Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist… Read Full Bio ↴Dakota Staton (June 3, 1930 – April 10, 2007) was an American jazz vocalist who found international acclaim with the 1957 No. 4 hit, "The Late, Late Show". She was also known by the Muslim name Aliyah Rabia for a period due to her conversion to Islam as interpreted by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community.

Born in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, she attended George Westinghouse High School and studied music at the Filion School of Music in Pittsburgh. Later she performed regularly in the Hill District, a jazz hotspot, as a vocalist with the Joe Westray Orchestra, a popular Pittsburgh orchestra. She next spent several years in the nightclub circuit in such cities as Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland and St. Louis. While in New York, she was noticed singing at a Harlem nightclub called the Baby Grand by Dave Cavanaugh, a producer for Capitol Records. She was signed and released several singles, her success leading her to win Down Beat magazine's "Most Promising Newcomer" award in 1955. In 1958, Staton wed Talib Dawud, a black Antigua-born Ahmadi Muslim trumpeter and noted critic of Elijah Muhammad. She subsequently converted to Islam and used the name Aliyah Rabia for some time. The marriage ultimately ended in divorce.

She released several critically acclaimed albums in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including: The Late, Late Show (1957), whose title track was her biggest hit, In the Night (1957), a collaboration with pianist George Shearing, Dynamic! (1958) and Dakota at Storyville (1961), a live album recorded at the Storyville jazz club in Boston. In the mid-1960s Staton moved to England, where she recorded the album Dakota ′67. Returning to the US in the early 1970s, she continued to record semi-regularly, her recordings taking an increasingly strong gospel and blues influence. She suffered a stroke in 1999, after which her health deteriorated. Staton died in New York City aged 76 in 2007.

Moonray
Dakota Staton Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Moonray,
Cast your spell upon my lover;
Under this starlit cover,
Use all your magic charms

Oh moonray,
Let your sweet enchantment blind you,
Then I shall wait to find you

Here in my lonely arms

Once we knew the joy
Of girl in love with boy,
But he made a toy of romance

So moonray,
Put an end to all my sorrows,
Bless me with sweet tomorrows,
Bring back my love to me

Once we knew the joy
Of girl in love with boy,
But he made a toy of romance,
He made a toy of romance

So moonray,
Put an end to all my sorrows,
Bless me with sweet tomorrows,
Bring back my love to me

Oh sunrays, moonrays,
Bring back my love to me

Overall Meaning

Dakota Staton's song "Moonray" depicts a woman pleading for the moon to cast its spell upon her lover and bring him back to her. In the first stanza, the woman seeks the moon's mysterious powers to help bring her lover back under the starlit sky. The magic of the moon is an indication of hope and the deep longing felt by the singer. She hopes that the enchanting powers of the moon will make her lover come back to her, and she can hold him in her arms again.

The second stanza continues with the woman asking the moon to use its powers to end her sorrows and bless her with sweet tomorrows. She uses words such as "enchantment" and "magic charms" to illustrate the powers of the moon to bring about positive change. The third stanza reminds us of the woman's initial hope that she would once find "the joy of girl in love with boy." However, she laments how her lover turned romance into a "toy" and left her lonely.

Overall, Dakota Staton's "Moonray" is a powerful love song that highlights the depths of human emotion and the desire for emotional fulfillment. Through the moon, the song identifies a way to bring about love and healing to a broken heart.

Line by Line Meaning

Moonray,
Addressing the moon, calling upon its mystic powers

Cast your spell upon my lover;
Asking the moon to use its power to enchant her lover

Under this starlit cover,
Highlighting the romantic setting under the stars

Use all your magic charms
Urging the moon to use all its powers to help her

Oh moonray,
Continuing to address the moon with reverence

Let your sweet enchantment blind you,
Willing to be captivated by the moon's magic

Then I shall wait to find you
Eager to continue the enchanting experience

Here in my lonely arms
Expressing her loneliness and need for her lover

Once we knew the joy
Reflecting back to happier times

Of girl in love with boy,
Specifically recalling the passion and love between them

But he made a toy of romance
Acknowledging that her lover didn't take their romance seriously