The Greatest Professional Wrestling Concept Album EVER: Track By Track
4. Luna
Killer Lyrics: Burn hard, burn hard / Smouldering pieces
landing in the yard / Trace names in ash / Big names, old friends / And dead
ends.
A mellow funk with harmonic backing vocals. It sounds as if it could be background muzak, but it proves far too compelling for that. Erik Friedlander’s strings give an overall ethereal feel.
This is another track that uses a more recent event in the world of professional wrestling. It recounts the fire that decimated Luna Vachon’s house over the Christmas period of 2009. She lost everything including the wrestling memorabilia that chronicled her career. Mick foley spearheaded a campaign for fans to send her any collectables they could part with. Sadly, in August 2010, Luna died of an overdose aged 48.
The song sees Luna watching her house burn down but displaying an inner strength to carry on. The lyrics make several allusions to her faith - she became a born-again Christian in 2004. The ashes of the fire and her own ashes, which were scattered in the ranch formerly owned by Andre the Giant, are also prominent in the song.
Darnielle was additionally inspired by the way Luna moved around the ring, explaining to Vulture:
“She used to do this thing where she would knock somebody down, and she’d be walking toward them to kick them some more, but then she would stop and physically just look like she was bathing in her own evil.”