Marquee Moon

Verlaine wrote it and co-produced it with Andy Johns. Lloyd takes a brief solo after the second chorus and Verlaine a longer one after the third. It runs 9:58 on the original LP, faded just short of ten minutes, and 10:40 on the CD reissue, with an alternate take on the 2003 CD. The UK single on Elektra, April 1, 1977, had a first-pressing 12-inch limited to 25,000 in stereo and mono, and a 7-inch split as Part I (3:13) and Part II (6:45); it reached 30 on the UK chart. Wikipedia and Far Out say the title track was captured in one take, with Ficca not realizing it was the final one, and that when Johns asked for another Verlaine said to forget it; no session logs confirm this and Rock and Roll Globe hedges. It was played for years at CBGB in varying versions; Verlaine told Melody Maker in 1977 that it had 20 verses and that he used to perform it on acoustic guitar, and Lloyd called it a mini-symphony.

We found no explanation from Verlaine of its meaning; Far Out reads it as a journey through uncertainty, quoting Richard Hell that things always change and New York teaches you that, which is interpretation. Rolling Stone ranked it 381st in 2004 and 173rd in 2021 on its 500 greatest songs and 41st on its 2008 list of the 100 greatest guitar songs. Elvis Costello quoted the guitar bridge in "You Bowed Down" (1996). Setlist.fm counts 210 plays, their most-played song, and live versions sometimes ran to fifteen minutes. Covers include the Kronos Quartet (1990, on Rubaiyat), Luna (August 2020), Wilco live at Solid Sound in 2013, and Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs. We do not know which version our upload is.