Van Morrison Live at the Orphanage (p1)Into The Mystic

Wat is mijn allermooiste Van Morrison nummer? Moeilijke vraag,Van heeft zo veel moois geschreven dat deze vraag voor mij bijna niet te beantwoorden is ,maar mede door mooie herrineringen die bij deze song naar boven komen denk ik toch dat Into The Mystic hoog zal scoren. Gelukkig staat het tegenwoordig weer op de setlist en afgelopen zomer in Peer konden we het nummer weer horen in een prachtig nieuw arrangement,het was een hoogtepunten van dat bijzondere optreden.

Onderstaande fragment is van een optreden op 29 July 1974 in The Orphanage,Into The Mystic in zijn originele uitvoering.


Into The Mystic
Big Hand For The Band! Mario Cipolinna-Bass,John Colla-AltoSax,John Farey-Keyboards,Brian Hogan-TenorSax,Bill Gibson-Drums,Dennis Langevin-Guitar

Into The Mystic (van het album Moondance)

We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won as we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

And when that fog horn blows I will be coming home
And when the fog horn blows I want to hear it
I don't have to fear it

And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will flow into the mystic

When that fog horn blows you know I will be coming home
And when that fog horn whistle blows I got to hear it
I don't have to fear it

And I want to rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will flow into the mystic
Come on girl...



Into The Mystic songfacts...
"Into the Mystic" was recorded during the Moondance sessions at A&R Recording Studios in New York City in September to November 1969. Elliott Scheiner was the engineer.

The lyrics are about a spiritual quest, typical of Morrison's work. "Bass thrums like a boat in motion, and the song comes back to water as a means of magical transformation." "At the very end Van sings: too late to stop now, suggesting that the song also describes an act of love." (This phrase would become a key point of many live concerts.) Compared to "Yesterday" by The Beatles, It has been described as "another song where the music and the words seem to have been born together, at the same time, to make one perfectly formed, complete artistic element.“

Morrison remarked on the song: "'Into the Mystic' is another one like 'Madame Joy' and 'Brown Skinned Girl'. Originally I wrote it as 'Into the Misty'. But later I thought that it had something of an ethereal feeling to it so I called it 'Into the Mystic'. That song is kind of funny because when it came time to send the lyrics in WB Music, I couldn't figure out what to send them. Because really the song has two sets of lyrics. For example, there's 'I was born before the wind' and 'I was borne before the wind', and also 'Also younger than the son, Ere the bonny boat was one' and 'All so younger than the son, Ere the bonny boat was won' ... I guess the song is just about being part of the universe.