C Moon

Album This song officially appears on the Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon 7" Single.
Timeline This song has been officially released in 1972

Related sessions

This song has been recorded during the following studio sessions


Recording "C Moon"

Sep 02, 1972


Mixing "C Moon"

Nov 07, 1972


"James Paul McCartney" sessions

February - March 1973



Related articles


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Song facts

I was looking for a reggaeish kind of song. ‘L’ and ‘7’ put together mean ‘square’ in American jive talk: the ‘L’ had been one part of the square and the ‘7’ had formed the other part. I thought, what’s ‘cool’ then? So we had a ‘C’ and a half moon for the other half [of the circle] and we figured that ‘C Moon’ meant cool.

Paul McCartney, from Club Sandwich N°47/48, Spring 1988

From Wikipedia:

C Moon” is a pop song with a reggae beat, written by Paul and Linda McCartney and performed by Wings. It was released as a double A-side with “Hi, Hi, Hi” in 1972. The single reached No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and since “Hi Hi Hi” was banned by the BBC, “C Moon” received much airplay in the United Kingdom. In the United States, “C Moon” did not appear on any of the major record charts.

Lyrics and structure

The title “C Moon” was inspired by lyrics in the song “Wooly Bully” by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs. McCartney said, “There’s a line in [Wooly Bully] that says, ‘Let’s not be L7.’ Well, L7, it was explained at the time, means a square—put L and 7 together and you get a square… So I thought of the idea of putting a C and a moon together (a half-moon) to get the opposite of a square. So ‘C Moon’ means cool, in other words.

The recording includes a missed-cue intro that was kept in the released version.

The song is in the key of C and is in 4/4 time. The performers change instruments from their usual places. Guitarist Henry McCullough plays drums, guitarist Denny Laine plays bass, and drummer Denny Seiwell plays xylophone and cornet.

The song was recorded around the same time as “Hi, Hi, Hi“, in November 1972.

Releases

The song was included on the Paul McCartney compilation albums All the Best! (1987) and Wingspan: Hits and History (2001). It was also included as a bonus track on the 1993 remastered CD of Red Rose Speedway, as part of The Paul McCartney Collection. […]


Paul McCartney: The general reaction is that ‘Hi Hi Hi’ is kind of the strong side, but the reason we made it a double A is that ‘C Moon’ is one of those songs that catches up on you after a while. I can hear ‘C Moon’ in a year’s time, people saying, ‘Yeah! I like that one’. There’s things to listen to on that one, put it on headphones and it’s quite a trip.

Linda McCartney: Especially if you’ve just come home from work, that’s the side to get into. […]

Paul McCartney: We left all the little bits in that you’d normally clean up for the record. There’s the intro., the bit ‘is this the intro.’ that was for real. I missed the intro. and the song has changed because of it.”

From “The Beatles Diary Volume 2: After The Break-Up 1970-2001” by Keith Badman

‘C Moon’ was inspired by a line in a Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs single ‘Woolly Bully’, ‘Let’s not be L7’, which, if you put L and a 7 next to each other, you make a square. Similarly, if you put a moon and a C together, they make a circle. This is something I worked out with my mathematical brain and wrote a song about it. I’m hoping to get the word started in the Oxford Dictionary of Language within two years, this is my ambition. I wrote ‘C Moon’ in London recently. Denny, our drummer, plays cornet on it, Henry plays drums, Denny (Laine) bass, I, the bass player, play piano and Linda, the pianist, plays tambourine.

Paul McCartney – From “The Beatles: Off The Record 2 – The Dream is Over: Dream Is Over Vol 2” by Keith Badman

Last updated on April 18, 2022

Lyrics

C moon, C moon, C moon is she
C moon, C moon, C moon to me

How come no one older than me
Ever seems to understand the things I want to do?
It will be L seven and I'd never get to heaven
If I filled my head with glue
What's it all to you?

C moon, C moon, C moon is she
C moon, C moon, C moon to me

Bobby lived with Patty but they never
told her daddy
What their love was all about
She could tell her lover that he thought but
She never was the type to let it out
What's it all about?

C moon, C moon, oh, C moon are we
I said, C moon, C moon, C moon are we

How come no one older than me
Ever seems to understand the things I want to do?
It will be L seven and I'd never get to heaven
If I filled my head with glue
What's it all to you?

C moon, C moon, C moon is she
C moon, C moon, C moon to me

Bobby lived with Patty but they never told
her daddy
What their love was all about
She could tell her lover that he thought but
She never wanted to let it out
What's it all about?

C moon, C moon, C moon are we
C moon, C moon, C moon are we
C moon are we…

Officially appears on


Hi, Hi, Hi / C Moon

7" Single • Released in 1972

4:34 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Cornet, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Tambourine
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Bass
Henry McCullough :
Drums
Denny Seiwell :
Cornet, Xylophone
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer
Heather McCartney :
Backing vocals
Mary McCartney :
Backing vocals
Alan Parsons :
Mixing engineer
Mike Bobak :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Sep 02, 1972
Studio :
Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:
Nov 07, 1972
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


All The Best! (Box Set)

Official album • Released in 1987

4:31 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Cornet, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Tambourine
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Bass
Henry McCullough :
Drums
Denny Seiwell :
Cornet, Xylophone
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer
Heather McCartney :
Backing vocals
Mary McCartney :
Backing vocals
Alan Parsons :
Mixing engineer
Mike Bobak :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Sep 02, 1972
Studio :
Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:
Nov 07, 1972
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


All The Best! (UK version)

Official album • Released in 1987

4:34 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Cornet, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Tambourine
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Bass
Henry McCullough :
Drums
Denny Seiwell :
Cornet, Xylophone
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer
Heather McCartney :
Backing vocals
Mary McCartney :
Backing vocals
Alan Parsons :
Mixing engineer
Mike Bobak :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Sep 02, 1972
Studio :
Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:
Nov 07, 1972
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


All The Best! (US version)

Official album • Released in 1987

4:34 • Studio versionA

Paul McCartney :
Cornet, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Tambourine
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Bass
Henry McCullough :
Drums
Denny Seiwell :
Cornet, Xylophone
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer
Heather McCartney :
Backing vocals
Mary McCartney :
Backing vocals
Alan Parsons :
Mixing engineer
Mike Bobak :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Sep 02, 1972
Studio :
Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:
Nov 07, 1972
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


The Long And Winding Road / C Moon

7" Single • Released in 1990

3:42 • Studio version


The Long And Winding Road

12" Single • Released in 1990

3:39 • Studio version


All My Trials

CD Single • Released in 1990

3:35 • SoundcheckL1

Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 26, 1989


All My Trials

12" Single • Released in 1990

3:35 • SoundcheckL1

Paul McCartney :
Producer
Matt Butler :
Mixing engineer

Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 26, 1989


All My Trials

CD Single • Released in 1990

3:35 • SoundcheckL1

Concert From the concert in Milan, Italy on Oct 26, 1989


Red Rose Speedway (1993)

Official album • Released in 1993

4:36 • Studio versionA1993 • 1993 remaster

Paul McCartney :
Cornet, Piano, Producer, Vocals
Linda McCartney :
Backing vocals, Tambourine
Denny Laine :
Backing vocals, Bass
Henry McCullough :
Drums
Denny Seiwell :
Cornet, Xylophone
Mark Vigars :
Assistant mixing engineer
Heather McCartney :
Backing vocals
Mary McCartney :
Backing vocals
Alan Parsons :
Mixing engineer
Peter Mew :
Remastering
Mike Bobak :
Recording engineer

Session Recording:
Sep 02, 1972
Studio :
Morgan Studios, London

Session Mixing:
Nov 07, 1972
Studio :
EMI Studios, Abbey Road

Credits & recording details courtesy of Luca Perasi • Buy Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989 on Amazon


Films


C Moon

1972 • Directed by Steven Turner

Live performances

“C Moon” has been played in 69 concerts and 189 soundchecks.

Latest concerts where C Moon has been played


400e Anniversaire De Quebec

Jul 20, 2008 • Canada • Quebec City • Plains Of Abraham


Independence Concert

Jun 14, 2008 • Ukraine • Kyiv • Independence Square


Liverpool Sound

Jun 01, 2008 • United Kingdom • Liverpool • Anfield Stadium


Electric Proms

Oct 25, 2007 • United Kingdom • London • Roundhouse


Live At The Olympia

Oct 22, 2007 • France • Paris • Olympia Hall


Going further


Paul McCartney: Music Is Ideas. The Stories Behind the Songs (Vol. 1) 1970-1989

With 25 albums of pop music, 5 of classical – a total of around 500 songs – released over the course of more than half a century, Paul McCartney's career, on his own and with Wings, boasts an incredible catalogue that's always striving to free itself from the shadow of The Beatles. The stories behind the songs, demos and studio recordings, unreleased tracks, recording dates, musicians, live performances and tours, covers, events: Music Is Ideas Volume 1 traces McCartney's post-Beatles output from 1970 to 1989 in the form of 346 song sheets, filled with details of the recordings and stories behind the sessions. Accompanied by photos, and drawing on interviews and contemporary reviews, this reference book draws the portrait of a musical craftsman who has elevated popular song to an art-form.

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