Shine On Harvest Moon
Channel: Pretty Good American Songbook
Date: 2020-09-12

The term “Harvest Moon" refers to the full, bright moon that occurs closest to the start of autumn and dates from the time before electricity, when farmers depended on the Moon's light to harvest their crops late into the night - and, according to the lyrics of this song, young couples relied on the same light to ‘stay outdoors and spoon!’ Scandalous!

This popular song was penned in 1908 by Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth, the married Vaudville couple, and was debuted by them in the Ziegfeld Follies of the same year to wild acclaim! 

Harvest Moon has been recorded and performed by countless artists, but the incomparable Leon Redbone remains my favorite.

I hope you enjoy this version, complete with clips from a 1933 'following-the-bouncing-moon' cartoon sing-a-long by Dave Fleischer.

Download the lyrics and chords: 
https://www.prettygoodamericansongbook.com/lyrics

Links of Interest:

-About the song: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shine_On,_Harvest_Moon 
-About the moon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_moon#Harvest_moon
-Dave Fleisher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Fleischer
-Jack Norworth: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Norworth
-Nora Bayes: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nora_Bayes
-Ziegfeld Follies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziegfeld_Follies
-Leon Redbone: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Redbone


For more songs and stuff visit: https://www.prettygoodamericansongbook.com/

Keywords: Pretty Good American Songbook, Great American Songbook, Songbook, Ukulele, Novelty, Fox Trot, Ballad

Season 461