# Which river is Moon River? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 24, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210 "2007-06-24T13:27:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mark\_Ryle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@Mark\_Ryle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Ryle)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/1 "2007-06-24T13:27:10Z")
Which river is Moon River of the Henry Mancini/Johnny Mercer song from the movie _Breakfast At Tiffany’s_? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/2 "2007-06-24T13:31:07Z")
There is a Mun River – pronounced Moon River – in the Northeast over here, but I doubt that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/3 "2007-06-24T13:37:27Z")
Something always made me think it was the Mississippi (“wider than a mile”), but that’s just speculation. I suspect it’s an imaginary river, analogous of wanderlust and freedom. ---
**Author:** ![askeptic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@askeptic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/askeptic)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/4 "2007-06-24T13:40:20Z")
I think it is metaphoric. But an inlet near Savannah, Georgia, Johnny Mercer’s hometown, was named “Moon River” in honor of this song, according to wiki. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/5 "2007-06-24T13:47:22Z")
You’re taking the song too literally. There’s no reason to think that it refers to any particular river. I suppose that the term “huckleberry friend” could be taken as a reference to _Huckleberry Finn_ and hence to the Mississippi River, but there’s nothing in the whole atmosphere of the song that suggests that it’s about a particular river. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/6 "2007-06-24T13:48:57Z")
Not the intent from the movie and the writer but: > [@](#): > > An inlet near Savannah, Georgia, Johnny Mercer’s hometown, was named “Moon River” in honor of this song. It could refer to the Mississippi River as the Character Holly-Go-Lightly is from the South and there is the line _My huckleberry friend, Moon River and me._ Maybe someone has a more definitive answer from Mercer himself, but I doubt there is one. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/7 "2007-06-24T14:31:28Z")
It’s a a song of romantic longing. Moon river doesn’t have to be any particular river, though I would think it to be the Mississippi . Write a song with a generalities and the listener can reminisce about a lovely place. It loses the romance and longing, when you sing Mississippi River, wider than a mile. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/8 "2007-06-24T15:21:46Z")
[QUOTE=Harmonious Discord] It loses the romance and longing, when you sing Mississippi River, wider than a mile. [/QUOTE] Not to mention the scansion! ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/9 "2007-06-24T19:46:10Z")
Here’s what Wiki sez: > **[Moon River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_River)** > > "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie Breakfast at Tiffany's, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 1999, Mancini's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. > The song has been recorded by many other artists. It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1962 ... ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/10 "2007-06-24T20:25:49Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] Here’s what Wiki sez: > **[Moon River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_River)** > > "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 film Breakfast at Tiffany's, winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The song also won the 1962 Grammy Awards for Record of the Year and Song of the Year. In 1999, Mancini's recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The song has been recorded by many other artists. It became the theme song for Andy Williams, who first recorded it in 1962 (an... [/QUOTE] HIJACK: I love Wikipedia. I read about Moon River, then clicked through to the Johnny Mercer Article, then to the Hoagy Carmichael article (I’m a fan, and went to college in Bloomington, Ind.), and found out that Ian Fleming described James Bond as resembling Hoagy. Then I clicked through to the Bond article, and the passages where he’s described that way are right there. Wikipedia = awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2007, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/11 "2007-06-24T20:31:07Z")
I loves me some Wiki too, but the “Moon River” article didn’t say why the song is associated with JFK, as I’ve heard before. Anyone know the connection? Just an accident of timing? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Ryle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@Mark\_Ryle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Ryle)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/12 "2007-06-25T03:45:53Z")
‘Harmonious Discord’ mentions “romantic longing.” I agee, but not in the boy/girl sense, like most pop music. (I know you don’t mean it that way, of course, ‘Harmonious Discord.’) Thanks for the wikipedia article, ‘DrDeth.’ I didn’t know it existed. Interesting – Audrey Hepburn picks up a Huckleberry Hound mask in one scene. ‘Elendil’s Heir,’ I am unaware of any association of the song with President Kennedy, but such a connection could exist since it took the Oscar for ‘Best Original Song’ in 1961. The only Kennedy associations that come to mind are songs from _Camelot_. I agree with ‘jjimm’s’ off-the-cuff assessment, “I suspect it’s an imaginary river, analogous of wanderlust and freedom.” I would add ‘striving’ to that list. I laughed out loud at ‘jayjay’s’ witticism. A few months ago I asked “which river is Moon River?” at another website (minidisc. org) in the midst of a discussion about this song. One respondent said the song’s wistful, longing nature reminded him of _Oh Shenandoah_, another song about two rivers (Shenandoah and Missouri). With the mention of two rivers, please allow me to give my ‘take’ on this enigmatic, evokative song. “Wider than a mile” and “my Huckleberry friend” call to mind the Mississippi. But the song was written for _Breakfast At Tiffany’s_. That fact, and “you dreammaker, you heartbreaker” point to the Hudson, also wider than a mile. “I’m crossing you in style some day” introduces striving, desire, dreams of success. “Whereever you’re going I’m going your way” indicates a journey, and a passive journey. Same with “Two drifters off to see the world” (Huckleberry Finn and Jim floating down the Mississippi). “We’re after the same rainbow’s end, waitin’ round the bend … .” The Mississippi winds but the Hudson does not. Huck and Jim float down the Mississippi on a raft but the Hudson is always crossed – “I’m crossing you in style someday.” The masterful lyrics are ambiguous and noncommital, as a few respondents pointed out. But I don’t think there are more than two choices, if a choice has to be made. Personally, the song always comes to mind winding down the helix to the Lincoln Tunnel. Among _Moon River_’s many attributes, it’s a soundtrack for that skyline a mile across the Hudson River. It’s a New York song. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/13 "2007-06-25T04:33:26Z")
According to[this,](http://www.johnnymercer.com/moonriv.htm) Johnny Mercer had a house on the Back River in Savannah, now called Moon River. One could reasonably assume it was the inspiration for the song (descriptions such as “wider than a mile” need not be any more literally precise than the name of the river itself - it’s art, not geography). And according to [this](http://www.johnnymercer.com/FAQ/Moon%20River.htm) - which comes across as quite authoritative, and provides specific sources which could be checked - “huckleberry friend” has nothing to do with Huckleberry Finn or Huckleberry Hound, but rather comes from nostalgic reminiscence of picking huckleberries with friends. See the post in red, about halfway down. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/14 "2007-06-25T04:44:07Z")
_Online Etymology Dictionary_: **huckleberry** 1670, American English, probably an alteration of Middle English _hurtilbery_ “whortleberry,” from Old English _horte_. Technically the fruit and plant of _Gaylussacia_, but also colloquially applied to the closely related blueberry. Slang meaning “person of little consequence” is attested from 1835. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/15 "2007-06-25T04:54:39Z")
Johnny Mercer: > [@](#): > > When I grew up in the South, by a river, there were always wild bushes, blackberries, strawberries, little wild strawberries, wild cherry trees, and huckleberries, and that coupled with the name Huckleberry Finn — and Mark Twain had written about the Mississippi, and this girl in _Breakfast at Tiffany’s_ was from around that neck of the woods, down there in the southwest United States, it just seemed to fit the need. Mercer was going to call the song _Blue River_, but learned that there were several previous songs with that title, so he changed it to _Moon River_ instead. ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/16 "2007-06-25T12:03:21Z")
Driving around central Illinois with my family, I will sing it out lustily as [Spoon River](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoon_River) whenever we cross the stream of that name. I encountered the song and Spoon River at about the same time, so I had them confused at first. Mom corrected me, but I couldn’t let that stop me! ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/17 "2007-06-25T12:24:51Z")
Hey, I’m pleased to know that there really is a Spoon River! I’ve known about “huckleberry friends” for a long time. That’s probably where Huckleberry Finn got his name or nickname. If Mercer didn’t know that at least sub-consciously, I’d be surprised. A recent biography of Johnny Mercer indicated that part of the Savannah River that flows by Bonaventure Cemetery where Johnny is buried has been renamed “Moon River.” I checked the last time that I was there and didn’t see an official sign anywhere. But Savannah is like that. They will keep you wondering and guessing. I think they _all_ pretend that they are just not certain, but they think it’s on the next island or just down a few blocks. The answers are a little like this thread and that’s just fine. God, I love Savannah. Prettiest, sweetest city you ever saw. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Ryle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@Mark\_Ryle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Ryle)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/18 "2007-06-25T12:34:48Z")
‘Gary T’ writes: [QUOTE=Gary T] descriptions such as “wider than a mile” need not be any more literally precise than the name of the river itself - it’s art, not geography). A good number of your much-appreciated responses lean in this direction – that it is no particular river, so don’t overanalyze. I agree “it’s art, not geography” but would turn that assumption on its head. Johnny Mercer’s boyhood and family home surely influenced his writing, but those influences were only building blocks used artfully to evoke a real place, Manhattan. He would not aspire to cross his Georgia river “in style,” nor was it a “dreammaker” or “heartbreaker,” and had no “rainbow’s end.” _Moon River_ is autobiographical, I agree, but in the sense of being the poetic expression of Mercer’s own aspirations for rising to the pinnacle of his profession. Mancini’s also – listen to the longing, striving quality in the melody and chords. They were two artists perfectly collaborating to evoke New York. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/19 "2007-06-25T12:57:44Z")
To evoke _New York_? ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Ryle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8dc957/32.png) [@Mark\_Ryle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Ryle)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2007, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210/20 "2007-06-25T13:00:57Z")
So, it _is_ art. It’s _not_ geography. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-river-is-moon-river/409210.md?page=2)