"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 ..."