The moon, and things that can happen in moonlight, have inspired a long list of Hawaiian and hapa-haole songs. Some celebrate its beauty, others describe the romantic ambience that moonlight can create.

A lyricist’s mention of the moon can also be an oblique reference to a special person or an event known only to the songwriter and one or two others.

Here is a list of 10 "moon songs" with Hawaii ties. Some are personal favorites, others suggested by friends:

» "Hanalei Moon," by Bob Nelson: One of the best known hapa-haole songs since statehood. "When you see Hanalei by moonlight/You will be in heaven by the sea."

» "Blue Hawaii," by Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger. Written for the 1937 Bing Crosby movie "Waikiki Wedding" and introduced to a new generation by Elvis Presley in 1961. "Come with me, while the moon is on the sea/The night is young, and so are we."

» "Mahinahina," by Nathan Aweau. Na Hoku Hanohano Award winner Aweau sings movingly of his desire to bestow "heaping kisses" on his beloved in the moonlight.

» "Adios Ke Aloha," by Prince William Pitt Leleiohoku. The younger brother of Kalakaua and Liliuokalani wrote this song for a woman he describes poetically as "My belle of the clear night when the moon shines in its tranquility."

» "Beautiful Mahealani Moon," by John K. Almeida. The late songwriter was a master of poetic "kaona" (hidden meaning) whose songs were often inspired by the women he met. This one could be about the beautiful full moon. It could be about a woman. It could be about both.

» "Mahina Malamalama," by John Meha and Maile Kaleikoa. Written to commemorate their elopement on a beautiful moonlit night.

» "Po Mahina," by Charles E. King. Describes a romantic interlude that began with a stroll on a swaying bridge in the moonlight.

» "Sweet Moonlight," by Prince Albert Kukailimoku Kunuiakea. An alii expresses his romantic desires in classic poetic form — bird, flowers, rain in the uplands and moonlight.

» "Mahina o Hoku," by Lillian Awa. A romantic interlude beneath the full moon.

» "’Ala Pikake," by Manu Boyd. Is Boyd describing the experience of picking pikake blossoms beneath the full moon or something more intimate?

PREFER POP/ROCK WHILE GAZING AT THE NIGHT SKY?
TGIF Editor Elizabeth Kieszkowski offers these moon-inspired songs, each from a different decade:

» Considering the unsettled times, with election results and hurricane warnings, global warming debates and rising sea levels, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s "Bad Moon Rising" from the 1970 album "Green River" comes to mind. It’s one of the most jaunty songs about the apocalypse you’re likely to hear. "Looks like we’re in for nasty weather … "

» Echo and the Bunnymen’s "Killing Moon" from the 1984 album "Ocean Rain" is definitely on my playlist. Edgy, fractured, fatalistic and romantic (as heard in the opening sequence of the cult film "Donnie Darko"), this story of a doomed love affair is so ’80s it hurts.

» Neil Young’s folky-romantic "Harvest Moon" from his 1992 album of the same name is sure to put you in a wistful mood. "There’s a full moon risin’," he sings. "Let’s go dancin’ in the light … " A chiming lap steel guitar accentuates the bright, nostalgic feel.

» Norah Jones’ bittersweet "Shoot the Moon," from her 2002 album "Come Away With Me," is tailor-made for this time of year. "The summer days are gone too soon," she sings. "You shoot the moon/And miss completely …" But seasons change, and Jones knows this.

» Joaquin Phoenix plays the ukulele to accompany Scarlett Johansson in the Oscar-nominated "The Moon Song," a tune as wispy and fanciful as Johansson’s Internet-embedded character in "Her." Karen O. of the Yeah Yeah

Yeahs wrote the song, as heard during the end credits: "I’m lying on the moon. My dear, I’ll be there soon … "

MORE REFINED MOON-WATCHING MUSIC
Here are staff writer Steven Mark’s picks:

» The moon has inspired plenty of great classical music, such as Debussy’s "Clair de Lune." Though cheapened somewhat by its appearance in films like "Ocean’s Eleven" and "Twilight," this piece conveys the sense of light and dark like no other.

» There’s also Dvorak’s lovely "Song to the Moon," from the opera "Rusalka." It’s a tragic song in which a fairy princess tells the moon of her love for a mortal.

» Then there’s music that has inspired people to think of the moon. The most famous of these is certainly Beethoven’s "Sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2, ‘Quasi una fantasia.’" The haunting, meditative first movement and the unleashed fury of the third movement made this piano sonata so popular that Beethoven actually complained about having to play it all the time. Its popularity gave rise to the piece’s nickname, "Moonlight Sonata," which wasn’t coined until five years after the great composer died.

» There’s also a lot of wonderful music that evokes nighttime, such as Mozart’s "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," which would be appropriate for a banquet. But for mood music, try the Chopin Nocturnes, an exquisite set of 21 small works for piano.