Donald Trump, or maybe Natalie Harp, went on an AI slop-posting spree overnight, full of the usual braggadocio, apocalyptic imagery and imbecilic ideas – renaming New Mexico “New America,” blowing up Kharg Island, the usual idiocy – but one stood out. He claimed “The Moon is ours.”
He obviously never listened to the lyrics of one of Jimmy Webb’s best-known songs, performed first by Joe Cocker and later by dozens of people – Glen Campbell, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Feinstein and Josh Groban among them – clearly, it’s catnip for ballad singers. It’s not really about the moon, but the closing stanza could be directed at Trump.
The moon’s a harsh mistress
She’s hard to call your own
Webb took the title from Robert Heinlein’s science fiction novel about a libertarian moon colony rebelling against Earth, a ridiculous premise on its face made worse by Heinlein’s unrealistic attitudes about sex and libertarianism. It made a big impression on a young Jimmy Webb, though, just as it has on a lot of technonerds currently bent on destroying society because they actually believe that tripe.
Webb even felt a little bit guilty about swiping the title. He said in a 2009 interview,
“The Moon is a Harsh Mistress” was one of the best titles I’ve ever heard in my life. I really am guilty of appropriating something from another writer. In this case I had contact with Robert A. Heinlein’s attorneys. I said, ‘I want to write a song with the title, “The Moon is a Harsh Mistress”. Can you ask Mr. Heinlein if it’s okay with him?’ They called me back and he said he had no objection to it.
Trust me, the song is better than the book.
