By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas. Their next, the critically-acclaimed Heaven Up Here, reached the Top Ten in 1981, as did 1983's Porcupine and '84's Ocean Rain. Read Full BioEcho & the Bunnymen is a British Post-punk band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of Ian McCulloch (of The Crucial Three), Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson. There are many stories, probably apocryphal, that the quartet was completed by a drum machine known as "Echo".
By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas. Their next, the critically-acclaimed Heaven Up Here, reached the Top Ten in 1981, as did 1983's Porcupine and '84's Ocean Rain. Singles like "The Killing Moon" (later used in the soundtrack to Donnie Darko, a film whose imagery owed much to the artwork of the band's early records.), "Silver," "Bring on the Dancing Horses," and "The Cutter" helped keep the group in the public eye as they took a brief hiatus in the late 1980s. Their 1987 self-titled LP was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there.
McCulloch quit the band in 1988. De Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident one year later. The others decided to continue, recruiting Noel Burke to replace McCulloch on vocals in Reverberation (1990), which did not generate much excitement among fans or critics. Burke, Sargeant and Pattinson split after that, but the surviving three fourths of the original band reformed in 1997 and released Evergreen (1997), What are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Flowers (2001) , Siberia (2005), and the latest addition, The Fountain (2009). The group's old audience liked the return to their classic sound, and they also managed to gain a number of new, younger listeners.
Echo and the Bunnymen were managed early on by Bill Drummond, who went on to be a founder member of The KLF.
The Killing Moon
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
In starlit nights, I saw you
So cruelly, you kissed me
Your lips, a magic world
Your sky, all hung with jewels
The killing moon
Will come too soon
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Under blue moon, I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
La
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
La, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
The Killing Moon by Echo & the Bunnymen is a song full of mystery and longing. It begins with the line “Under blue moon, I saw you,” which sets a dreamlike tone for the rest of the song. The lyrics describe a deep desire for someone, despite knowing that it may not end well. The line “So soon you’ll take me up in your arms, too late to beg you or cancel it” suggests a sense of inevitability, as if the protagonist knows that they will be seduced by this person but cannot resist. The reference to the “killing time” and “the killing moon” hints at a sense of danger or foreboding, as if this person is a predator coming to claim their prey.
The chorus of the song offers a sense of resignation to fate, with the repeated lines “Fate, up against your will, through the thick and thin, he will wait until you give yourself to him.” The protagonist seems to believe that their fate is sealed, that they are powerless to resist the pull of this person, and ultimately they will succumb to them.
Overall, The Killing Moon is a song that captures the bittersweet feelings of desire and longing, combined with a sense of inevitability and danger. The melody and lyrics work together to create a haunting feeling that stays with the listener long after the song has ended.
Line by Line Meaning
Under blue moon, I saw you
The singer saw the person he's singing to under the light of the moon
So soon you'll take me
The singer is certain that the person he's singing to will take him soon
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
The singer will be in the embrace of the person he's singing to and it will be too late for him to beg for anything
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The singer regrets that he must go through with whatever is going to happen, even though he knows he should cancel it
The killing time
The time of death or destruction
Unwillingly mine
The singer doesn't want to be associated with the killing time or the events that are going to happen
Fate
Destiny or predetermined course of events
Up against your will
The person the singer's singing to has no control over fate
Through the thick and thin
Whatever happens, this person will have to face it
He will wait until
This person must wait until something specific happens before they can move forward
You give yourself to him
The person the singer's singing to has to give themselves completely to fate, regardless of their personal desires
In starlit nights, I saw you
The singer saw the person he's singing to in the light of the stars
So cruelly, you kissed me
The person the singer's singing to kissed him with cruelty and malice
Your lips, a magic world
Despite the cruelty of the kiss, the person's lips are magical to the singer
Your sky, all hung with jewels
The person's sky (world) is full of beautiful things, despite the cruelty of the kiss
The killing moon
The moon shining down on the events to come
Will come too soon
The events the singer isn't looking forward to will happen sooner than expected
La
A nonsensical syllable used for poetic effect
Lyrics © Tratore, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Ian Stephen McCulloch, Leslie Thomas Pattinson, Peter Louis Vincent De Freitas, William Alfred Sergeant
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Fatima Venice Fajardo
Under blue moon, I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
In starlit nights, I saw you
So cruelly, you kissed me
Your lips, a magic world
Your sky, all hung with jewels
The killing moon
Will come too soon
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Under blue moon, I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
La
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
La, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
Cognitive Triad
LYRICS
Under blue moon, I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
In starlit nights, I saw you
So cruelly, you kissed me
Your lips, a magic world
Your sky, all hung with jewels
The killing moon
Will come too soon
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Under blue moon, I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
Or cancel it, though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
La
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
La, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la, la, la
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
La, la, la, la
La, la, la, la
Warwick 1088
The Killing Moon
Under blue Moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
In starlit nights I saw you
So cruelly you kissed me
Your lips a magic world
Your sky all hung with jewels
The killing Moon
Will come too soon
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Under blue Moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms
Too late to beg you or cancel it
Though I know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine
(2x)
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him (2x)
(2x)
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Natan Severo
Lyrics:
[Verse 1]
Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms too late to beg you
Or cancel it though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
[Chorus]
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
[Verse 2]
In starlit nights I saw you
So cruelly you kissed me
Your lips a magic world
Your sky all hung with jewels
The killing moon
Will come too soon
[Chorus]
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
[Solo]
[Verse 1]
Under blue moon I saw you
So soon you'll take me
Up in your arms, too late to beg you
Or cancel it though I know it must be
The killing time
Unwillingly mine
[Chorus]
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
You give yourself to him
carl jules
Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Smiths and Echo & the Bunnymen were pure magic, their music is timeless and so rich of great tunes.
Nayr Tnartsipac
I like this song. But im more of a coil, throbbing gristle, psychic tv kinda fella
donnadizucchero
And deep transgressive lyrics, now you really don't need much English to understand the song, back then Souixies', Cure's, Crowded House's and many others LP sleeves were my textbook)))
Nahui Legorreta
@Nayr Tnartsipac Current 93 and Death in June too
Mike Luke
Good taste Carl! The smiths were gods! You handsome devil.
amirah ophelia♡
cant forget The Cure
B. Vinci
it makes me sad, I don't think we'll hear music like this ever again. there's something so magical and otherworldly it is.
gupe
theres still goth and post punk music being made today that's as good or better than this, you just have to look for it.
Senja Raunio
@gupe got some recommendations?
happy puppies
@Senja Raunio minature tigers - tailspin
Rilo kiley - “science vs romance”
Micheal Kiwanuka - love and hate
Inner wave - 88
Gus dapperton - I’m just snacking
The rare occasions - notion