"Moonlight Serenade" is an American popular song with original music by Glenn Miller and subsequent lyrics by Mitchell Parish. It was originally named "Now I Lay Me Down To Weep." When Miller recorded "Sunrise Serenade" in 1939, he placed this song on the back. It was an immediate phenomenon as an instrumental arrangement and was adopted as Miller's signature tune. The most striking part of the piece was its use of clarinet-led saxophone section, which is widely considered the classic Glenn Miller style. The first eight bars of the melody follow the form of the 12-bar blues. The song is a premier example of the American big-band sound from the mid-twentieth century. A famous vocal version can be found on Frank Sinatra's Moonlight Sinatra.
Appearances in film or television
- In Cold Case episode "World's End", "Moonlight Serenade" is heard playing over the radio in the year 1938.
- In an All in the Family episode, Edith takes out a small 78 RPM turntable and plays "Moonlight Serenade" to Archie where he then dances with her to it.
- In The Simpsons episode "Lady Bouvier's Lover", "Moonlight Serenade" turns out to be Marge's mother's favorite tune, which is played at the dance and later by Grandpa Simpson at the wedding.
- In the King of the Hill episode "Luanne Virgin 2.0", "Moonlight Serenade" plays at the dance.
- The song has featured twice in the ABC series Lost. In the season 2 episode "The Long Con", Sayid and Hurley hear the song being played on a music station. It is heard again in the season 3 episodes "A Tale of Two Cities (Lost)", this time in a flashback, as Jack sits in his car.
- It has also been featured in several episodes of the sitcom The Golden Girls.
- It was also featured in two Doctor Who episodes, "The Empty Child" and "The Doctor Dances".
- In an episode of Doctors, Michelle and Nick walk next to the exit and dance in the moonlight.
- In a Growing Pains episode, Carol dances with a boy she likes to this song.
- In the 1941 film Sun Valley Serenade.
- In the 1988 comedy film Big.
- In the 1999 fim Eyes Wide Shut by Stanley Kubrick with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.
- In the 1993 film Jack the Bear.
- In the 2002 television miniseries Stephen King's Rose Red.
- In the 2004 biographical drama film The Aviator.
- In the episode of The Wonder Years called "Little Debbie".
- In the love story movie The Notebook.
- Star Trek: The Next Generation: song plays as Picard enters in a 1940's tavern generated by the Holodeck.
