Over the years we have come across several shebeens with the name ‘Back of the moon’ and have wondered where the name comes from and what it means. The song ‘Back of the moon’ was made popular by the late South African singer ‘Mama Africa’ Miriam Makeba, describing how people relaxed at Back of the moon, ‘the top shebeen in Joburg’.
With a little help from Ma Google we discovered that ‘Back of the Moon’ is a 2019 South African movie, a love story set in Sophiatown in the late 1950s. It’s also a Scottish band. And as to the meaning? One site suggests that it means ‘finding beauty in unknown places’. Another suggests that the words refer to someone’s love being as great as the distance between the Earth and the Moon, as in the phrase ‘I love you to the moon and back’. The similar expression ‘the dark side of the moon’ refers to something unknown or mysterious.
Let us know your thoughts, any ideas?