Once in a Blue Moon

An unusual solar event tonight - a blue moon. Now in my ignorance I imagined I would be going out to see a blue moon - literally, a blue colour. That is not the case I've learned.

You are never too old to learn and my view is we'll all keep learning until our days run out. The blue moon is in fact the second full moon within a calendar month. This is indeed a rarish event and the next time this happens is in 2015. Hence the phrase, "once in a blue moon". However, what is the mystery around it being 'blue' if it's not actually blue?

We find then that this second full moon within the month is a false moon - we've already had one full moon! The old English word for false or to betray is 'belewe' (as well as meaning blue). As the church calendar was constructed in part on the moons cycles, the populous needed to know which was the real moon and which the false (second in the month) moon, hence - the blue moon.

Well we have to go back as you would expect many centuries - in fact to the sixteen century and a piece of literature which took a pop at the clergy at the time. In essence it said that if the clergy told you the moon was blue (belewe), then you are expected to believe them.

Good story and even if it's not true, it's still a good one.

Just to confuse things however, moons can be seen as blue which is caused by atmospheric pollution such as smoke from fires or volcanic dust. The Smurfs thought a blue moon was actually blue and the detective agency in Moonlighting starring Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd from the 1980s was the Blue Moon Detective Agency!

Finally on this lunar subject, the song Blue Moon which was played on the radio this morning on the way to work. Written by Rodgers and Hart in 1934, the song was recorded among others by Billie Holiday, Elvis, Mel Torme and Cliff Richard. I heard the Marcels doo-wop version.

The opening lines of Blue Moon, a romanticised reworked film title tune, and sung by the male lead goes like this:

Blue Moon
You saw me standing alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

'She' responds: 

Blue Moon
You know just what I was there for
You heard me saying a prayer for
Someone I really could care for

And by the end, you know they've got together when they both sing:

Blue Moon
Now I'm no longer alone
Without a dream in my heart
Without a love of my own

I hope you have a great weekend, take care.

Chat soon

Ta-ra