Is 'The Bad Moon Rising' By CCR An Apocalyptic Prophecy?

Looking retroactively, the popular American swap rock song ‘The Bad Moon Rising’ by Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) can be considered a prophetic song about the present apocalyptic time. In this great decadence rock song, the image of the rising bad moon indicates the bad time that was approaching before the end of the Cold-war within the evolution of rock at that time (we all were made to believe that the Cold-war could destroy everything that the man had made so far). ‘The earth-quakes’ and the ‘lightening’ in the first stanza seem to tell us about the natural disasters that man faces due to his own negligence towards nature. Therefore, the troubles and the bad time are unavoidable symptoms of the present time. Subsequently, the kind of gravity that these natural calamities can have was profoundly shown, if we take a more recent example, by the Fukushima disaster few years ago (forget Bopal and Chernobyl for a minute!) .The bad signs of unsustainable development are shown now in the Third World where leakages in the thermo-nuclear power plants devastate the lives of innocent people who even do not know that they are gradually killed every day (the fear involved in South Indian Nuke Power Plants over Sri Lankans is another development). However, the tension between North and South Korea will add yet another round of phobia to '21st Century Cold-war' scene that can erupt in recent time.

The song notices the voices of rage and ruin of humanity which paradoxically developed against the original post-enlightenment future better world. 'The end is coming soon' is again paradoxical because what we wanted was prosperity as the end point of modernity and its rational and scientific project.  In that sense, it can be considered as a song that vehemently questions the paradoxical negativity of the modern project. The world now is not what we wanted but the total opposite of what we imagined of.  

One can pragmatically question CCR’s passive advice to us, ‘shouldn't we go around tonight?’ Hiding behind the doors will not save us because not only the natural disasters but even poverty or unemployment (as CCR’s Lodi indicates), or even political injustice can force us step out of the door steps of our own imaginary world. It is true that it will take our lives under the bad moon, but there is no other way than fighting for what is right. One unfortunate thing is that there is no proper academic study conducted to evaluate the literary caliber of legendary CCR's songs.  They are amazingly wonderful in their songs such as 'Have you ever seen the rain', 'Lodi', 'Looking at my back door' and 'Proud Mary'. 

The song very successfully portrays the nature of disaster that is arriving and trying to take over our existence. The hurricanes and over-flowing river (CCR’s organic bay area images) as well as the voice of rage and ruin effectively show the deliberate involvements of man to destroy the other through limitless violence. There is no kindness or sympathy in him to love and protect the other. These sublime human qualities and values are completely forgotten in our postmodern civilization. Violence, hate and bloodshed are the only sloganic strategies of the survival game in the obscene civilization today and that is clearly illustrated in the line ‘one eye is taken for an eye’. The way the things develop in the present Capitalist system, it is going to be an inevitable death for all of us. Yes, we are prepared to die but not without a fight!

The Bad Moon Rising

I see the bad moon arising. 

I see trouble on the way. 

I see earthquakes and lightnin'. 

I see bad times today. 

Don't go around tonight, 

Well, it's bound to take your life, 

There's a bad moon on the rise. 

I hear hurricanes ablowing. 

I know the end is coming soon. 

I fear rivers over flowing. 

I hear the voice of rage and ruin. 

Don't go around tonight, 

Well, it's bound to take your life, 

There's a bad moon on the rise. 

All right! 

Hope you got your things together. 

Hope you are quite prepared to die. 

Looks like we're in for nasty weather. 

One eye is taken for an eye. 

Don't go around tonight, 

Well, it's bound to take your life, 

There's a bad moon on the rise. 

Don't go around tonight, 

Well, it's bound to take your life, 

There's a bad moon on the rise.

Songwriters: JOHN C. FOGERTY (C.C.R.)

Listen to the original version of C.C.R.'s 'Bad Moon Rising' through the following link (MP3 format).