Moonbeam Levels

Album: 4Ever (2016)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The first new Prince track to be released posthumously, Prince sings here of nuclear war and death.

    Yesterday I tried 2 write a novel but I didn't know where 2 begin
    So I laid down in the grass tryin' 2 feel the world turn
    Boy loses girl in a rain storm, nuclear World War III
    All that's left is pain and sorrow, as far as he's concerned


    The piano-heavy rock ballad was cut in 1982 during the same sessions that resulted in Prince's fifth album, 1999. It didn't make the final tracklist, possibly in part because the title song had a similar apocalyptic theme.
  • The song leaked in the mid-'80s and made in onto number of Prince bootlegs and was considered for inclusion on his aborted 1988 project Rave unto the Joy Fantastic Prince acknowledged the cult following of "Moonbeam" by slipping it into concert piano medleys on a couple of occasions, but the song was never given an official release until November 22, 2016, when it was the sole previously unreleased track on the posthumous 40-track greatest hits collection Prince 4Ever.

Comments: 1

  • Gray from ClevelandPure classic. genius.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Angelo Moore of Fishbone

Angelo Moore of FishboneSongwriter Interviews

Fishbone has always enjoyed much more acclaim than popularity - Angelo might know why.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus WainwrightSongwriter Interviews

Rufus Wainwright on "Hallelujah," his album Unfollow The Rules, and getting into his "lyric trance" on 12-hour walks.

Classic Metal

Classic MetalFact or Fiction

Ozzy, Guns N' Roses, Judas Priest and even Michael Bolton show up in this Classic Metal quiz.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."