Chuck Berry remains an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music who first began performing in 1953. Cub Koda wrote, "Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers." John Lennon was more succinct: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a "class" with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone's Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of All Time.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry's songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.
Chuck Berry held a special place, in terms of sound development, in the formation of, Mersey-Beat at Liverpool.
The finest exponent of Chuck Berry, guitar, sound at Liverpool during 1959 to 1963, was Vincent Tow/Ismail, who in turn passed on many of the learned skills to Lennon & McCartney, his friends and colleagues during that period--1959 to 1962/3.
Chuck Berry also influenced many of the great rock 'n' roll bands that we know today including The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
How High the Moon
Chuck Berry Lyrics
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How faint the tune
Somewhere there's heaven
How high the moon
There is no moon above
When love is far away too
Till it comes true
That you love me as I love you
Somewhere there's music
How near, how far
Somewhere there's heaven
It's where you are
The darkest night would shine
If you would come to me soon
Until you will, how still my heart
How high the moon
Somewhere there's music
How faint the tune
Somewhere there's heaven
How high the moon
The darkest night would shine
If you would come to me soon
Until you will, how still my heart
How high the moon
Chuck Berry’s How High The Moon is a romantic song that delves into the theme of love and distance. The opening lines, “Somewhere there’s music, how faint the tune, Somewhere there’s heaven how high the moon,” introduces the idea of love being an intangible and mysterious concept. Berry suggests that love is ever-present but elusive, and can be found in a distant and unknown place. The metaphor of the moon is used to signify distance, as it is a celestial body hanging far away from us. Love, too, can feel like it is out of reach and distant. The lines “It is no moon above when love is far away too, Till it comes true that you love me as I love you” indicate that love is only truly felt when reciprocated.
The next verse “Somewhere there's music, how near, how far, Somewhere there's heaven, it's where you are” conveys the idea that love can be both near and far. It can be present within us or far off with the one we love. The line, “The darkest night would shine if you would come to me soon, Until you will, how still my heart. How high the moon” is a plea to the lover to come closer, a cry that the night is darkest without the beloved. The repetition of “somewhere there’s music” and “how high the moon” emphasizes the mystery and distance of love while highlighting that the simple things like music or the moon bring us closer to it.
Overall, How High The Moon is Berry’s take on the complexities of human emotion. It is a song that conveys the intangible and the unexplainable joys of love, couched in the metaphors of music and the moon.
Line by Line Meaning
Somewhere there's music
Music exists somewhere out there, not necessarily physically present but in the form of an expression of sound.
How faint the tune
The music is too soft or delicate to be heard clearly, almost inaudible.
Somewhere there's heaven
There exists a place of ultimate joy and paradise, not necessarily a physical place but rather a state of being.
How high the moon
Heaven is beyond this world, represented by the vast distance between Earth and the moon.
There is no moon above
The physical presence of the moon is absent, symbolizing a lack of hope or happiness.
When love is far away too
The absence of love or companionship reinforces the lack of hope or happiness.
Till it comes true
Hope for love to materialize and bring happiness and joy in life.
That you love me as I love you
The need for mutual love, a two-way street, in order for happiness to be achieved.
How near, how far
The presence of love, happiness, and heaven can feel close or distant depending on one's perception and experience.
It's where you are
The existence of happiness, represented by heaven or music, is linked to the location of a loved one.
The darkest night would shine
The power of love, represented by a metaphorical light, to bring brightness in one's life, even in dark times.
If you would come to me soon
The hope for the loved one to return and alleviate the current absence of happiness or joy.
Until you will, how still my heart
The longing and absence of the loved one creates a yearning and stillness in the singer's heart.
How high the moon
The distance between the singer and the presence of happiness, love or heaven, symbolized by the vast distance between Earth and the moon.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Morgan Lewis, Nancy Hamilton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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