This song has been covered several times. This is the one I'm familiar with. I always thought this was a precursor to a better choice of music for LR. Penned by Jimmy Webb I think he borrowed the title from a Robert Heinlein book by the same name. However the book was about a revolt against a tyrannical government on the moon, the term "harsh mistress" means a cruel, brutal master in the feminine sense, the moon. I'd like to see this song as using the term mistress as someone soft as in a lover. The song refers to a nostalgic moment in the past "once the sun did shine" when things were wonderful. Yet the reality is that it really wasn't, the love fell out, the memory is false, etc. Thus the reality is the moon who is double edged, a lovely memory but yet harsh because it did break your heart somehow. On the other hand I wonder if harsh mistress means more literally the moon is a tough teacher, you can dream of what you want but the harsh reality is that you can't have it without hard work, risk, consequences. In any case this is not only a very pretty song, its beautiful poetry.
This song has been covered several times. This is the one I'm familiar with. I always thought this was a precursor to a better choice of music for LR. Penned by Jimmy Webb I think he borrowed the title from a Robert Heinlein book by the same name. However the book was about a revolt against a tyrannical government on the moon, the term "harsh mistress" means a cruel, brutal master in the feminine sense, the moon. I'd like to see this song as using the term mistress as someone soft as in a lover. The song refers to a nostalgic moment in the past "once the sun did shine" when things were wonderful. Yet the reality is that it really wasn't, the love fell out, the memory is false, etc. Thus the reality is the moon who is double edged, a lovely memory but yet harsh because it did break your heart somehow. On the other hand I wonder if harsh mistress means more literally the moon is a tough teacher, you can dream of what you want but the harsh reality is that you can't have it without hard work, risk, consequences. In any case this is not only a very pretty song, its beautiful poetry.