And They Stood Upon The Lawn ...

"Shining like diamonds in the night ..." I'm not sure there is another song in Van's entire canon that allows such insight into his world as this one.  When he says that his music contains the answers to the questions journalists ask him they could do worse than start here. Solitude and separation.  The fight against the ego.  The untrustworthiness of those who claim friendship.  The struggle between rationalism and the sensual world. A desire for escape and obscurity.  There's a small cafe on the outskirts of town I'll be there when the sun goes down Where the roadside bends And it twists and turns Every new generation And I'll be praying to my higher self Don't let me down, keep my feet on the ground There's a roadside jam playin' on the edge of town In a town called Paradise near the ancient highway When the train whistle blows All the sadness that Hank Williams knows And the river flows Call them pag

"Wrapped up in the sound ..." A blissful and affecting piece that seems to me to be composed of almost affirmational statements, combining an element of gratitude and a desire for improvement.  "I'm living in my dreams, I'll make it better than it seems,""I gotta give a life a whirl," "Wrapped up in the sound, I'll make it better all around," "I'll leave these blues behind."  Always leaves me simultaneously soothed and elevated. Magic. Beautiful live versions from 2016 "Just a little bit higher ..."

"With your long robes on ..." With the evocation of  leafy groves, ancient roads and long robes we are drawn into a familiar mystical landscape.  But listen to Van closely, listen to his commitment, the passion in his voice, the heart is open and it allows us to enter into the communion. In the forest.  Echoes of the robes in Summertime In England, No Guru No Method No Teacher in Kate St John's wonderful cor anglais and Hymns of Silence in the Hammond organ meld and flow throughout the song like the river itself.  One of the last pastoral songs from Van. "I will take you home ..."

"Tried in vain to forget just how it ought to be ..." Somewhere to be free, and me, with the one I love.  To watch the story unfurl. "Waiting for that day to come ..."

The journey's longer than I thought ... This song has crept up on me and now I find it to be one of the most moving in Van's catalogue.  I think it is a combination of the acknowledgement of past mistakes, the things that 'get in the way' that have elongated the journey to now and the understanding that being with our loved ones can deliver perfect moments in time, where the world 'keeps standing still.'  A place of safety, comfort and love. I can hear the sound of violins I can hear the piper play And every time the song begins You just steal my heart away The journey's longer than I thought my love There's lots of things Get in the way But every time I think of you You just steal my heart away Just like a morning In May like this See the heather on the hill There's a place way up The mountainside Where the world Keeps standing still Just like the sunshine after rain I'll come To