Her is one of Spike Jonze’s most beloved films. Released in 2013, it talks about a not too distant future in which artificial intelligence could become so advanced that we could have a relationship made up of conversations, so realistic that you could even fall in love. This is what happens to the protagonist, who finds himself in the conditions of having to be in love and dependent on a voice that comes out of his devices.
One of the strengths of the film is the soundtrack, composed by important contemporary artists. Within it, one of the most striking songs is The Moon Song, a ballad composed on guitar by Karen O, the leader of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and performed in a duet with Ezra Koenig, leader of Vampire Weekend, who also has received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Composition. This is the scene of the film in which the song takes shape, whereas below you will find the original song interpreted by the two singers.
The full lyrics and the meaning
The song is a melancholy ballad in which two lovers talk to each other, renewing their love and remembering how far apart they are. As the songwriter confirmed, the song was written straight after reading the script of the film, so everything suggests that Karen O, writing it, had the idea of a love relationship in mind, where the two protagonists are not physically close.
The text was written with duet singing in mind. The verses are sung from both perspectives as though it were a conversation. To know who sings each verse of the song above, it is best to read them as you listen to it.
I’m lying on the moon
My dear, I’ll be there soon
It’s a quiet starry place
Time’s we’re swallowed up in space
We’re here a million miles awayThere’s things I wish I knew
There’s no thing I’d keep from you
It’s a dark and shiny place
But with you my dear, I’m safe
And we’re a million miles awayWe’re lying on the moon
It’s a perfect afternoon
Your shadow follows me all day
Making sure that I’m okay
And we’re a million miles awayA million miles away
A million miles away
Thus, it is a song of comfort as well as of melancholy. The two are in love with one another and are conscious of this. They also maintain their closeness as true lovers (Your shadow follows me all day/Checking on me periodically). The two are “a million miles away,” but the melancholy still exists. And with this consciousness, they sing songs of love. Who knows, they may even be conscious that they don’t know how or how long their love will survive.