"The Moon of Manakoora" is a popular song written by

Frank Loesser Frank Henry Loesser (; June 29, 1910 – July 28, 1969) was an American songwriter who wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals ''Guys and Dolls'' and ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'', among others. He won a Tony ...

(lyrics) and Alfred Newman (music) for the 1937 Paramount film '' The Hurricane'' starring

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the '' Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing ...

. Lamour sang the song in the film and also made a commercial recording of it. The song "The Moon of Manakoora" is considered a

standard Standard may refer to: Symbols * Colours, standards and guidons, kinds of military signs * Standard (emblem), a type of a large symbol or emblem used for identification Norms, conventions or requirements * Standard (metrology), an object th ...

and was Loesser's first success as a lyric writer. Manakoora, loosely translated to English, is "

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

", derived from "

mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

" meaning "

magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

" and "koora/kura" (pronounced "KUU-rah") meaning "

lore Lore may refer to: * Folklore, acquired knowledge or traditional beliefs * Oral lore or oral tradition, orally conveyed cultural knowledge and traditions Places * Loré, former French commune * Loré (East Timor), a city and subdistrict in La ...

" or "school" or "body of knowledge".

Other recordings

The song has been covered by many other artists, including: * The cast of TV series Glee (TV series), Glee * Australian Jazz vocalist Janet Seidel * The Norman Luboff Choir * Andy Williams (for his 1959 album ''To You Sweetheart, Aloha''.) * The Ames Brothers * Chet Atkins * Stanley Black * Frankie Carle * Benny Carter * Frank Chacksfield * Bing Crosby - The Crosby version was recorded on January 21, 1938 with John Scott Trotter and his Orchestra for Decca Records and reached the No. 10 position in the charts in 1938. * Vic Damone (for his 1962 album ''Strange Enchantment'') * Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis * Percy Faith * Benny Goodman * Burl Ives (for his 1965 album ''On the Beach at Waikiki'') * Harry James * Kana King * Andre Kostelanetz * Gene Krupa * Harry Leader * Guy Lombardo * Arthur Lyman * Henry Mancini * Tony Martin (American singer), Tony Martin (with Ray Noble and his Orchestra. This recording reached the charts of the day and peaked in the No. 15 position.) * Felix Mendelssohn’s Hawaiian Serenaders * Buddy Merrill Orchestra * Vaughn Monroe * Alfred Newman * Les Paul and Mary Ford * Sonny Rollins * Wayne Shorter * The Ventures The melody of the song appears in themes for the movies '' The Hurricane'' and ''Mr. Robinson Crusoe''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Moon of Manakoora 1937 songs Songs written for films Songs written by Frank Loesser