In October 1978, McCulloch founded Echo & the Bunnymen with Will Sergeant (guitar), Les Pattinson (bass), and a drum machine (allegedly named Echo), making their live début at Eric's in November that year. In October 1979 the Bunnymen exchanged the drum machine for Pete de Freitas on drums. With their line up solidified, the Bunnymen played in the late 1970s and early 1980s, releasing their critically praised debut album, Crocodiles in 1980, and the heavier, bass driven, Heaven up Here in 1981. They released their third album Porcupine in 1983 with the lead single "The Cutter" finishing in the Top 10 of the UK Charts. Ocean Rain followed in 1984.
In 1988, McCulloch left the group to pursue a solo career under the impression the Bunnymen would be laid to rest, if only temporarily. When the remaining Bunnymen continued using the name with new singer Noel Burke, the split became permanent with McCulloch referring to the band as "Echo & the Bogusmen".
In 1990, McCulloch released the album Candleland which reflected a more mature outlook on the world, owing to the recent deaths of McCulloch's father and his friend Pete de Freitas. The album peaked at number 18 in the UK Charts. It yielded two Modern Rock Tracks hits, "Proud To Fall" (No. 1 for 4 weeks) and "Faith and Healing." His album Mysterio was released in 1992, but the public's interest in the former Bunnyman was waning and it sold less than its predecessor. Shortly after, McCulloch left the public eye to devote more time to his family.
McCulloch rekindled his relationship with Will Sergeant, leading to the formation of Electrafixion in 1994. The band released the album Burned which peaked at number 38 in the UK and included the top-30 hit "Sister Pain." The band soon found themselves performing set lists composed of half Electrafixion songs and half Echo & the Bunnymen songs.
In 1997, Echo & the Bunnymen reformed and released the album Evergreen to positive reviews and chart success. Evergreen made the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart and the single "Nothing Lasts Forever reached No. 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[12] The reformed Bunnymen have since recorded several further albums, the most recent being Meteorites[/abum] which was released in 2014.
The Killing Moon
Ian McCulloch 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
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
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 la
La la la la la
La la la
"The Killing Moon" by Ian McCulloch is a haunting love song shrouded in mystery, with lyrics that are open to interpretation. The song tells the story of a romantic encounter under a blue moon, a symbol of mystery and unpredictability. The singer appears to have given in to fate, as they find themselves in the arms of a lover, unable to resist their destiny. The lyrics suggest that this encounter may not end well, as the persona acknowledges it's 'the killing time', which could imply someone or something is going to die. However, despite the ominous tone of the song, there is a sense of surrender to the unknown and a yearning for the intensity of the moment.
The imagery in the song is rich and vivid, and reinforces the sense of otherworldliness. The blue moon, starlit nights, and lips like a 'magic world' all allude to the idea of an enchanted, fairytale-like world that exists outside of reality. McCulloch's singing style and the song's instrumentation only add to the ethereal atmosphere, with a faint choral chanting in the background, and soft guitars that evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia.
Line by Line Meaning
Under blue moon I saw you
I saw you for the first time under the night sky with a blue moon
So soon you'll take me
I know that you will soon take me with you
Up in your arms
You will hold me in your arms, safe and sound
Too late to beg you or cancel it
I know that it's futile to try to stop what's going to happen
Though I know it must be the killing time
I realize that the moment that I've been waiting for, the final and irrevocable act, is fast approaching
Unwillingly mine
I belong to you, though I may not choose to do so
Fate
Up against your will
Through the thick and thin
He will wait until
You give yourself to him
I am fated to be with you, even if you resist it. Despite the trials and tribulations, you will give yourself to me in the end
In starlit nights I saw you
I saw you on many nights, under the bright light of the stars
So cruelly you kissed me
You kissed me with such passion and desire, only to leave me wanting more
Your lips a magic world
Your lips seemed to contain a world of pleasure and enchantment
Your sky all hung with jewels
The killing moon
Will come too soon
The moon that shone down upon you at that moment was full of wonder, but I fear that the time for that moment has passed and death will come
La la la la la
This is the sound of the music as the story unfolds
Contributed by Landon A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Samuel Placensia
The first time I ever heard this song was when I was 15 years old in 1992. I was walking home from school and it was a cold and rainy friday afternoon in L.A. listening to KROQ. And then this wonderful and amazing melancholy beautiful song started to play. I was so blown away by the melody and the beautiful lyrics and how this song just built it self up to this wonderful musical journey. I’ll never forget that day. It was one of the best of my life. That one moment in time is frozen in my memories. The cool rainy weather, the smell of the wet trees, the dark clouds above, the lightning flashes, the rain pouring down on my head, my breath visible in the cold, and this Killing Moon playing and speaking to my soul. It was like God himself was singing to me.
zfilmmaker
Prior to the release, I was already a fan, I waited three hours in line at Tower Records to buy Ocean Rain on CD the day it released. The first time I heard it was on the radio and later on my Sony CD Walkman.
Colin Böttger
It was not L.A. for me but Buchholz in Northern Germany in 1987 but the feeling was as intense.
And….you are a great writer
Achilles
He wrote this song by inverting the chords to David Bowie's Space Oddity
D Moon
@Samuel Placensia thanks for laying that memory out there, now it radiates
Tiffany T.
Epic memory. Thanks for the visual.
D'Angelo Romero
still one of the best songs ever written.
Julie Arvaniti
It' s my favorite song !
Michael Forde
He is still the master of 80s melancholy with a serious sense of style
Rey German
Oh yeah