A-side "Hi, Hi, Hi" Format 7-inch single Length 4:33 | Released 1 December 1972 Genre Reggae | |
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Recorded November 1972
Morgan Studios, London | ||
"C Moon" is a pop song with a reggae beat, written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side with "Hi, Hi, Hi" in 1972. With the ban of "Hi Hi Hi" in the United Kingdom, "C Moon" became a top five hit. On the strength of that chart performance, it was included in McCartney's 1987 hits compilation, All the Best!.
Contents
Lyrics and structure
The name "C Moon" was inspired by lyrics in the song "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. McCartney said, "There's a line in [Wooly Bully] that says, 'Let's not be L7.' Well, L7, it was explained at the time, means a square—put L and 7 together and you get a square... So I thought of the idea of putting a C and a moon together (a half-moon) to get the opposite of a square. So 'C Moon' means cool, in other words."
The recording includes a missed-cue intro that was kept in the released version. Sometimes, when the song is performed live, McCartney will shout words in Jamaican (including "Rastafari") during the intro, replacing the line "Was that the intro I should have been in?".
The song is in the key of C and is in 4/4 time. The performers change instruments from their usual places. Guitarist Henry McCullough plays drums, guitarist Denny Laine plays bass, and drummer Denny Seiwell plays xylophone.
The song was recorded around the same time as "Hi, Hi, Hi", in November 1972.
Releases
The song was included on the Paul McCartney compilation albums All the Best! (1987) and Wingspan: Hits and History (2001). It was also included as a bonus track on the 1993 remastered CD of Red Rose Speedway, as part of The Paul McCartney Collection.