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Hijo de la Luna

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"Hijo de la Luna"
Single by Mecano
from the album Entre el cielo y el suelo
B-side"Mujer contra mujer"
Released1986
GenrePiano rock
New wave
Synthpop
Length4:21
LabelAriola
Songwriter(s)José Maria Cano
Producer(s)José Maria Cano, Nacho Cano
Ana Torroja
Mecano singles chronology
"Une femme avec une femme" "Hijo de la Luna" "Nature morte"
Audio sample
"Hijo de la Luna"

"Hijo de la Luna" (English: "Son of the Moon") is a song written by José María Cano performed originally by the Spanish band Mecano with lead singer Ana Torroja. It appeared on their 1986 album, Entre el cielo y el suelo and had great success all over the Spanish speaking world, as did the album. From December 28, 1998 to January 16, 1999, a cover version by Loona topped the German charts,[1] and reached number two on the Swiss singles' chart.[2]

Original version

Lyrics

The lyrics depict a Roma woman begging to the moon to marry a Roma man (calé). In exchange the moon asks for the woman's first-born as payment.

After the child is born, his parents are dismayed to see that his skin is the whitest white and his eyes are grey, even though they both have dark skin and dark eyes. The lyrics explain that the child is a "lunar Albino." But the man presumes that the father is a "payo" (a non-Roma person) and furiously stabs his wife to death. He takes the child and runs into the wild, where the man abandons the child to die of exposure.

Later the baby is said to live happily ever after with the Moon as his mother. When the child cries, the Moon wanes to cradle and comfort him.

The chorus says that the moon wants to be a mother, yet cannot find a lover who will make her his wife, and questions her as to what she would do with a human child. The French translation of the song asks a more precise question (Tell me, silvery moon, You who has no arms, How will you rock the child?), which is answered in the last stanza (And whenever the child cries, She [The Moon] crescents, Turning herself into a light-cradle).

In turn, the Moon doubts the mother's commitment to the little boy, wondering how much she can love her child if she is eager to trade him for a partner.

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Hijo de la luna" – 4:21
  2. "Mujer contra mujer" – 4:06
CD maxi
  1. "Hijo de la luna" – 4:18
  2. "Por la cara" – 3:06
  3. "El cine" – 4:01

Charts and certifications

Loona version

"Hijo de la Luna"
Single by Loona
from the album Lunita
B-side"Another Christmas Without You"
ReleasedNovember 23, 1998
GenreClassic
Length4:08
LabelUrban Records
Songwriter(s)José Maria Cano
Producer(s)DJ Sammy
Loona singles chronology
"Bailando"
(1998) 		"Hijo de la Luna"
(1998) 		"Dónde Vas"
(1999)

The song was covered by Dutch recording artist Loona.[10] It has been released in 1998 through Urban as the second single of the debut studio album Lunita. It topped the German single charts in 1999, where it was certified 3x Gold.

Track listings

CD single
  1. "Hijo de la luna (Sentimiento Version)" – 4:08
  2. "Another Christmas Without You" – 4:11
CD maxi
  1. "Hijo de la luna (Sentimiento Version)" – 4:08
  2. "Hijo de la luna (Radio Remix Version) " – 3:52
  3. "Another Christmas Without You" – 4:11
  4. "Hijo de la luna (Instrumental Version)" – 4:15
  5. "Hijo de la luna" (Flip Mjc A Cappella Version) – 3:20

Chart performance

Chart (1998-1999) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 3
Germany (GfK)[12] 1
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] 18
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 21
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 2

Year-end charts

Chart (1999) Position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[16] 34
Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 17
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[18] 21

Certifications

Country Certification Date
Germany[19] 3x Gold 1999
Switzerland[20] Gold 1999

References

  1. ^ SWR3.de - Loona Archived 2007-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Loona - Hijo de la luna - hitparade.ch
  3. ^ "Mecano – Hijo de la Luna" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  4. ^ "Mecano – Hijo de la Luna" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  5. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mecano" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  6. ^ "Mecano – Hijo de la Luna" (in French). Les classement single.
  7. ^ German Singles Chart Charts-surfer.de Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine (Retrieved April 10, 2009)
  8. ^ "Single top 100 over 1990" (PDF) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 12 April 2010.
  9. ^ French certifications See: "Les Ventes" => "Toutes les certifications depuis 1973" => "MECANO" Infodisc.fr Archived 2012-03-07 at WebCite (Retrieved April 10, 2009)
  10. ^ official LOONA fanclub - LOONA Discografie
  11. ^ "Loona – Hijo de la Luna" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ^ "Loona – Hijo de la Luna" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  13. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Loona" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  14. ^ "Loona – Hijo de la Luna" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  15. ^ "Loona – Hijo de la Luna". Swiss Singles Chart.
  16. ^ "Jahreshitparade Singles 1999". austriancharts.at. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  17. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
  18. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1999". hitparade.ch. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  19. ^ German certifications MusikIndustrie.de (Retrieved July 28, 2008)
  20. ^ Swiss certifications SwissCharts.com (Retrieved July 28, 2008)
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