Jeff Tweedy and Wilco are seen performing at Les Schwab Amphitheater in 2015, although probably not the song “Black Moon,” which is included in our list of songs about the moon.

As far as heavenly orbs go, the moon gets more than its fair share of tribute from songsmiths. As an inspiring subject matter, it seems to be up there with love. As a symbol used in song, it seems to rival the sun. The moon even manages to wedge itself into songs that mention the sun, a la Love and Rockets’ “Earth, Sun, Moon,” an acoustic tune from the British trio’s 1987 album “Earth Sun Moon.” Six years later, Aussie greats Midnight Oil’s dropped the full-length “Earth and Sun and Moon.” Also replete with a song of the same title, the great Peter Garrett sings in its chorus, “Earth and sun and moon, human tribe, thin blue line / Earth and sun and moon will survive, yeah.” So far, so good!

Let’s get literal

When you’re singing about something as omnipresent as the moon, there’s really no need to dress the subject matter up a million different ways. Paul Simon’s “Song About the Moon” doesn’t mince words. There are two versions of “The Moon Song” from the “Her” soundtrack, so take your pick: Ezra Koenig and Karen O doing the studio version, or Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix from the film.

Both Patty Griffin and Phoebe Bridgers have a “Moon Song,” with Griffin’s having been recorded by the likes of Emmylou Harris. Writer Sam Thomas described Bridgers’ “Moon Song” as “one of the saddest songs I’ve ever heard.”

Here are some more songs exploring the moon:

Being there

“Fly me to the Moon (In Other Words)” — Kaye Ballard, Peggy Lee and, of course, Frank Sinatra all took turns at this light-hearted ditty about love, written in the mid-’50s by veteran songwriter Bart Howard and originally titled “In Other Words.”

“Sail to the Moon,” Radiohead — Thom Yorke and his compatriots in the iconic British band hit a high note with this ethereal tune from 2003’s “Hail to the Thief.”

“Walking on the Moon,” The Police — If anyone makes a list of songs whose lyrics complement the music perfectly, it would be incomplete without this song.

“Man on the Moon,” R.E.M. — The Athens greats paid tribute to the late-great agit-comic Andy Kaufman in this tune from 1992’s “Automatic for the People”

Flipping the script

“Here Comes the Moon,” George Harrison — A sort of bookend to his better-known “Here Comes the Sun” from The Beatles’ canon. According to songfacts.com, Harrison was in Maui when a full moon inspired this tune, which was included on his self-titled 1979 album.

“Moon Blue,” Stevie Wonder — Sure, everyone knows “Blue Moon,” but Stevie changed it up in this song in which he implores “Moon blue, lift me to starry heights, I long to live within your light.”

Other colors

“Orange Moon,” Erykah Badu — Bask in the warmth of this lovely, 7-minute-plus love song from R&B great Badu.

“Pink Moon,” Nick Drake — The British singer-songwriter died at just 26, but not before he gifted the world with “Pink Moon,” which has over 100 million listens on Spotify.

“Under the Cherry Moon,” Prince — One of a gazillion great songs by the late, great Prince.

“Black Moon,” Wilco — “Lift away, past the gate / Desert keeps forming / Underneath the black moon / And I’m waiting for you / Waiting forever / Are you awake now too?” Jeff Tweedy sings in this brooding tune from 2011’s “The Whole Love.”

Danger!

“Bad Moon Rising,” Creedence Clearwater Revival — Arguably the song most synonymous with American rock quartet CCR, it reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom.

“The Killing Moon,” Echo & the Bunnymen — The atmosphere is thick and ominous on this famous tune by the ’80s greats, who’ve continued to put out great music in the decades since. Fun fact: For Rob Hughes “The Story Behind the Song” feature at loudersound.com, singer Ian McCulloch said, “No one else has a song like ‘The Killing Moon,’ not even Bowie … It’s more than just a song, it’s about everything in life.”

Other listening: There are so many great songs about the moon that we put together a playlist of these tunes and other moon-related tunes from the likes of David Bowie, DIIV and more. If you’re reading this in print, search for our Spotify “Moon Song Lunacy” playlist to hear these and more, or visit bendbulletin.com/go, where the playlist is embedded in the article.