The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress Lyrics
Radka Toneff
Lyrics
See her as she flies
Golden sails across the skies
Close enough to touch
But careful if you try
Though she looks as warm as gold
The moon's a harsh mistress
The moon can be so cold
Once the sun did shine
And Lord it felt so fine
The moon a phantom rose
Through the mountains and the pines
And then the darkness fell
The moon's a harsh mistress
It's hard to love her well
I fell out of his eyes
I fell out of his heart
I fell down on my face
I tripped and I missed my stars
And I fell and fell alone
The moon's a harsh mistress
The sky is made of stone
The moon's a harsh mistress
She's hard to call your own
Song & Lyrics Facts
Radka Toneff's "The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" was released on her posthumous album, Fairytales, in 1986. The song is written by Jimmy Webb and features Radka Toneff with the Brodsky Quartet as accompaniment.
The lyrics of this melancholic folk-jazz ballad are filled with imagery of a lonely moon watching over an empty landscape. With its poetic verses and emotive vocal delivery, “The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress” has become one of Toneff's most beloved songs. To this day it continues to be covered by many artists, including Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø who recorded her version for her 1995 album Innerst i sjelen.