"Nights in White Satin" is a song by English rock band the Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album Days of Future Passed. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and number 103 in the United States in 1968. It was the first significant chart entry by the band since "Go Now" and its recent line-up change, in which Denny Laine and Clint Warwick had resigned and both Hayward and John Lodge had joined.
When reissued in 1972, the single hit number two in the US for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 (behind "I Can See Clearly Now" by Johnny Nash) and hit number one on the Cash Box Top 100, making it the band's most successful single in the US. It earned a gold certification for sales of over a million US copies (platinum certification was not instituted until 1976). It also hit number one in Canada. After two weeks at number 2, it was replaced by "I'd Love You to Want Me" by Lobo. It reached its highest UK position this year at number nine. Although the song did not enter the official New Zealand chart, it reached number five on the New Zealand Listeners chart compiled from the readers' votes in 1973. The 1972 single release of "Nights in White Satin" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
The song enjoyed a recurring chart presence in the following decades. It charted again in the UK and Ireland in 1979 reaching numbers 14 and 8, respectively. The song charted again in 2010, reaching number 51 in the British Official Singles Charts. It has also been covered by numerous other artists, most notably Giorgio Moroder, Elkie Brooks, and Sandra, and has been used in a variety of cultural mediums, including commercials and films.
Production
Band member Justin Hayward wrote and composed the song at age 19 while touring in Belgium and titled the song after a girlfriend gave him a gift of satin bedsheets. Hayward said of the song, "It was just another song I was writing and I thought it was very powerful. It was a very personal song and every note, every word in it means something to me and I found that a lot of other people have felt that very same way about it." Hayward also said:
Hayward also remembered playing the song for the band for the first time, when he was a new member of the band:
The London Festival Orchestra provided the orchestral accompaniment for the introduction, the final rendition of the chorus, and the "final lament" section, all of which were in the original album version. The "orchestral" sounds in the main body of the song were actually produced by Mike Pinder's Mellotron keyboard device,"Justin Hayward talks Nights In White Satin" 22 October 2014, Musicradar.com which would come to define the "Moody (Blues)'s signature sound".
The song is written in the key of E minorStephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis, p. 39. . and features the Neapolitan chord (F).Stephenson (2002), p. 89.
Single releases The two single versions of the song were both stripped of the orchestral and "Late Lament" poetry sections of the LP version. The first edited version, with the songwriter's credit shown as "Redwave", was a hasty-sounding 3:06 version of the LP recording with very noticeable chopped parts. However, many versions of the single are listed on the labels at 3:06, but in fact are closer to the later version of 4:26.
Some versions, instead of ending cold as most do, segue briefly into the symphonic second half ("Late Lament") and, in fact, run for 4:33 (but are also listed on the label as 3:06). For the second edited version (with the song's writing credited to Hayward), the early parts of the song were kept intact, ending early at 4:26. Most single versions were backed with a non-LP B-side, "Cities".
Reception Although it had only limited commercial success on its first release, the song has since garnered much critical acclaim, ranking number 36 in BBC Radio 2's "Sold on Song Top 100" list.
Cash Box said that the "intense mood of the funk orchestration serves up an atmosphere that penetrates to the very core of this depressed love ballad" and praised the "terrific instrumental break and a searing vocal."
Classic Rock critic Malcolm Dome rated it as the Moody Blues' greatest song, calling it "one of the best singles from the late 60s." Ultimate Classic Rock critic Nick DeRiso rated it as the Moody Blues' 2nd greatest song. Classic Rock History critic Brian Kachejian rated it as the Moody Blues' 8th greatest song, calling it "a great song, a beautiful historic song."
Graeme Edge credits the song's belated success in 1972 to autonomous DJs in the United States who would play the song despite its length. He explains to Rolling Stone in 2018: "There used to be things called regional breakouts. Instead of the big conglomerate radio stations like now, there were these FM guys and they had their own playlists. DJs were stars in those days and they prided themselves on discovering new talent. We had a regional breakout in Seattle. I think after the breakout started happening, there was a decision to re-promote it in other areas. It spread from Seattle down to San Francisco and down to L.A. It was going great everywhere, slowly going up the charts again until in the end it got to Number Two. But it sold a hell of a lot of records because it took so long to get up there."
"Late Lament" The spoken-word poem heard near the six-minute mark of the album version of the song is called "Late Lament". Drummer Graeme Edge wrote the verses, which were recited by keyboardist Mike Pinder. On Days of Future Passed, the poem's last five lines bracket the album and also appear at the end of track 1 ("The Day Begins").
While it has been commonly known as part of "Nights in White Satin" with no separate credit on the original LP, "Late Lament" was given its own listing on the two-LP compilation This Is The Moody Blues in 1974 and again in 1987 (without its parent song) on another compilation, Prelude. Both compilations feature the track in a slightly different form than on Days of Future Passed, giving both spoken and instrumental tracks an echo effect. The orchestral ending is kept intact, but mastering engineers edited out the gong (struck by Mike Pinder) that closes the track on the original LP as it relates to the closing of the original album (with Side 1 beginning with the gong fading in) and not the track alone.
From 1992 through the early 2000s, the Moody Blues toured with shows backed by live orchestras. When with orchestral accompaniment, they often took the opportunity to include "Late Lament" in the performance of "Nights in White Satin". On these occasions, Edge recited it himself, since Pinder had left the band.
Personnel Personnel per Sound on Sound.
The Moody Blues Justin Hayward – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar Ray Thomas – flute, backing vocals Mike Pinder – Mellotron, spoken word (on "Late Lament") John Lodge – bass, backing vocals Graeme Edge – drums
Additional personnel London Festival Orchestra Peter Knight – orchestral arrangements, conducting
Charts Weekly charts Chart (1967–1968)PeakpositionArgentina9Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)1Canada Top Singles (RPM)30UK Singles (OCC)19US Billboard Hot 100Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - 103West Germany (Media Control)21
Chart (1972–1973)PeakpositionAustralia (Kent Music Report)8Canada Top Singles (RPM)1Ireland (IRMA)15 New Zealand (Listener)5South Africa (Springbok)20UK Singles (OCC)9US Billboard Hot 1002US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)37US Cash Box Top 1001 Chart (1979)Peakpositionscope="row" UK Singles (OCC)14 Chart (2013)PeakpositionGermany (Media Control)39
Year-end charts Chart (1972)RankCanada40US Billboard32US Cash Box Top 10082
Certifications
Sandra version
A cover version of "Nights in White Satin" was released by German singer Sandra on her sixth studio album, Fading Shades (1995). It was produced by Michael Cretu.
The song was released as the lead single off Fading Shades in the spring of 1995 by Virgin Records and failed to match the success of Sandra's previous singles. The song only reached number 86 in Germany, becoming her least successful lead single there to date, and number 34 in New Zealand, where it remains her only charting single. It fared much better in Israel where it peaked at number one, and was a top-20 hit in Finland, and a top-10 airplay hit in Poland.
Reception Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Some might say it can't be done, some might even say it shouldn't be done: Still Sandra has done it, and very well too. Enigma-fied, the Moody Blues classic is now '90s-worthy."
Music video The accompanying music video for "Nights in White Satin", directed by Angel Hart, showed only close-ups of Sandra's face as she was pregnant at the time. A still from the video was later used on the Fading Shades album cover. The music video was released on Sandra's 2003 DVD The Complete History.
Formats and track listings CD maxi single "Nights in White Satin" (Radio Edit) — 3:35 "Nights in White Satin" (Club Mix) — 6:05 "Nights in White Satin" (Techno Mix) — 5:29 "Nights in White Satin" (Jungle Mix) — 6:09 "Nights in White Satin" (Dub Version) — 4:02 12" maxi single A1. "Nights in White Satin" (Club Mix) — 6:05 A2. "Nights in White Satin" (Techno Mix) — 5:29 B1. "Nights in White Satin" (Jungle Mix) — 6:09 B2. "Nights in White Satin" (Dub Version) — 4:02
Charts Weekly charts Chart (1995)PeakpositionAustralia (ARIA)163Germany (Official German Charts)86Israel (Israeli Singles Chart) Search "Nights in White Satin" for Israeli chart history.1New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)34
Year-end charts Chart (1995)PositionIsrael (Israeli Singles Chart)49
Elkie Brooks version English singer Elkie Brooks recorded the song for her 1982 album Pearls II.
Formats and track listings 7 single UK and Ireland A. Nights In White Satin 4:35 B. Lilac Wine (Live Recording) 6:08 7 single promo A. Nights In White Satin 4:35 B. Lilac Wine (Live Recording) 6:08 7 single New Zealand and Australia A. Nights In White Satin 4:37 B. Thank You For The Light 3:31 7 single Spain A. Nights In White Satin 4:35 B. Lilac Wine (Live Recording) 6:08
Charts Chart (1982)PeakpositionRef.Ireland (IRMA)14UK Singles (OCC)33
Other cover versions Italian band Nomadi released a version of the song as a single in 1968 with the title Ho difeso il mio amore reaching number 20 in the Italian chart. The lyrics of this version differ significantly from the original. New Zealand band "American Eagle" covered the song on their only studio album "American Eagle in 1970. German singer Juliane Werding covered the song in German as "Wildes Wasser" for her 1973 album Mein Name ist Juliane. The single reached number 40 in Germany. Giorgio Moroder recorded the song as "Knights in White Satin" for a 1976 album of the same name. His cover reached number 44 on the Walloon singles chart in Belgium. Moroder recorded another version in 1983 with Joe Bean Esposito on vocals, for the album Solitary Men. Los Angeles punk rock band the Dickies recorded a cover of the song for their 1979 LP Dawn of the Dickies. Released as a single, it charted in the top 40 on the UK singles charts. Hong Kong singer-songwriter Jacky Cheung recorded a Mandarin cover in 1988.LJ-YZ Music. (2023) 【张学友 Jacky Cheung】昨夜梦魂中 国语. YouTube. [online] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7hGDGi1yp0 (Accessed: June 20th 2025). The group Il Divo released their cover "Nights in White Satin (notte di luce)" on the 2006 album Siempre. Their version reached number 81 in Switzerland. A cover by the Dutch singer Erwin Nyhoff reached the top 5 in the Netherlands in 2012. Rachael Leahcar recorded a cover of the song for her debut album Shooting Star (2012). The song reached number 43 in Australia. Oceans of Slumber recorded a cover of the song for their album Winter (2016).