Songs about overcoming adversity: ‘Goodnight, Mr. Moon’ by Karolina Rose.

Last month New York-based Karolina Rose hit an instant accord with fans of electronica and synth pop with her EP, Invicta. It dazzles and delights with an array of infectious beats and moving lyrics that seemingly come from dark places but which also explore the strength, courage and determination of life and her dream of pursuing a career in music.

That said, any number of Karolina Rose’s songs would easily qualify for this new series. Take for instance, Crystal Gem, a song about self-determination and the challenges that come in the face of adversity, especially when people don’t share your dreams. But the track that I have chosen instead to feature here for this series is about something that everyone goes through at some point in their lives and that is the pain of loss or grief.

In my preparation leading up to interviewing Karolina Rose recently, I made it my point to do my homework on her and in so doing I discovered the wonderful story behind Karolina Rose’s emotive track Goodnight, Mr. Moon. I didn’t ask her about it at the time, but I certainly would love to share it here now with you. But before I do, I just want to say that the brilliant thing about discovering the stories behind songs is that it adds an unexpected layer of depth to a song that you may not have thought about. Importantly, it also gives us an insight into the mind of a songwriter and the places they have been whether real and imagined. And so, without further ado, please check out the inspirational story below, the resilient Karolina Rose wrote on her Facebook page, about Goodnight, Mr. Moon.

Karolina Rose’s Facebook post:

“If you’re processing grief, this song is for you. It’s about my experience exploring grief through dreams.

I wrote Goodnight, Mr. Moon following a few inspirations. The initial spark came from a conversation with my friend & visual artist, Heide Hatry. She told me about her project ‘Icons in Ash’ all started with her dealing with the loss of her father. I felt her emotion that she would do anything to bring him back. He was cremated, so she took the ashes from his body and created a portrait of him in his utmost essence. Her project caught on by word-of-mouth and before she knew it she was commissioned to make portraits of clients’ deceased husbands, wives, sisters and even pets. Her story also reminded me of the nightmares I had experienced following my best friend from high school’s tragic death due to a heroin overdose.

As soon as I left the concert in the lower east side in New York where I met Heide, I had the song coming to me as I was walking down the street. Initially, it was just “How do I get you back? All the pieces in one. How do I get you back? All the pieces came undone”. I kept thinking about the theme of putting the pieces together to bring one’s loved one back.

I have suffered from nightmares for many years. I often have hallucinations when I sleep. I wake up and see things in my bedroom or projected onto the walls or something within my room takes a different shape and moves. The first verse of the song takes inspiration from one of my nightmares where I woke up and it literally looked as if the moon was projecting a spotlight onto my wall and it looked like a scene was playing out. It may sound magical, but it was quite frightening.

I started coming up with the visualization of someone hallucinating in the middle of the night, bringing back their loved one by talking to Mr. Moon. She communicates with her lost love in the nighttime. She processes her grief through dreams. She thinks it’s real until the end of the song when she wakes up from the dream and knows it’s really time to say goodbye.”

Goodnight, Mr. Moon is from the EP Invicta. It is available to stream and download on all major music platforms.

Photo credit: The header image is courtesy of Karolina Rose.