The New Vaudeville Band was a group created by songwriter Geoff Stephens in… Read Full Bio ↴The New Vaudeville Band was a group created by songwriter Geoff Stephens in 1966 to record his novelty composition "Winchester Cathedral", a song inspired by the dance bands of the 1920s. To his surprise, the song became a huge international hit, rising to #1 in the United States.

When Stephens received several requests for The New Vaudeville Band to tour he had to put together a group, since the song was recorded by studio musicians hired only for the recording session. He contacted a real group, the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, which played similar music at the time. Only Bob Kerr from that group was interested, so he left The Bonzos to help Stephens form a touring version of The New Vaudeville Band. The lead singer of the touring version of the group was Alan Klein, who was billed as 'Tristram—Seventh Earl Of Cricklewood'. The group enjoyed success for two years until the novelty wore off. Kerr then formed his own group, Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band, which continues to perform.

In 1967, The New Vaudeville Band released the Finchley Central LP.

Shine on Harvest Moon
New Vaudeville Band Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The night was mighty dark so you could hardly see
For the moon refused to shine
A couple sitting underneath the willow tree
For love, they pined
The little maid was kind of 'fraid of darkness
so she said I guess I'll go
The boy began to sigh
He looked up at the sky

Told the moon his little tale of woe

Shine on, shine on Harvest moon,
up in the sky
I ain't had no loving since
January, February, June, or July
Snow time ain't no time to stay
Outdoors and spoon

So shine on, shine on Harvest Moon
For me and my gal

Overall Meaning

The New Vaudeville Band's song "Shine on Harvest Moon" tells the romantic tale of a couple who are in love but separated by darkness. The night that they are spending together is particularly dark, as the moon has refused to shine. The little maid with the boy is frightened of the dark, and decides to leave. However, the boy is unable to bear the thought of being separated from his beloved, and begins to implore the moon to shine. He expresses his love with the lyrics, "I ain't had no loving since January, February, June, or July," indicating that he has been waiting a long time for this moment. The couple then shares a romantic moment under the soft glow of the newly shinning Harvest Moon.

Line by Line Meaning

The night was mighty dark so you could hardly see
It was so dark outside that visibility was poor.

For the moon refused to shine
The moon wasn't visible in the sky.

A couple sitting underneath the willow tree
Two people were sitting together beneath a willow tree.

For love, they pined
They were longing for love and companionship.

The little maid was kind of 'fraid of darkness
The young lady was afraid of the dark.

So she said I guess I'll go
The woman decided to leave.

The boy began to sigh
The boy started to exhale heavily.

He looked up at the sky
The boy gazed up at the sky.

Told the moon his little tale of woe
He confided his story of hardship and sorrow to the moon.

Shine on, shine on Harvest moon,
Moon, please shine radiantly on this autumn night

up in the sky
Where you belong.