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"The Whole of the Moon" is a song by Scottish band the Waterboys, released as a single from their album This Is the Sea in October 1985. It is a classic of the band's repertoire and has been consistently played at live shows ever since its release. Written and produced by Mike Scott.
The single was not a big success when initially released in 1985, only making the lower ends of the chart, although it reached No. 12 on the Australian chart. Subsequently, it became one of the Waterboys' best-known songs and their most commercially successful. It was the Ivor Novello Award winner "Best Song Musically and Lyrically" in 1992. Upon its re-release in March 1991, it reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom.
The song began as a "scribble on the back of an envelope on a wintry New York street", after Scott's girlfriend asked him if it was difficult to write a song. Scott added further lyrics to the song upon returning to his hotel and after his return to London but in the first instance after this question from his girlfriend, he wrote about what he saw up in the sky.
Scott explained:
The Whole of the Moon is about someone like CS Lewis, who seemed to see so much and explore issues much more deeply than most people, or it could be about a Jimi Hendrix-type person who comes "like a comet, blazing your trail" and is gone too soon, but it's not specifically about anyone.
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