To the Moon and Back (song)

"To the Moon and Back"
Single by Savage Garden
from the album Savage Garden
B-side	"Memories Are Designed to Fade", "Santa Monica", "All Around Me"
Released	18 November 1996 (See release history)
Format	7" vinyl, CD (AUS) 12" vinyl, CD, cassette (International)
Recorded	1995
Genre	Pop rock
Length	5:41 (album version) 5:09 (1996 release edit) 4:32 (1997 release long edit) 4:13 (1997 release short edit) 3:44 (1998 release edit)
Label	Columbia
Writer(s)	Darren Hayes Daniel Jones
Producer(s)	Charles Fisher
Savage Garden singles chronology
"I Want You" (1996) "To the Moon and Back" (1996) "Truly Madly Deeply" (1997)
Re-release cover 1998 re-release cover

To the Moon and Back is the second single from Savage Garden's self-titled 1996 album. It was initially released on November 18, 1996 by Columbia Records as the follow-up to their hit "I Want You". It won the 1997 ARIA Music Award for Song of the Year. The song became a top 3 hit on the UK Singles Chart and a top 25 hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was also the band's first number one in its native country.^[1][2]

While it did not have the success in America that "I Want You" did, the runaway success of its follow-up "Truly Madly Deeply" inspired Savage Garden and Columbia Records to remix "To the Moon and Back" and release it again in 1998.

Release and chart performances

After the international success of their debut single, "I Want You", there were high expectations for the song as its follow-up. During the song's first charting in America, the song entered the Top 40 of the Hot 100 for only one week, peaking at number 37 the final week of August 1997. In the UK the single was originally released in late September 1997 and there it failed to chart in the Top 40, stalling at number 55 for one week. Subsequently, "Truly Madly Deeply" became an even bigger hit than their debut, hitting the number one spot in several countries including both the Hot 100 and the Hot Adult Contemporary charts in the United States, where it broke the record as the longest-running single to that time on the Adult Contemporary charts.

In the wake of such success, the band decided the song had greater potential to become a hit than its first chartings had borne out, and so instead of mining a fourth single from the album as they had for the Australian market, they decided to mix a shorter edit of "To the Moon and Back" and re-release it internationally in 1998. This time the song peaked at number 24 in America, an improvement upon its first release yet still not the smash they had hoped it would be. In the UK, however, their faith was rewarded when the song debuted at number three, becoming Savage Garden's biggest UK hit. This prompted the UK re-release of their debut single, remixed as "I Want You '98". The single was certified Silver in France in 1998,and sold 209,000.^[3]

Content

The song deals with feelings of alienation from the mainstream society and the desire to find romantic love during adolescence. It has been described as one of the band's darkest songs.

Music video

There have been three different music videos for the song. The first, accompanying the Australian release of the song, was directed by Catherine Caines and Chris Bentley, and was shot in black and white. This version features Darren and Daniel performing on what appears to be a space vessel, whilst a female passenger watches. A version of the video accompanied by a dance remix of the track was also released.^[4]

The second, accompanying the US and original UK release of the song, was directed by Nigel Dick in Los Angeles, and features Darren and Daniel performing in an apartment in Malibu whilst a female records the performance. This American video features Darren Hayes with long hair.^[5]

The third version, accompanying the 1998 re-release, was filmed in New York, and features a sad looking teenage girl traveling by the metro to meet her friends (apparently other misfits like herself). This video features Darren Hayes with short hair.

Track listings

Release history

Charts

References