Full Moon and Empty Arms

Album: Greatest Hits: The Early Years, Vol. 2 (1945)
Charted: 17
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This 1945 Buddy Kaye and Ted Mossman penned song is based on a theme from Rachmaniov's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor. The popularity of the Concerto at the time had been boosted as a result of being used as a musical backdrop to David Lean's film Brief Encounter.
  • The best-known recording of the song was made by Frank Sinatra in 1945. It was one of two versions to enter the Top 20 at the same time, the other being the original by bandleader Ray Noble.
  • Bob Dylan recorded the song in 2015 for Shadows in the Night, an album consisting of covers of traditional pop standards made famous by Frank Sinatra. He released his version as the lead single from the set.
  • In 2001 Muse adapted one of the themes from the Piano Concerto for part of their song "Space Dementia."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lip-Synch Rebels

Lip-Synch RebelsSong Writing

What happens when Kurt Cobain, Iron Maiden and Johnny Lydon are told to lip-synch? Some hilarious "performances."

Intentionally Atrocious

Intentionally AtrociousSong Writing

A selection of songs made to be terrible - some clearly achieved that goal.

Billy Joe Shaver

Billy Joe ShaverSongwriter Interviews

The outlaw country icon talks about the spiritual element of his songwriting and his Bob Dylan mention.

Art Alexakis of Everclear

Art Alexakis of EverclearSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer of Everclear, Art is also their primary songwriter.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows

Adam Duritz of Counting CrowsSongwriter Interviews

"Mr. Jones" took on new meaning when the song about a misguided view of fame made Adam famous.