Hijo de la Luna


"Hijo de la Luna" is a song written by José María Cano performed originally by the Spanish band Mecano with lead singer Ana Torroja. It appeared on their 1986 album, Entre el cielo y el suelo and had great success all over the Spanish speaking world, as did the album. From December 28, 1998 to January 16, 1999, a cover version by Loona topped the German charts, and reached number two on the Swiss singles' chart.

Original version

Lyrics

The lyrics depict a Roma woman in love with a man of the Calé tribe, who prays to the Moon to marry him because a marriage between tribes was forbidden according to Romani laws. The Moon asks for the woman's first-born as payment.
After the child is born, his parents are dismayed to see that his skin is the whitest white and his eyes are grey, even though they both have dark skin and dark eyes. The lyrics explain that the child is a "lunar Albino." But the man presumes that the baby is not his and furiously stabs his wife to death. He takes the child and runs into the wild, where the man abandons the child to die of exposure.
Later the baby is said to live happily ever after with the Moon as his mother. When the child cries, the Moon wanes to cradle and comfort him.
The chorus says that the moon wants to be a mother, yet cannot find a lover who will make her his wife, and questions her as to what she would do with a human child. The French translation of the song asks a more precise question, which is answered in the last stanza.
In turn, the Moon doubts the mother's commitment to the little boy, wondering how much she can love her child if she is eager to trade him for a partner.

Track listings

; 7" single
  1. "Hijo de la luna" – 4:21
  2. "Mujer contra mujer" – 4:06
; CD maxi
  1. "Hijo de la luna" – 4:18
  2. "Por la cara" – 3:06
  3. "El cine" – 4:01

    Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Loona version

The song was covered by Dutch recording artist Loona. It has been released in 1998 through Urban as the second single of the debut studio album Lunita. It topped the German single charts in 1999, where it was certified 3x Gold.

Track listings

; CD single
  1. "Hijo de la luna " – 4:08
  2. "Another Christmas Without You" – 4:11
; CD maxi
  1. "Hijo de la luna " – 4:08
  2. "Hijo de la luna " – 3:52
  3. "Another Christmas Without You" – 4:11
  4. "Hijo de la luna " – 4:15
  5. "Hijo de la luna" – 3:20

    Chart performance

Year-end charts

Certifications