"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty Thomas Richard Fogerty (November 9, 1941 – September 6, 1990) was an American mu ...

and performed by

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, also referred to as Creedence and CCR, was an American rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band initially consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty; his brother, ...

. It was the lead single from their album ''

Green River Green River may refer to: Rivers Canada *Green River (British Columbia), a tributary of the Lillooet River *Green River, a tributary of the Saint John River, also known by its French name of Rivière Verte *Green River (Ontario), a tributary of ...

'' and was released on April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on 28 June 1969 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September of that year (see

1969 in music List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1969. __TOC__ Specific locations * 1969 in British music * 1969 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1969 in country music *1969 in jazz Events Summary Perhaps the two most famo ...

). It was CCR's second gold single. The song has been recorded by at least 20 different artists, in styles ranging from folk to reggae to

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

. In 2010, '' Rolling Stone'' ranked it No. 364 on its "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

" list. It is one of five songs by the band that peaked at the No. 2 spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' chart and did not get to No. 1. It was blocked by " Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" by Henry Mancini. On the 2013

album, ''

Wrote a Song for Everyone ''Wrote a Song for Everyone'' is the ninth solo studio album by John Fogerty, released on May 28, 2013 (Fogerty's 68th birthday) in the United States. The album is a collection of Creedence Clearwater Revival classics and deep tracks from his c ...

'', the song is included featuring the Zac Brown Band.

Composition

"Bad Moon Rising" uses weather imagery to make the point that something bad is lurking "out there." Fogerty reportedly wrote the song after watching the 1941 film ''

The Devil and Daniel Webster "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by Daniel Webster, a fictional version of the noted 19th-c ...

''. It was inspired by a scene in the film in which a hurricane destroys the crops of several farms, but spares those of Jabez Stone ( James Craig), the character in the film who makes a deal with the devil in exchange for wealth. Fogerty claims the song is about "the apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us". He also said that when the band was learning the song he recognized the contrast between the apocalyptic words and the happy melody. He said "It wasn't until the band was learning the song that I realized the dichotomy. Here you've got this song with all these hurricanes and blowing and raging ruin and all that, but it's 'I see a bad moon rising.' It's a happy-sounding tune, right? It didn't bother me at the time."

Reception

In 1969, the American music and entertainment magazine ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' described the single as being "loaded with rhythm and drive" and predicted it " ouldn'tmiss going right to the top." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'', another contemporary music trade magazine, described it as a "blazing bayou-rock outing" that is "louder and bolder" than the group's previous single " Proud Mary." ''Cash Box'' ranked it as the No. 51 single of 1969. ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Cliff M. Junior rated "Bad Moon Rising" as Creedence Clearwater Revival's 5th greatest song, saying that "in a little more than two minutes, ogertyunloads his mind and prompts you to think about what's troubling you in ''your'' life." The song has been referenced numerous times by the ''

Plants vs. Zombies ''Plants vs. Zombies'' is a video game franchise developed by PopCap Games, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts (EA). The series follows the affiliates of David "Crazy Dave" Blazing as they use his plants to defend against a zombie invasion, led b ...

'' franchise, including a use in an advertisement for '' Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2'' and an aptly-named trick card in '' Plants vs. Zombies Heroes''. The song also appears in a 2023 TV commercial for Toyota. "Bad Moon Rising" plays as David nears the moment of changing into the werewolf, in the 1981 film '' An American Werewolf in London''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Moon Rising (Song) 1969 songs 1969 singles Songs written by John Fogerty Creedence Clearwater Revival songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs John Fogerty songs UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Rockabilly songs Song recordings produced by John Fogerty Fantasy Records singles Songs about death