“The cover [Harvest Moon] was presented in a beautifully soft and soothing manner with the actor {Damian Lewis] showing off his vocal talent to the full…”
– Edward Burnett reviewing Damian’s gig at O2 in Oxford Mail
Each original track on Damian Lewis’ debut album, Mission Creep, carries a deeply personal story. For the past two weeks, I have made it my mission to explore these narratives one by one, sharing insights about each song in our new Fun Fun “Song of the Week” series. If you missed the previous posts, here are the stories behind Zaragoza, and She Comes.
This week, I will make an exception and highlight one of the three covers on Damian’s debut album: Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon.” Although it is not an original composition by Damian, this beautiful song has a story of its own worth sharing.
ENJOY!
Now, for those unfamiliar with the term, “Harvest Moon” refers to the full, luminous moon that appears closest to the beginning of fall. The name originates from a time before electricity, when farmers relied on the moon’s light to harvest their crops late into the night.
Neil Young released “Harvest Moon” as the first single from his 19th album bearing the same name in 1992. As the title track of the album, “Harvest Moon” uses the moon-motif, which Young mentioned as being very important to him. He shares in an interview with Rolling Stone why recording under a full Moon is important to him.
“I like to do it because it works for me. I don’t know if it works for everybody, but it works for me because you can feel the energy when the moon cycles change. That’s something that people have been aware of for years and years — some cultures more aware. Just as the new moon comes, you feel different that day, like when you turn the page. You just feel an energy. And then maybe a week later, you really start to feel something, and it’s usually really positive and creative, real good. So that’s why we choose the moon as the main date for ending the sessions.”
Blues & Soul: B&S: Talking of covers, there’s a very decent version of Neil Young’s ‘Harvest Moon’ on the album. I take it he’s one of your favorite artists?
Damian Lewis: Yeah, he is. I will say, Neil Young, the Godfather of Grunge, was always less ‘my bag.’ I mean, I love it. ‘Harvest Moon’ has gotta be one of my all-time favorite albums. Neil Young in that space for me is beautiful, is brilliant…every now and again I go back to that. I think it’s 1971. This enormous hulking figure of a man. He’s doing a BBC concert, it’s very 70’s and it’s very English. He just sets up on stage in front of a bunch of earnest-looking English, sort of early 1970s audience and just plays some of those songs and he gives a little description of what ‘Old Man’ is about. It’s actually not what you think, it’s not about his old man. Yeah, that’s why that’s there [on the album].
It’s difficult not to agree with Damian that “Harvest Moon” is one of the most beautiful songs ever written. The song evokes both melancholy and joy simultaneously. It could be played at a funeral or a wedding, and would have a profound way of touching your heart the same.
To cut to the chase, Damian has a heartwarming personal story about the song when he guests on the program The Line of Best Fit Nine Songs and chooses “Harvest Moon” as one of his favorite songs.
“I love “Harvest Moon” as a song. It moves me, it’s a very beautiful song. Neil Young always moaned about the success of Harvest, because he said it put him in the middle of the road and he didn’t travel well there. He didn’t like it, but it was a massive, number one selling album.
It was acoustic and I have to put my hand up and say, I like middle of the road Neil Young. I loved Harvest. And then many moons later – many harvest moons later – he made “Harvest Moon”, and I don’t feel I’m there yet, but there’s something very touching about the autumn of your life, which is what he’s singing about.
The video is so touching, it’s just him and his lady as an older couple, shuffling around the dance floor having a little dance. It’s absolutely beautiful and I love it. It was a song I actually sent to Helen once, my wife, who I lost a couple of years ago. I remember I was filming in New York, and I learned to play it on my guitar and it’s now one of the cover songs that I play in my set and it’s also on my album.”
I certainly do not want to bring my feelings into every tune Damian plays/sings. And he has already said and rightly so that Mission Creep is not a grief album.
However, this song evokes such a unique blend of emotions – sadness, and joy, and hope, all conveyed through Damian’s voice, that allows you to feel it all deeply. Very deeply.
Because I’m still in love with you
I wanna see you dance again
Because I’m still in love with you
On this harvest moon
The Financial Times music critic David Cheal nails it in his review of Mission Creep:
Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” is covered faithfully, Lewis’s voice smoothing out the crackles of Young’s original.
So here is “Harvest Moon” for you performed by Damian Lewis at Union Chapel weeks after releasing his debut album Mission Creep in 2023.
Now that we have talked about Damian’s story of Harvest Moon, we the crazy front row gang also have a story related to the song: A third grade arts and craft project!
Six of us in the front row hold huge letters D-A-M-I-A-N and dance to Harvest Moon and flip the letters in the middle of the song to have W-E-HEART-Y-O-U! We typically get a lot of laughter from the audience and got an “I love you, too” from our guy in Brighton! Here is a picture from the night we worked on it…
…and huge thanks go to Mr. Martin Porter (@martsarts on Instagram) for taking our picture at Cambridge Junction in March 2023 as we held our letters saying “DAMIAN” and “WEHEARTYOU” as Damian played Harvest Moon! Swipe right on the following Instagram post to see our picture!
Eleanor25