"Bad Moon Rising" is a song written by

John Fogerty John Cameron Fogerty (born May 28, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. Together with Doug Clifford, Stu Cook, and his brother Tom Fogerty, he founded the swamp rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR), for which he was th ...

and performed by

Creedence Clearwater Revival Creedence Clearwater Revival, commonly abbreviated as CCR or simply Creedence, was an American Rock music, rock band formed in El Cerrito, California. The band consisted of lead vocalist, lead guitarist, and primary songwriter John Fogerty, h ...

. It was the lead single from their album '' Green River'' and was released on April 16, 1969 four months before the album. The song peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart on 28 June 1969 and reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in September of that year (see

1969 in music List of notable events in music that took place in the year 1969. Specific locations *1969 in British music *1969 in Norwegian music Specific genres *1969 in country music *1969 in jazz Events Summary Among the most significant musical ev ...

). It was CCR's second gold single. The song has been recorded by at least 20 different artists, in styles ranging from

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

. In 2010, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked it No. 364 on its "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring song ranking compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2 ...

" list. It is one of five songs by the band that peaked at the No. 2 spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' chart and did not get to No. 1. It was blocked by "

Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet "Love Theme from ''Romeo and Juliet''", also known as "A Time for Us", is an instrumental arranged by Henry Mancini (from Nino Rota's music written for Franco Zeffirelli's film of ''Romeo and Juliet'', starring Leonard Whiting and Olivia Hus ...

" by

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flutist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Awards, ...

. On

's 2013 album '' Wrote a Song for Everyone'', the song is included featuring the

Zac Brown Band Zac Brown Band is an American country music band based in Atlanta, Georgia. The lineup consists of Zac Brown (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy De Martini (fiddle, vocals), John Driskell Hopkins (bass guitar, guitar, baritone guitar, banjo, ukulele, ...

Composition

"Bad Moon Rising" uses weather imagery to make the point that something bad is lurking "out there." Fogerty reportedly wrote the song after watching the 1941 film ''

The Devil and Daniel Webster "The Devil and Daniel Webster" (1936) is a short story by American writer Stephen Vincent Benét. He tells of a New Hampshire farmer who sells his soul to the devil and is later defended by a fictionalized Daniel Webster, a noted 19th-century A ...

''. It was inspired by a scene in the film in which a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

destroys the crops of several farms, but spares those of Jabez Stone (

James Craig James or Jim Craig may refer to: Entertainment * James Humbert Craig (1877–1944), Irish painter * James Craig (actor) (1912–1985), American actor * James Craig (''General Hospital''), fictional character on television, a.k.a. Jerry Jacks * J ...

), the character in the film who makes a deal with the devil in exchange for wealth. Fogerty claims the song is about "the apocalypse that was going to be visited upon us". He also said that when the band was learning the song, he recognized the contrast between the apocalyptic words and the happy melody. He said "It wasn't until the band was learning the song that I realized the dichotomy. Here you've got this song with all these hurricanes and blowing and raging ruin and all that, but it's 'I see a bad moon rising.' It's a happy-sounding tune, right? It didn't bother me at the time."

Reception

In 1969, the American music and entertainment magazine ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' described the single as being "loaded with rhythm and drive" and predicted it " ouldn'tmiss going right to the top." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'', another contemporary music

trade magazine A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular tradesman, trade or industry. The collective term ...

, described it as a "blazing bayou-rock outing" that is "louder and bolder" than the group's previous single "

Proud Mary "Proud Mary" is a song by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, written by vocalist and lead guitarist John Fogerty. It was released as a single in January1969 by Fantasy Records and on the band's second studio album, '' Bayou Coun ...

." ''Cash Box'' ranked it as the No. 51 single of 1969. ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Cliff M. Junior rated "Bad Moon Rising" as Creedence Clearwater Revival's 5th greatest song, saying that "in a little more than two minutes, ogertyunloads his mind and prompts you to think about what's troubling you in ''your'' life."

Use in other media

The song has been referenced numerous times by the ''

Plants vs. Zombies ''Plants vs. Zombies'' is a video game Media franchise, franchise developed by PopCap Games, a subsidiary of Electronic Arts (EA). The series follows the affiliates of David "Crazy Dave" Blazing as they use his plants to defend against a zombi ...

'' franchise, including a use in an advertisement for '' Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare 2'' and an aptly-named trick card in ''

Plants vs. Zombies Heroes ''Plants vs. Zombies Heroes'' is a digital collectible card game and the sixth installment in the ''Plants vs. Zombies'' series, developed by PopCap Games and published by Electronic Arts. On March 10, 2016, it underwent a soft launch in some co ...

''. The song also appears in a 2023 TV commercial for

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

. "Bad Moon Rising" plays as David nears the moment of changing into a werewolf in the 1981 film ''

An American Werewolf in London ''An American Werewolf in London'' is a 1981 comedy horror film written and directed by John Landis. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, the film stars David Naughton, Jenny Agutter, Griffin Dunne and ...

''. The song also plays at the beginning of the ''

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

'' season 3 finale "Father of the Bride". The song is played on the radio in the video game ''

Mafia III ''Mafia III'' is a 2016 action-adventure video game developed by Hangar 13 and published by 2K. It was released in October 2016 for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One, in May 2017 for macOS, and in October 2021 for Google Stadia. It is the ...

'', although its usage is anachronistic since the game takes place in 1968. An adapted version was used to celebrate the

Liverpool Football Club Liverpool Football Club is a professional Football club (association football), football club based in Liverpool, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founded in ...

player and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

international,

Diogo Jota Diogo José Teixeira da Silva (born 4 December 1996), known as Diogo Jota, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward or left winger for club Liverpool and the Portugal national team. Jota is known for his clinical finis ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bad Moon Rising (Song) 1969 songs 1969 singles Songs written by John Fogerty Creedence Clearwater Revival songs Jerry Lee Lewis songs John Fogerty songs UK singles chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in South Africa Rockabilly songs Song recordings produced by John Fogerty Fantasy Records singles Songs about death