Harvest Moon (Neil Young song)

"Harvest Moon" is a song written by Neil Young, and was released as the first single from his 1992 album Harvest Moon. It reached No. 36 on the UK Singles Chart.[1]

"Harvest Moon"
Single by Neil Young
from the album Harvest Moon
B-side"Old King"
ReleasedNovember 2, 1992
Recorded1992
Genre
Length5:03
LabelReprise
Songwriter(s)Neil Young
Producer(s)Neil Young
Neil Young singles chronology
"War of Man"
(1992)		 "Harvest Moon"
(1992)		 "Unknown Legend"
(1993)
Music video
"Harvest Moon" on YouTube

Background and composition

The song uses a moon motif, which Young has mentioned as being very important to him and having quasi-religious undertones. Linda Ronstadt provides the backing vocals.[2] The song is composed in the key of D Major, with Young's vocal range spanning from D3 to F#4.[3]

Reception

Rolling Stone ranked "Harvest Moon" in 2014 as the 37th-best Neil Young song of all time.[4] AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald strongly praised the song, stating that the song epitomized the album and "the power of nature and music, as well as a feeling of celebrating lifetime love are the focal points here, and Young captures it all in his typically literate, artless style." Greenwald praised the melody as "positively gorgeous, and it's one that could have easily framed a heavier song."[2] "Classic Rock Review" called it an "absolute masterpiece of a title song" that "celebrates longevity in relationships and love affairs with a flawless melody backed by a perfect music arrangement." They went on to say that "from the upfront acoustic riffing to the picked steel guitar, subtleties of ethereal sounds, soft brush strokes on the drums, and beautiful background vocals, this song captures the essence of beauty and romance as well any song ever."[5]

Pitchfork said, "Young lets his guitar summon a vast distance—detuning the lowest string and letting it reverberate through the central riff, fingerpicking the harmonics high up the fretboard during the verses. The sound itself seems to conjure eternity, and the words do, too."[6] The music critic Alexis Petridis wrote that Harvest Moon was a "genuinely beautiful hymn to marriage and enduring love".[7]

Filming location

The music video for the song was filmed at The Mountain House, a restaurant situated inside a redwood forest at Skyline Boulevard, Woodside, California. [8]

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[11] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Harvest Moon by Neil Young". Songfacts. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  2. Greenwald, Matthew. "Harvest Moon - Song Review". AllMusic. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  3. "Digital Sheet Music – Neil Young – Harvest Moon". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing. April 5, 2004. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  4. "The 100 Greatest Songs". Neil Young. Rolling Stone. 2014. p. 89.
  5. "Harvest Moon by Neil Young". Classic Rock Review. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
  6. Sam Sodomsky. "The 250 Best Songs of the 1990s". Pitchfork.
  7. Petridis, Alexis (5 November 2016). "Neil Young – every album ranked!". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  8. "Remembering Neil Young's Amazing 'Harvest Moon' Video". www.audacy.com. 2019-09-13. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  9. "RPM Top 100 Singles - February 13, 1993" (PDF).
  10. "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1993" (PDF). RPM. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  11. "British single certifications – Neil Young – Harvest Moon". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 6, 2020.

Neil Young - Harvest Moon on YouTube

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