Hijo de la luna
TITAF-T-0388463
Hijo de la luna , composed by Mecano.
Hijo de la Luna (Son of the Moon) is a widely known Spanish song originally written by José María Cano and performed by the band Mecano, featuring lead vocalist Ana Torroja. First released in 1986 on the album Entre el cielo y el suelo, the song became a major success across the Spanish-speaking world. It has since been translated and covered in numerous languages and styles. One of the most commercially successful cover versions was by the Dutch-German singer Loona, whose rendition topped the German singles chart from 28 December 1998 to 16 January 1999, and reached number two in Switzerland.
Theme and Narrative
Hijo de la Luna presents a poetic, tragic narrative inspired by a Romani (Roma) legend. The song’s lyrics tell the story of a Roma woman who, longing for love, prays to the Moon to help her marry a man of her community (a calé). The Moon agrees, but demands the woman’s first-born child in exchange.
When the child is born, his pale white skin and grey eyes alarm the couple, who both have dark features. The lyrics suggest that the child is the Moon’s son—an albino gifted by the celestial entity. The man, suspecting infidelity with a non-Roma (payo), murders his wife in a fit of jealousy. He then abandons the baby on a mountaintop, where the Moon takes the child to raise as her own.
Each time the child cries, the Moon is said to wane or crescent in order to comfort him—cradling him in her light.
Lyrics and Symbolism
The chorus poetically questions the Moon's desire for motherhood, noting her lack of a partner. In some translations (notably French), the lyrics add depth to this imagery:
“Tell me, silvery Moon, You who have no arms, How will you rock the child?”
The final stanza resolves this poetic question by saying that the Moon crescents to become a cradle of light whenever the child weeps.
A key symbolic element in the song is the Moon’s skepticism toward the mother's love, suggesting that any woman willing to trade her child for love might not be worthy of motherhood.
Visual and Cultural References
The music video for the Italian version Figlio della luna draws aesthetic influence from Carlos Saura’s 1981 film Blood Wedding (Bodas de sangre), connecting the song to a broader Iberian tradition of tragic and mystical storytelling through dance and flamenco imagery.
Legacy
Hijo de la Luna remains one of Mecano’s most haunting and enduring works. The fusion of folklore, poetry, and tragedy in its lyrics has led to countless reinterpretations across different cultures and genres. It is widely performed in both pop and classical contexts and is often cited as a prime example of poetic storytelling in Spanish-language music.
Recordings
No recordings are currently linked to this tune.