Nights in White Satin

The Moody Blues are an English rock band from Birmingham in the north of England. Written by band member Justin Hayward, “Nights in White Satin” is the band’s most infamous and well-known song.

Hayward wrote and composed the song when he was nineteen and lived in Swindon. He titled the song after his girlfriend at the time gave him a gift of satin bedsheets.
The song alludes to Hayward loving someone from afar, and never letting them know or being able to: “Letters I’ve written, never meaning to send / Beauty I’ve always missed, with these eyes before”. The song could also be Hayward realising his love or lust for someone who has been around in his life but has never been viewed as a potential love interest until now. Hayward has spoken about the song, stating “it was just another song I was writing, and I thought it was very powerful. It was a very personal song and every note, every word in it means something to me and I found that a lot of other people have felt the very same way about it”. The introduction of the song also features an orchestral accompaniment which is played by the London Festival Orchestra and is also featured in the final rendition of the chorus.

The video for song consists of clips of Paris and the famous monuments there, and the band singing the song from a staircase to in front of what appears to be a statue and a patterned room. The video has over 63 million views since its upload in 2006.

Release Date: 10th November 1967

Songwriter/s: Justin Hayward

Producer/s: Tony Clarke

Label/s: Deram

Chart Rankings & Certifications: The track earned a gold certification in the US. In the charts, it managed to reach #1 in the Netherlands, #19 in the UK, as well as earning a place in the charts in Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.