Moonrise. By Paul Goldfinger ©
Today, the glow of the moon, of the moonrise, or the moon over the ocean, or over the river….makes me think of Andy Williams. I first listened to his new song, “Moon River,” playing on my car radio one night in 1961. That evening I was alone in my old Plymouth driving home from a date with my future wife, Eileen. I knew that “Moon River” had to be our song.
Johnny Mercer wrote the lyrics, and Henry Mancini the music. It was very beautiful, but I never exactly knew what a “huckleberry friend” was; somehow I imagined I knew what kind of friend that was. Today I finally looked it up, and the Urban Dictionary says, “There are your good friends: people who love you. And then there are your huckleberry friends: people who’ve known you for years and have stuck by you and love you no matter what.”
Here are some of the lyrics from a song that was featured in the movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s:”
“There’s such a lot of world to see
We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waitin’ ’round the bend
My huckleberry friend, moon river, and me”
