When I first started writing that piece about “You Ruined Everything” a while ago, I really wanted to write about this one, which is truly one of my favorite romantic songs of the last few years, but couldn’t quite get a grip on it. At that point, the short-essay faeirie pushed me in another direction entirely, and I just went along for the ride.

So, now I’m going to try the original idea again…

“I’m Your Moon” is a song about the decision by certain scientists a while back to de-classify Pluto as a planet. However you stand on that particular issue, It’s a really interesting celestial situation out there, particularly when you consider Charon, Pluto’s “moon”. I put “moon” in quotes because Charon just doesn’t really behave like a moon; it’s really not that much smaller than Pluto, and the two bodies orbit around each other (actually, they both orbit a common central point between them), tidally locked so they always face the same way respective to each other. Their movement has been described as a lot like dancing.

In other words, it’s a the perfect metaphor upon which to hang a love song.

This one is basically a pep talk from Charon to Pluto regarding the declassification, saying, in effect, that ‘no matter what arbitrary judgements someone makes about you, we’re still here together doing our thing, making it work. Don’t let those small-minded people on the outside get to you; you and I know who you are, and you shouldn’t let go of that’. Of course, Coulton says it more poetically:

I’m your moon, you’re my moon
we go round and round.
From out here, it’s the rest of the world that looks so small
Promise me, you will always remember who you are

It’s a sentiment I (and I’m sure most of the rest of us) can relate to: When it feels like the world’s dismissed you as irrelevant or as not measuring up to some given standard, hearing from a partner that we’re loved and valued for who we are is comforting. And isn’t that a big part of what love really is?

Let them think what they like, we’re fine
I will always be right here next to you

This song succeeds in describing a particularly resonant aspect of love in a way that completely avoids rhyming ‘rain’ with ‘pain’, ‘love’ with ‘above’, or, in fact, using the word ‘love’ at all. The message is simple and clear, there’s no need to hang a big sign on it. Like “You Ruined Everything”, the subtlety is what makes it so effective, at least for me (well, it’s kinda beautiful musically as well…) Perhaps that’s why I got them tangled when trying to write about them.

In any case, it’s something I like a lot.

I kinda like this little feature; and I’ll probably do it again. I promise, next time it won’t be a coulton song.