Young. Pegi Young was an environmentalist, philanthropist and singer who was married to Neil for thirty-six years. Sadly, Pegi Young was one of this calendar year’s first high-profile passings, having succumbed to cancer. She can be seen in the music video for the song, as well, Linda Ronstadt can be heard as a backing vocalist. Neil Young had a quarter-century-long career at this point, but never had he been more engaging, and he is never more likely to be heard at a wedding than singing “Harvest Moon”.
Hear Today, Grown Tomorrow 