I was wondering what the meanings of the expressions killing moon and killing time on the song Killing moon by Echo and The Bunnymen are.
Under blue moon I saw you So soon
you'll take me Up in your arms Too
late to beg you or cancel it Though I
know it must be the killing time
Unwillingly mine…
In starlit nights I saw you So cruelly
you kissed me Your lips a magic world
Your sky all hung with jewels The
killing moon Will come too soon
I assume the song does not refer to some sort of ritualistic murder on full moon. What then are the meanings intended for these expressions?
Best Answer
I suspect that there are several word-plays going on here. In American myth and folklore, the full moon of each month is given a name, such as Wolf Moon, Storm Moon, Harvest Moon, Hunter's Moon, etc. A blue moon is a rare occurrence that happens about once every 2-3 years when a single season (three months) experiences four full moons; the third full moon in a season with four full moons is called the Blue Moon. There is no full moon specifically called the Killing Moon.
An Old Testament poem tells us that there is a time for everything under the sun; a time to give, a time to take, a time to heal, and a time to kill, etc. Calling something a killing time or killing moon would mean that somebody's or something's death is imminent and unavoidable.