Van Morrison Lyrics

    ------ About the song My Lagan Love performed by Van Morrison

Van Morrison always sings about the soul of the thing. Madam George represents the urban soul of the shipyard city of Belfast and My Lagan Love represents the old rustic soul of the rural outers of Belfast.

Another comparison easily found is that in plaintiveness the lyrics of Madam George sound curiously similar to My Lagan Love.

The environment of My Lagan Love in fact shared by Ireland and Scotland and which survived in Scotland right up to the 1950s was that of transhumance.

Transhumance was the seasonal cycle of shifting grazing cattle from the river valleys and lowlands to the highlands in summer and from the highlands to the river valleys and lowlands in winter. Women tended to watching the grazing creatures.

The shieling that Van M. mentions in verse 2 is a temporary rockpile hut overgrown with a grass roof and straw thatch in line with the semi-nomadic lifestyle as it were.

The fire in the shieling was a small square pit in the the floor by the wall and fuelled with turf or peat. The doorway was no more than a gap sin the rock pile wall.

In summer the shieling women and any lads would get together up the mountain for a song and dance entertainment evening called a hooley or booley.

Van sounds like he might have met the woman with the twilight gleam in her eye and the night on her hair at a hooley or booley.

I suppose this is all more of a background than a critical review.

    ------ About the song The Story of Them performed by Van Morrison

Zero reviews seem likely because the "Rock" imagery and associations are meaningless outside of Belfast.

The song alludes to an odyssey down the Falls Road 1963-64 similar to Van's odyssey along Sandy Row referred to in 1968 Astral Weeks conscious-stream "Ulysses"-style track Madame George.

Just seen up the Falls Road (the Falls) from the Spanish Rooms was Durham Street. Walking south down Durham here from the Falls this way you also came to the Maritime Hotel near the corner of College Square North.

Continuing straight along Durham from the Maritime you crossed an intersection of movie theatres and straight onto Boyne Bridge over the Great Northern Railway track (GNR-now the Europa Hotel) from Dublin and into Sandy Row of Madame George. (Boyne Bridge symbolises the railway bridge down below that Van threw pennies onto from the train).

The Story of Them includes this type of imagery coming down the Falls from Durham Street intersection (which crossed up to the Shankill Road, an otherwise famous shopping street with miles of shops in Belfast) and on towards the Spanish Rooms on the Falls. The Spanish Rooms sold cheap unrefined cider (scrumpi) and was where all the Rock muso "head" people congregated.

Contrary to what big global newsmedia blurb today suggests "Rock stars" were treated like garbage in the "Swinging 60s". I myself was thrown out of public toilets in Belfast by the janitor who said "We don't want people like you in here." And he threatened to call the police. Long hair was not "popular fashion" at all then, nor at all widely worn except by Rock muso and "head" types. So anyone with long hair was 99% certain to be muso or Rock scene people.

Van Morrison's touch-down entrance point seems to represent returning to Belfast from a showband gig in the sticks.

The most historically important Rock music site in Belfast, Northern Ireland ran from Chichester Street and the Plaza ballroom or the old American Army Red Cross Club of 1942, across the front of Belfast City Hall on Donegall Square North to Wellington Place and Crymbles music shop and Rock musos weekly Saturday morning ren-dezvous where I bumped into every Pop and Rock muso in Belfast including Van Morrison who to me was just another Belfast muso there along with the rest. The Maritime was just around the corner in College Square North from here.

Royal Avenue was the main T-junction into the Plaza-Maritime thoroughfare coming down from the northern counties and Scottish (Glasgow) dance gig circuits out from Belfast.

This is not really a review of The Story of Them but how to review it. And does it do this for you.

colm connolly.

    ------ About the song Madam George performed by Van Morrison

These lyrics are actually from the version on Bang Masters, not Astral Weeks- it's a much more upbeat version (with background party noise and all) with slightly different lyrics. E.g., the lines about losing "self control" and then being "up against the bathroom door" are not on the Astral Weeks version. I love 'em both, but lately I've been digging this Bang Masters one- it gets me moving and moves me- and this is the only site I could find with the correct lyrics for that version. Thanks!

    ------ About the song Have I Told You Lately That I Love You? performed by Van Morrison

I notice that the PRINT LYRICS option is gone. Did you change it. It was so good to print them without having to waste paper on ads, etc. The lyrics came out centered on the page and it made it easy to see and learn the song.
Did I miss the button?
Please return it. Thank you
Greg

    ------ About the song In The Days Before Rock 'N' Roll performed by Van Morrison

Athlone didn't cut the mustard way back then; it's soul was dulled by an Ireland that looked on the broadcast itself as the achievement; content was not king in those pre-Elvis days.

Van did not listen but Durcan did....

Van listened to the sounds of America imported via the Beeb and American sailors.

Durcan has more soul in his tonsils than the wee Belfast man's brain.. addled with dolly-mixtures and washed down with locust-killing wash.

This was a brave attempt but ultimately fails because of the production, making Durcan sound like a pre-teen enthusiast who has just discovered the joys of self-flaggelation.

Worthy effort nonetheless.

    ------ About the song In The Garden performed by Van Morrison

I heard this song for the first time the other day and it really touched me. I'm going through a very bad time right now and this beautiful song has helped to give me hope. Sounds like it's touched so many others, too.

    ------ About the song Caravan performed by Van Morrison

hold on Sean no need to get upset here I always heard Amarou but do not know it's meaning or if it is a name.emma rose is the commonly published lyric ..don't make it right but it is published as such.I do hear Gypsy boy as you do ..not player. but emma rose could be Abbey Road...??
and if you're singing it as van would it don't make no nevr mind

    ------ About the song Kingdom Hall performed by Van Morrison

I love Van and have seen this song on the back of his album. Always wondered what it would sound like. After reading the lyrics, did that guy ever actually GO to a Kingdom Hall? haha Maybe he just liked the sign out front and figured "I think ima write a song 'bout that"

    ------ About the song In The Garden performed by Van Morrison

Glory to God, Van! My husband and I have claimed this as our song! What a a beautiful blend of spirit, soul and love! I feel transported to a heavenly place when I hear these lyrics. It's like John's Revelation---yet something I can understand. I believe I will meet my Maker in a garden just like this.

    ------ About the song Send Your Mind performed by Van Morrison

Cali follas look up north and hustlers stud in the south what we got going down is fame onto the walls making hustlers famous given respect to follas that are getting paper blessed by the gods getting money cali follas living life without the poor hope my babies don’t leave without me thinking about before I was nothing now im the king of these street the ones that don’t know my style since the day I was poor the street has finally called me as money making king the ones who trying to match up against my legacy it will never happen cause I was chosen to be king the ones who don’t know im straight up money rustling feeling the joint clapping cause I finally done it no one has what I got even the gods are clapping to this joint it about time ya were feeling what I was saying riding through the south everyday given respect to the rest are not the only ones out there playing the game I’ll hustle until I die frame my picture onto the wall be remember as a legend past my children generation to know I wasn’t a disappointment pass the mic to whoever ready have a g for every mistake walking to a pass thinking that I will never will report to give up the keys the stairs to my throne I finally believe it my term has finally end out the door I go south cali finest.