Moody River
| "Moody River" | |
|---|---|
 Moody River by Pat Boone | |
| Single by Pat Boone | |
| from the album Moody River | |
| B-side | "A Thousand Years" |
| Released | May 1961 |
| Genre | Country pop |
| Length | 2:41 |
| Label | Dot |
| Songwriter(s) | Gary D. Bruce |
| Producer(s) | Randy Wood |
| Audio sample | |
"Moody River" is a song released in May 1961, which was performed by Pat Boone. It reached number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the following month.[1] It was written by and originally performed by country rockabilly singer Chase Webster (real name Gary Daniel Bruce, not to be confused with Gary Bruce of the Knack). Webster was a labelmate of Boone's at Dot Records.
This was the title track from one of Boone's better-selling albums. Boone sang this song as if he were in pain. It was covered some years later by Johnny Burnette in 1962, also Frank Sinatra and Johnny Rivers. In August 2009, John Fogerty covered the song in the album entitled The Blue Ridge Rangers Rides Again.
Plot
The song tells the story of a man who goes to meet his love at the river, by the old oak tree, and finds that she has committed suicide. A note on the riverbank explains that she has cheated on him and that "No longer can I live with this hurt and this sin. I just couldn't tell you that guy was just a friend." He then looks into the river and sees his own reflection on the river looking back, ever hauntingly, at him. He is the "lonely, lonely face just lookin' back at me". So with "Tears in his eyes, and a prayer on his lips, and the glove of his lost love, at his fingertips".
Chart performance
| Chart (1961) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada CHUM Hit Parade[2] | 1 |
| New Zealand (Lever Hit Parade)[3] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] | 1 |
| U.S. Adult Contemporany | 4 |
| U.K. Singles charts | 18 |
See also
External links
- Pat Boone at Bear Family Records
- Video of original recording by Chase Webster on YouTube
- "Beachwood Reporter" background and commentary on Moody River
 | This 1960s single-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ CHUM Tribute Charts, June 26, 1961
- ^ Flavour of New Zealand, 20 July 1961
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
