"To the Moon and Back" is a single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 by Savage Garden

Savage Garden

Savage Garden were an Australian pop rock performance and songwriting duo. Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones formed the group in Brisbane, Queensland in 1994...

 from their debut album Savage Garden

Savage Garden (album)

Savage Garden is the eponymous debut album from Australian pop duo Savage Garden. It was released on March 4, 1997. The album sold more than 18 million copies worldwide...

. One of the band's most popular songs, it deals with feelings of alienation from the modern world and the desire to find romantic love during adolescence. It has been described as one of the band's darkest songs.

Background

"To the Moon and Back" was initially released as the album's second single in 1996

1996 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1996.-January:* January – At the trial of two American teenagers, Nicholaus McDonald and Brian Bassett, for the murder of Bassett's parents and young brother, defense lawyers attempt to lay the blame for the murders on the fact...

 in Australia, where it became the band's first number one. After the international success of their debut single, "I Want You

I Want You (Savage Garden song)

"I Want You" is the first single released by Australian pop group Savage Garden, released in Australia in 1996 and Europe and America in 1997. It later appeared on their eponymous debut album, Savage Garden. The single hit number one in Canada, and peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the ARIA...

", there were high expectations for the song as it's follow-up. During the song's first charting in America, the song entered the Top 40 of the Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 for only one week, peaking at #37 the final week of August 1997. In the UK the single was originally released in late September 1997 and there it failed to chart in the Top 40, stalling at #55 for one week. Subsequently, "Truly Madly Deeply

Truly Madly Deeply

"Truly Madly Deeply" is a song by Australian pop band Savage Garden, released as a single in March 1997. Written by band-mates Darren Hayes and Daniel Jones, the song is a reworking of a song called "Magical Kisses" that the pair wrote together long before recording began on their debut album....

" became an even bigger hit than their debut, hitting the number one spot in several countries including both the Hot 100 and the Hot Adult Contemporary charts in the United States, where it broke the record as the longest-running single to that time on the Adult Contemporary charts. In the wake of such success, the band decided the song had greater potential to become a hit than it's first chartings had borne out, and so instead of mining a fourth single off the album as they had for the Australian market, they decided to mix a shorter edit of "To the Moon and Back" and re-release it internationally in 1998. This time the song peaked at #24 in America, an improvement upon it's first release. yet still not the smash they had hoped it would be. In the UK, however, their faith was rewarded when the song debuted at number three, becoming Savage Garden's biggest UK hit. This prompted the UK re-release of their debut single, remixed as "I Want You '98". In 2004, the song was once again re-released, this time as a double A-side with "Affirmation

Affirmation (song)

"Affirmation" is a song by Savage Garden, released as the fourth single from their second studio album of the same name. The lyrics are a series of statements each starting with "I believe", for instance: "I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality" and "I believe that trust is more...

", featuring remixes by Almighty.

Music video

There have been three different music videos for the song. The first, accompanying the Australian release of the song, was directed by Catherine Caines and Chris Bentley, and was shot in black and white. The second version of the video, referred to as the "Malibu version", was directed by Nigel Dick in Los Angeles, and is easily identified by its location and the appearance of Darren with long hair. The third version, accompanying the 1998 re-release, was filmed in New York, and features Darren with short hair.

Track listings

• Australian CD single

1. "To the Moon and Back" (radio mix) – 4:32
2. "Santa Monica"
3. "Memories Are Designed to Fade" – 3:39
4. "To the Moon and Back" (album version) – 5:41

• American CD1

1. "To the Moon and Back" (radio mix) – 4:32
2. "Memories Are Designed to Fade" – 3:39

• American CD2

1. "To the Moon and Back" (radio mix) – 4:32
2. "To the Moon and Back" (Hani's Num Radio Edit) – 3:57
3. "To the Moon and Back" (Hani's Num Club Mix) – 9:18
4. "To the Moon and Back" (Hani's Num Dub) – 5:15
5. "To the Moon and Back" (Escape Into Hyperspace Mix) – 4:39

• 1997 UK CD1

1. "To the Moon and Back" (radio mix) – 4:32
2. "To the Moon and Back" (album version) – 5:41
3. "To the Moon and Back" (Hani's Num Club Mix) – 9:18
4. "Memories Are Designed to Fade" – 3:39

• 1997 UK CD2

1. "To the Moon and Back" (album version) – 5:41
2. "To the Moon and Back" (Hani's Num Radio Edit) – 3:57
3. "To the Moon and Back" (Escape Into Hyperspace Mix) – 4:39
4. "All Around Me" – 4:11

• 1998 UK CD1

1. "To the Moon and Back" (short edit) – 3:44
2. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Radio Edit)
3. "Truly Madly Deeply" (karaoke version)

• 1998 UK CD2

1. "To the Moon and Back" (short edit) – 3:44
2. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Fired Up Mix) – 6:16
3. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Definitive Mix) – 6:09

• 2004 UK CD

1. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Club Class Radio Edit) – 3:52
2. "Affirmation" (Almighty 2004 Anthem Mix) – 7:13
3. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Club Class Mix) – 8:06
4. "Affirmation" (Almighty Bangin' Mix) – 10:45
5. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Club Class Dub) – 7:09
6. "Affirmation" (Almighty Mix) – 8:20
7. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Transensual Mix) – 6:12
8. "Hold Me" (Almighty Mix) – 9:14
9. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Fired Up Mix) – 6:51
10. "To the Moon and Back" (Almighty Definitive Mix) – 6:32

Charts

Chart (2007/2008)	Peak position
Australia Australia Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...	1
Latvia Latvia Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	3
U.S. Mainstream Top 40 Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs) The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart...	2

End-of-year chart (1997)	Position
Australian ARIA Charts	17