And down that mythical Highway there is a Bar. Inside that Bar is a Stage. On that Stage is a Band. That Band is the Moondoggies.
The Moondoggies are a four-piece band from Seattle that plays timeless American music. Warm three-part harmonies, gothic Rhodes organ, and wanderlust guitar mark a sound rooted in boogie blues and cosmic country; whip-smart songwriting leads to hook-heavy tunes that bristle with originality. Led by 22-year-old singer/guitarist Kevin Murphy, the Moondoggies are intent on artistic balance. They're a serious band with a silly name. They play music that speaks of travel but is strongly connected to its place of origin. They're young musicians continuing a legacy that goes back generations. Songs that unravel over seven sinuous minutes are somehow catchy and compact.
Murphy and his band mates—Robert Terreberry on bass, Carl Dahlen on drums, and Caleb Quick on keys—started making music together as teenagers (all but Quick graduated from Cascade High in Everett, a Seattle suburb). The Familiars, their first band, was a noisy, garage-rocking outfit that gained minor notoriety locally, but the boys soon realized their passion lied in vocal harmonies, not power chords. Seeking the inspiration of new surroundings, Murphy lit out for Ketchikan, Alaska in the summer of 2005. It was there, in a dusty attic with an acoustic guitar and four-track recorder, that he zeroed in on the Moondoggies' sound. Upon his return to Seattle, the band took up residence at the Blue Moon Tavern, a notorious University District dive that for over 70 years has boozed up a rogue's gallery of writers, poets, artists, student radicals, and other drunks. The Moondoggies and the Blue Moon were made for each other. Before long they accrued a dedicated following drawn to the band's woozy, spirited live shows and a new Northwest phenomenon was born.
That same spirit shows up on Don't Be A Stranger, the Moondoggies' debut. Shades of gospel, blues, rock, and country commingle; wall-of-sound harmonies radiate joy and passion; songs remain in the mind long after the record ends. The influence of the Band, the Byrds, and especially early Grateful Dead is evident, though the Moondoggies’ lyrical economy and compositional sensibility render these 13 tracks fresh and unique. From the hard-charging garage boogie of "’ol Blackbird" to the mournful, hand-clapped spiritual "Jesus on the Mainline" to the anthemic rock 'n' soul of "Changing" to the rollicking, bar-room singalong "Bogachiel Rain Blues," each of these songs earns a slot in the great American jukebox.
"I don’t think sitting down and playing guitar is an old-time thing," Murphy recently told The Seattle Times. "Our sound is what seems to happen when we sit around and sing and play. It's never going to get old. People will always do that."
There will always be a Band that sings the song of The Highway. For us, for now, that band is the Moondoggies.
Night & Day
The Moondoggies Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I'm thinkin' about you
When I'm thinkin' about you
Oh I've been thinkin' about you
Night and day
Night and day
Night and day
Oh I ladididum
When I'm lyin' beside you
When I'm lyin' beside you
Oh I've been lyin' beside you all night long
Oh I've been lyin' beside you all night long
Oh I've been lyin' beside you all night long
Oh I ladididum
I don't know what I want from you
I don't know what I want from you
Oh I been wishin' I could leave you alone tonight
Oh I been wishin' I could leave you alone tonight
I don't know what I want from you
I don't know what I want from
Oh I believe in something better
And I believe that your heart is like a rain cloud(?)
Well now I'm runnin' on down the track
And I ain't lookin' back
You say love's a dirty road
Follow it and you'll get cold
Oh I believe in somethin' greater
And I believe that your heart is like a bright cloud(?)
Well now I'm runnin' on down the track
And I ain't lookin' back
You say love's a dirty road
Follow it and you'll get cold
The Moondoggies’ “Night & Day” is a powerful song that speaks of the joys and complexities of love. The opening lines set the tone for the song, as the singer expresses the physical reactions he experiences when he thinks about his lover. He sings about how his body sways and shakes when he’s with her, and how he can’t stop thinking about her both day and night. The repetition of the phrase “Night and day” emphasizes the all-consuming nature of his feelings.
Despite his intense attraction to his lover, the singer admits that he doesn’t know what he wants from her. He wishes he could leave her alone, but his desires pull him back to her. The uncertainty and indecisiveness he feels are contrasted with his firm beliefs in “something better” and the greatness of his lover’s heart. He’s willing to run forward and leave the past behind, knowing that love is a difficult journey but ready to take the risk.
Overall, “Night & Day” is a potent exploration of love’s highs and lows, capturing the complexity and intensity of the emotions that come with a passionate relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
This is the way my body sways
When I'm thinkin' about you
The singer's body moves in a certain way when they think about their love interest
When I'm thinkin' about you
Oh I've been thinkin' about you
Night and day
Night and day
Night and day
Oh I ladididum
The singer thinks about their love interest constantly, day and night
This is the way my body shakes
When I'm lyin' beside you
When I'm lyin' beside you
The singer's body reacts in a different way when they are next to their love interest than when they are just thinking about them
Oh I've been lyin' beside you all night long
Oh I've been lyin' beside you all night long
Oh I ladididum
The singer has spent the entire night next to their love interest
I don't know what I want from you
I don't know what I want from you
Oh I been wishin' I could leave you alone tonight
Oh I been wishin' I could leave you alone tonight
I don't know what I want from you
I don't know what I want from
The singer is unsure of what they want from their love interest and sometimes wishes they could just leave them alone
Oh I believe in something better
And I believe that your heart is like a rain cloud(?)
Well now I'm runnin' on down the track
And I ain't lookin' back
You say love's a dirty road
Follow it and you'll get cold
The singer has a belief in something positive and sees their love interest as having the potential for this. They are determined to keep moving forward and ignore any warnings that love will only bring them harm.
Oh I believe in somethin' greater
And I believe that your heart is like a bright cloud(?)
Well now I'm runnin' on down the track
And I ain't lookin' back
You say love's a dirty road
Follow it and you'll get cold
Similar to the previous verse, the singer believes in something better and is optimistic about their love interest, despite warnings of love's dangers.
Contributed by Maya T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.