This uptempo, slightly jazzy number was clearly influenced by Van Morrison, of whom Lizzy frontman Phil Lynott was a big fan. One of Morrison's famous songs is "Moondance."
The subtitle was added by the band's American record company, Mercury, to distinguish it from the King Harvest song with the same title released four years earlier.
"Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in Its Spotlight)" is a song by the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. It appears on their 1977 album Bad Reputation and was also released as a single a few months before the album. The song reached No. 14 in the UK Singles Chart in September 1977. It should not be confused with a similarly named song, "Dancing in the Moonlight", recorded by King Harvest and Toploader, amongst others.
The song builds on the introductory bass riff played by Phil Lynott, adding the vocal melody line sung by Phil Lynott which contrasts and synergizes with the saxophone melodic counterpoint played by Supertramp's John Helliwell.
When I passed you in the doorway
You took me with a glance
I should have took that last bus home
But I asked you for a dance
Now we go steady to the pictures
I always get chocolate stains on my pants
My father he's going crazy
Say's I'm living in a trance
But I'm dancing in the moonlight
It's caught me in its spotlight
It's alright, alright
Dancing in the moonlight
On the long hot summer night
It's three o'clock in the morning
And I'm on the streets again
I disobeyed another warning
I should have been in by ten
Now I won't get out until Sunday
I'll have to say I stayed with friends
But it's a habit worth forming
If it means to justify the end
Songwriters: Sherman Kelly
Dancing in the Moonlight lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC