I didn't feel like reading the entire topic to see if this has already been addressed (I know, I'm lazy), but I've always wondered if the Mountains of the Moon are named after the Grateful Dead song of the same name. A careful review of the lyrics as discussed here just might back this idea up (along with a couple of my own ideas). Some of these ideas require a bit of a stretch, but I sure think there might be some inspiration taken from the song. The lyrics are as follows: Cold Mountain water the jade merchant's daughter Mountains of the Moon, Bow and bend to me Hi ho the Carrion Crow Folderolderiddle Hi Ho the Carrion Crow Bow and bend to me Hey Tom Banjo Hey a laurel More than laurel You may sow More than laurel You may sow Hey the laurel Hey the city In the rain Hey, hey, Hey the white wheat Waving in the wind 20 degrees of solitude 20 degrees in all All the dancing kings & wives assembled in the hall Lost is a long & lonely time Fairy Sybil flying All along the all along the Mountains of the Moon Hey Tom Banjo It's time to matter The Earth will see you on through this time The Earth will see you on through this time Down by the water The Marsh King's Daughter Did you know? Clothed in tatters Always will be Tom, where did you go? Mountains of the Moon, Electra Mountains of the Moon All along the All along the Mountains of the Moon Hi Ho the Carrion Crow Folderolderiddle Hi Ho the Carrion Crow Bow and bend to me Bend to me jade merchant's maughter - Comparable to the title of the song "Silk Merchant's Daughter", in which a woman disguises herself as a man to go in search of her true love. This is roughly analogous to the lengths Lysa went through to win the "love" of Littlefinger. carrion crow - This one should be fairly obvious :) Tom Banjo - At least one person discussing the song at the site suggested that Tom Banjo might be a reference to Tom Bombadil, who was, among other things, very fond of singing...much like Marillion. laurel - Signifying, among other things, victory in battle. Maybe the Vale of Arryn will finally start taking part in the battles that are going on and somehow be a key to someone's victory. Bow and bend to me - Aside from the obvious act of bowing to a King, this line, in a number of variations, is used as a refrain in the ballad "The Two Sisters." Think Catelyn and Lysa. All the dancing kings & wives - There are all sorts of kings in the realm, and all of them have wives. Are they all "dancing to someone's tune?" Marsh King - A nickname of Edward the Great, so named for his act of raising an army to defeat the invading Danes. Maybe another hint that the Vale will finally start participating in the battles that are going on? Ok, I know this one is a bit of a stretch, but Daenarys does plan on invading the Seven Kingdoms eventually. Also, Marsh King might actually work better as a reference to Howland Reed, but hey, the song is Mountains of the Moon, not Greywater Watch :) Anywho, that's my take on how the song Mountains of the Moon might have influenced GRRM's decision to so name the mountains near the Vale of Arryn. There are plenty of other lines in the song that someone could pick apart ("The Marsh King's Daughter Did you know? Clothed in tatters..." could be seen as the inspiration behind Mya Stone, if you think that The Marsh King is a reference to King Robert, just as an example); I highlighted the ones I thought made the most sense.
