‘The Moon and St. Christopher’ is the final track on Mary Chapin Carpenter’s 1990 album Shooting Straight in the Dark. It’s a beautiful, simple track that has a bit of that early 90s adult contemporary polish but could really have been written and recorded at any time.
Shooting Straight in the Dark was Carpenter’s third album and her first of three straight Platium releases to start the decade.
Carpenter has remained prolific, releasing 13 albums in the three decades since this one came out. Her most recent album, The Dirt and the Stars, came out in 2020 and received some of her strongest reviews yet.
I was young I spoke like a child
I saw with a child’s eyes
And an open door was to a girl
Like the stars are to the sky
It’s funny how the world lives up to
All your expectations
With adventures for the stout of heart
Lure of the open spaces
There’s two lanes running down this road
Whichever side you’re on
Accounts for where you want to go
Or what you’re running from
Back when darkness overtook me
On a blind man curve
[Chorus]
I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon
And St. Christopher
[Verse 2]
Now I’ve paid my dues ’cause I have owed them
But I’ve paid a price sometimes
For being such a stubborn woman
In such stubborn times
And I’ve run from the arms of lovers
I’ve run from the eyes of friends
I’ve run from the hands of kindness
I’ve run just because I can
Now I’ve grown and I speak like a woman
And I see with a woman’s eyes
And an open door is to me now
Like to the saddest of goodbyes
And it’s too late for turning back
I pray for the heart and the nerve
[Chorus]
I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon
And St. Christopher
I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon
I relied upon the moon
And St. Christopher
To be my guide
Meet Me In Montauk 
I’m a bit less familiar with this album than I am with the outstanding Come Come, Come On, but “Hailey Comes to Jackson” has always been a favorite sure to bring a tear to Amy’s eye.
Glad to hear her 2020 album got great reviews. We had stopped buying her albums years ago, but am curious to check this one out.