Mad Man Moon.....

I found this on a blog that explains what Mad Man Moon may be about. It breaks down the song in detail. I think the writer is spot on....

 "Was it summer when the river ran dry
Or was it just another dam
When the evil of the snowflake in June
Could still be a source of relief"

This kind of sets the tone for the song I think.  I get the feeling from these lines that something's drying up.  Something's being wasted away.


"O how I love you, I once cried long ago
But I was the one who decided to go
To search beyond the final crest
Though I'd heard it said just birds could dwell so high"

We realize here what's being dried up and who broke it off here.  The narrator seems to have broken it off, basically becuase his feelings had either changed or dried up, or so he thought.  He doesn't think he can achieve the highs of love again.

"So I pretended to have wings for my arms
And took off in the air
I flew to places which the clouds never see
Too close to the deserts of sand"

He fantasized about having love again and realizes he's not really there with the analogy of being too close to the "deserts of sand"

< Where a thousand mirages, the sheperds of Lies
Forced me to land and take a disquise
I would welcome the horse's kick to send me back
If I could find a horse not made of sand>

The Shepherds of Lies could be his friends who convinced him to leave what he had and he believed them because he thought he could be happier.  He wishes he could be kicked back into what he once had, but nothing can do that until he admits it was all his fault.  Realizing bad intentions and wishing things were back to where they once were won't get you back to where you were happy, thus the horse of sand analogy.  There's not much behind the kick of a horse made of sand.

"If this desert's all there'll ever be
Then tell me what becomes of me
A fall of rain?
That must have been another of your dreams
A dream of mad man moon"

This is basically describing how he feels.  Now that all his options are gone, it's like a desert.  There's very little relief knowing that he has blown his chance at true love.  Rain is a dream in this world.  It's a relief.  Rain is a metaphor for love in this case I think.


"Hey man
I'm the sandman
And boy have I news for you
They're going to throw you in gaol
And you know they can't fail
Cos sand is thicker than blood
But a prison in sand is a haven in hell
For a gaol can give you a goal
And a goal can find you a role
In the muddy pitch in Newcastle
Where it rains so much"

This is a dream sequence for the narrator.  The Sandman is usually a reference to sleep and more specifically dreams.  In this part of the song, as in the previous section, rain is a metaphor for love.

"You can't wait for a touch
Of sun and sand
  sun and sand"

This throws him from his dream sequence right back to where he was in the desert - all alone.

"Within the valley of shaowless death
They pray for thunderclouds and rain
But to the multitude who stand in the rain
Heaven is where the sun shines
The grass will be greener till the stems turn to brown
And thoughts will fly higher till the earth brings them down
Forever caught in desert lands one has to learn to
Disbelieve the sea"

This section of the song refers to how people want love, dream of love, but some never find it.  Again, rain being a metaphor for love.  The stems turning to brown meaning love hasn't found the narrator.  "One has to learn to disbelieve the sea".... This refers to people losing hope for love after a while, the rain builds up into a sea after a long while.  They mentally block out the notion that love can thrive through this imagery.

"If this desert's all there'll ever be
Then tell me what becomes of me
A fall of rain?
That must have been another of your dreams
A dream of mad man moon"

This is a refrain from earlier of course... The desert being a metaphor for loneliness.  The narrator has blocked out the chance of love to comfort himself, thus the "fall of rain?" question, and the dream of Mad Man Moon.. The moon, from all accounts, is a cold, desolate place.  And this is where the narrator of the song finds himself at the end of everything.
What a great analysis....