I just read in Q magazine that the classic Waterboys song the whole of the moon is about Prince. I have never heard this before. Does anyone know if this is true and what the story behind the song is?

zennabell said:

Mike Scott of the Waterboys has confirmed this.

langebleu said:

not surprising. karl wallinger of the waterboys (and world party) is a big prince fan.

Wow I just read the lyrics again.

Thats a pretty cool song and tribute to Prince.

I'm impressed !!

I never knew this, Ishall listen to it with new ears now!

I thought Mike Scott clearly stated it was not about Prince?
[Edited 12/2/05 16:34pm]

title sounds ....Gay ....


what are the lyrics>?

prince sure has a thing for the moon, makes me feel

Lyrics:

I pictured a rainbow
You held in your hands
I had flashes
But you saw the plan
I wandered out in the world for years
While you just stayed in your room
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon!
The whole of the moon!

You were there at the turnstiles
With the wind at your heels
You stretched for the stars
And you know how it feels
To reach too high
Too far
Too soon
You saw the whole of the moon!

I was grounded
While you filled the skies
I was dumbfounded by truths
You cut through lies
I saw the rain-dirty valley
You saw brigadoon
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon!

I spoke about wings
You just flew
I wondered, I guessed, and I tried
You just knew
I sighed
But you swooned
I saw the crescent
You saw the whole of the moon!
The whole of the moon!

With a torch in your pocket
And the wind at your heels
You climbed on the ladder
And you know how it feels
To reach too high
Too far
Too soon
You saw the whole of the moon!
The whole of the moon!

Unicorns and cannonballs,
Palaces and piers,
Trumpets, towers, and tenemets,
Wide oceans full of tears,
Flag, rags, ferry boats,
Scimitars and scarves,
Every precious dream and vision
Underneath the stars

You climbed on the ladder
With the wind in your sails
You came like a comet
Blazing your trail
Too high
Too far
Too soon
You saw the whole of the moon!


[Edited 12/2/05 18:24pm]

Great lyrics.

If it wasn't supposed to be about Prince, I would say it was about Jimi Hendrix. The imagery of -

'Unicorns and cannonballs,
Palaces and piers,
Trumpets, towers, and tenemets,
Wide oceans full of tears,
Flag, rags, ferry boats,
Scimitars and scarves,
Every precious dream and vision
Underneath the stars'


Kind of reflects Jimi's lyrics and music - also the flag mention makes me think of his 'Star Spangled Banner'.

But then there's the frequent reference to 'the Ladder'. It could be a reference to one of the poorer songs on 'ATWIAD' (IMO), I suppose. But Jimi could be said to have reached 'too high, too far, too soon' more than Prince ...

Also, who thinks that sounds like David Bowie on backing vocals at the end of 'Whole of the Moon' for one line? I'm sure it's not, but it's always struck me as sounding like the boy David to me.