Bad Moon Rising
"Bad moon rising” isn’t even the best Creedence Clearwater Revival song, and Creedence isn’t, technically, even a Southern band. They were from California. But their specialty was swamp rock and twang, big spooky beats and white-boy blues, whammy bars and caterwaul, all of it uncool and “classic rock” from the first day they recorded. “Bad Moon Rising” is just a foot-stomping jingle, really, jackhammer guitar and an earnest vocal, the lyric not really bluesy so much as churchy. Not pious, but scared, the sort of worry that knows this world is no good and bound not to get better, so you best stay indoors. The moon in this song isn’t a symbol of the nighttime, but of the darkness rising: “I fear rivers overflowin’,” Creedence sings. “I hear the voice of rage and ruin.”
