"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by John Fogerty and performed by Creedence Clearwater Revival. It was the lead single from their album Green River and was released in April 1969, four months before the album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 on 28 June 1969, blocked by "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" by Henry Mancini, and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September 1969. 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. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 364 on its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list.
Composition
Fogerty reportedly wrote "Bad Moon Rising" after watching The Devil and Daniel Webster. Inspired by a scene in the film involving a hurricane, Fogerty claims the song is about "the apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us".
Cover versions
The song has been covered by numerous artists. Notable versions include: Jerry Lee Lewis released a version of the song on his 1973 album, The Session. Fogerty and Lewis recorded a version together that was released on Lewis's 2010 album, Mean Old Man. A 1986 version by the Australian band the Reels reached No. 11 on the Australian charts.
Soundtrack
The song has been used in a number of films, including An American Werewolf in London, My Fellow Americans, ', Howling III: The Marsupials, Blade, Sweet Home Alabama, My Girl, Man of the House, Operation Avalanche, Mr. Woodcock, The Big Chill, and '. The song has also been used in many television programs, including Supernatural, Cold Case, Northern Exposure, The Following, The Walking Dead, Teen Wolf, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Alvin and the Chipmunks in which it is performed by the title characters. A remixed version of the song can be heard in the video gameCrackdown 2. The song was also used in the opening scene of video game Mafia 3. The song was available as a playable song for Guitar Hero 5 series of music rhythm video games as downloadable content.
The last line of the chorus, "there's a bad moon on the rise", is sometimes misheard as "there's a bathroom on the right". Fogerty occasionally sings the misheard lyric in concert. The song has become notably popular in Argentina as a soccer chant, sung by fans at the stadium to support their teams during soccer matches. Different versions of the lyrics exist for different local teams, and even political parties. During the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a modified version, titled "Brasil, decime qué se siente" with Spanish lyrics that taunted Brazil, Argentina's traditional rival, became very popular in Argentina. It was adopted as the unofficial anthem for the Argentinian team and sung by fans and players alike. After Brazil lost 7-1 in the semi-final against Germany, the song was again adapted. The song has been adapted by fans of Manchester Cityfootball club with the title "Argentinian Blues" referencing the six Argentinian players in Manchester City's ranks. Manchester United fans have adapted the song for three chants entitled "Stretford End Arising", "You Think That Your Moustache Is Trendy", and "Ole, Ole, Ander Herrera". Heart of Midlothian fans have a version to honour the arrival of their inspirational German manager: "We've got a diamond Daniel Stendel".
