Walking on the Moon



"Walking on the Moon" is a song by English reggae rock band The Police, released as the second single from their second studio album, Reggatta de Blanc (1979). The song was written by the band's lead vocalist and bassist Sting. It went on to become the band's second  hit in the UK.

Background
Sting said that he wrote the song when he was drunk one night after a concert in Munich. That following morning, he remembered the song and wrote it down.

"I was drunk in a hotel room in Munich, slumped on the bed with the whirling pit when this riff came into my head. I got up and started walking round the room, singing 'Walking round the room, ya, ya, walking round the room'. That was all. In the cool light of morning I remembered what had happened and I wrote the riff down. But 'Walking Round the Room' was a stupid title so I thought of something even more stupid which was 'Walking on the Moon'."

- Sting

In his autobiography, Sting implies that the song was partially inspired by an early girlfriend:

"Deborah Anderson was my first real girlfriend...walking back from Deborah's house in those early days would eventually become a song, for being in love is to be relieved of gravity."

- Sting

According to Sting, the song was originally recorded "as a rocker" in early versions, but it was reworked. The riff, which is played on the bass, was described as "weird" and "jazzy" by Sting. Guitarist Andy Summers came up with the chord "which hits after the bass notes" throughout the song.

"Walking on the Moon" was released as the follow-up single to the British  single, "Message in a Bottle," in late 1979. The song was The Police's second number-one hit single in the United Kingdom. It also reached  in Ireland and   in Australia but did not chart in the United States. A music video for the song was shot at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on 23 October 1979. It features the band members miming to the track amidst spacecraft displays, interspersed with NASA footage. Both Sting and Andy Summers strum guitars (not bass) in the video, and Stewart Copeland strikes his drumsticks on a Saturn V moon rocket.

The B-side to the song, "Visions of the Night," was written by Sting. Sting said of the song, "This was the first song I wrote after going to London. It was hard to be serious about the whole thing. I was bemused, much to Stewart [Copeland]'s disgust." According to Copeland, the song was "too cerebral for [the band's] early audiences," so Sting would call it 'Three O'Clock Shit', the title of a rejected Police song that appears as 'Three O'Clock Shot' on Strontium 90: Police Academy.

Composition
"Walking on the Moon" has a "sparse" arrangement, centered around a three-note bass riff. It is one of The Police's more reggae-influenced songs.

Track listing

 * 7" A&M / AMS 7494 (UK)
 * 1) "Walking on the Moon" (Edit) – 3:59 (This edit has never been officially released on CD.)
 * 2) "Visions of the Night" – 3:05


 * 12" A&M / AMSP 7494 (UK)
 * 1) "Walking on the Moon" – 4:59
 * 2) "Visions of the Night" – 3:05

Personnel

 * Sting – Lead and backing vocals, bass guitar, double bass
 * Andy Summers – Guitar, synthesizer
 * Stewart Copeland – Drums

In popular culture
The song is mentioned in the episode of Only Fools and Horses called The Long Legs of the Law. Rodney is dating a policewoman by the name of Sandra, whom he invites to the Trotters' flat. Granddad informs Sandra that Rodney has a Police Record, to which Del Boy states the name of the song by The Police.

The song is also mentioned in Series 2, Episode 4 of Phoenix Nights. The Phoenix Club holds a Quiz Night, and the regulars are asked to give the title of the song that is currently being played by the host. He plays Take My Breath Away by Berlin. However, when Max and Paddy try to attempt answering the quiz from outside, Max considers the answer to be Walking on the Moon.

At the end of the 24th episode of the anime Cowboy Bebop titled Hard Luck Woman, the first character Spike read a book called Walking on the Moon. It should be a reference to the song as the moon and the police are main themes of the series.