Coney Island
"Coney Island" is a spoken-word song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1989 album, Avalon Sunset. The narrative is accompanied by lush instrumentation which successfully[citation needed] contrasts with Morrison's thick Ulster brogue. The singer revisits his youthful trips with his mother to the seaside at Coney Island, in County Down, Northern Ireland. The trip from Belfast in the song names the localities of Downpatrick, St. John's Point, Strangford Lough, Shrigley, Killyleagh, Lecale District and Ardglass. The narrative vividly pictures a bright Autumn day of birdwatching, stopping for Sunday papers, and for "a couple of jars of mussels and some potted herrings in case we get famished before dinner." A reviewer noted: "You get a great rush of satisfaction here; in knowing that Van Morrison, despite his long, painful progress towards spiritual election, is still a ravenous foodie at heart."
The village of Shrigley dating back to 1824 was replaced with modern homes and shops after 1968 but a restored village as seen by Morrison and his mother is being planned.
The song ends with the spoken words,
Wouldn't it be great if it was like this all the time?
Coming down from Downpatrick
Stopping off at St. John's Point
Out all day birdwatching
And the craic was good
Stopped off at Strangford Lough
Early in the morning
Lyrics Provided By ZoneLyrics.net
Drove through Shrigley taking pictures
And on to Killyleagh
Stopped off for Sunday papers
At the Lecale District
Just before Coney Island
On and on, over the hill
To Ardglass in the jamjar
Autumn sunshine, magnificent
And all shining through
Stop off at Ardglass
For a couple of jars of mussels
And some potted herrings in case
We get famished before dinner
On and on, over the hill
And the craic is good
Heading towards Coney Island
I look at the side of your face
As the sunlight comes
Streaming through the window
In the autumn sunshine
And all the time
Going to Coney Island
I'm thinking, wouldn't it be great?
If it was like this all the time
erg mooi
BeantwoordenVerwijderenEen prachtige muzikale reis!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenElsa
Er zijn meerdere Coney Islands: in New York, Ohio en Missouri, maar Vans song gaat duidelijk over Coney Island in Ierland. Sfeervolle song met sfeervolle muziek!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenElsa
he ik kom weer vanfans tegen
BeantwoordenVerwijderenherman h
Where did you get the idea that this song stemmed from childhood trips with his mother. Van has never mentioned such memories
BeantwoordenVerwijderenMorrison was so taken with his childhood visits to the Lecale coast and the former mill village of Shrigley that he referred to it in one of his most popular 'songs', the narrative Coney Island.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIn the 1989 hit, Morrison recalled trips to the seaside with his mother, passing through Shrigley near Downpatrick, on their way to the beach at Coney Island.
Van spoke on his Avalon Sunset album of taking photographs in Shrigley on those schoolday visits.
Belfast Telegraph.