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 ...

You will change just like a flower slowly opening ... When there's no coming and there's no going.  You will meet your lover.  Be still. I believe I'll go walking in the woods ...

There's a dream where the contents are visible ...  "Will the blush remain on your cheeks my love? Is the light, is the light always seen in your hair? A breathtaking hymn of love from a man who is aware of how lucky he is to be loved by the one he loves. Will you still be my special rose ...

Going down by Avalon ... Magnificent in it's concept and performance, Van leading massed strings and gathered voices exulting in the magic of Avalon, the grail and the promise of rebirth. In the Upper Room the cup doth stand… Gonna make a brand new start ...

Going as much with the river as not ... William Blake and the Eternals. You. Don't. Pull. No. Punches. Contemplating Baba. You don't push the river. Da. Da. Da. When you were a child. Looking for the Veedon Fleece. And it takes the child  in you to know. A live version following on from Streets of Arklow Behind the sun, oh behind the sun ...

Riding on in ... As soon as the brooding harmonica comes in you know you are in for something special. A companion piece to Cash's 'The Man Comes Around.' Albeit one that draws upon Van's own bitter experiences. Nowhere to hide.  Riding on in ...

Bared my soul to the crowd ... Frustration writ large. You put it all out there and folks just don't get it or are too lazy to do a little work for themselves, the world is full of hypocrites and parasites and when you are not the person people want you to be that is your fault because they haven't listened to what you have been telling them all along.  Now that would drive you crazy.  It's not righteous indignation that makes me complain ...

I got to run to the setting sun ... A song which personalises a place of ritual significance to the ancient Celts of the region of Finisterre (End of the Earth) and of more modern pilgrims to the area. A place where 'death' and 'rebirth' can be physically experienced in the setting and rising of the sun. If I've got to drive all night till the morning light ...

And I will search my very soul ... The sound of a man digging in his very soul. Oh listen. To The Lion. I'm off to Caledonia. And all my tears have flown ...

The words we do not need to speak ... Close your eyes.  Be still ...

I want to sing this song for you ... A prayer like song of reminiscence with an air of celebration. A memory of a time when the soul was free, the heart awake, a desire for the contemplation of one's own true self and a wish to keep young as one grows old.  So lift your glass and raise it high ...

Every time I take two steps forward ... Sarcastic, exasperated, down right pissed off. Van turns it into an atmospheric classic.  And if you liked the original, the guitar heavy Neil Young infused live version from 2013 is utterly spectacular. I end up having to take three back ...

She's alright with me  ... Delicate, passionate and precise.  Organ, flute, and guitar.  Van in control, open throated and open hearted.  The bee, not a bee.  THE bee. Mr Connie Hay on the drums alone.  Ow!  Listen to the man play.  A monumental classic. Wave after wave.  Peak after peak.  She's an angel ...

Sometimes you be living, living in a dream ... How could you write a finer love song than one which makes you love your lover more?  That's how this song always makes me feel. The swelling of your heart in your chest, the smile that creeps across your face, the spring in your step when you walk hand in hand down the street. Steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out, steppin' out ... It's just a windfall away ...

Let your flame burn into the night ... Down the mystic avenue, church bells chime in the blissful realm of Beautiful Vision. A tender paean to a new love infused with Blakeian angels and fiery visions. Gorgeous work by Mark Isham and Chris Michie. I saw you knocking with your heart ...

Everyone who's ever loved ... Socrates and Plato, they praised it to the skies. Van sent from the very beginning.  An extraordinary composition, instruments twist and curl around each other as they move toward a fully established harmony. Lifting us as they go. Everyone who's ever tried ...

When you've given up hope ... A remarkable song which juxtaposes the sensation of quiet stillness with the stirring affirmation of the triumph of the spirit if you 'follow the road.'  Van sketches the journey from despair 'when you've given up hope' to contemplation when 'you go inside for a while' which gets 'you back home.' Keep on walkin'  Oh, no, spirit don't ever die ...

Child don't do what I have done ... Oh sweet release, oh how you soothe me When I let go, I love how you use me I have finally come to realise It's in the doing, in the doing that we find A certain way that we can live our lives And obtain some piece of mind A monumental live version from 2002 And when I let go ...

And she moves ... A love song to the spirit of inspiration which sweeps me away with every listen. To the County Down. And she keeps the flame ...

And our heads were filled with poetry ... Sparse and haunting. The most evocative of songs. Senses filled with a location never visited. Another perfect moment in time.  "And the grass didn't grow ..." And our souls were clean ...

I can hear the mothers voices calling ... "In the early morning we'll go walking where the light comes shining through." A longing for home captured in song. Deep roots that can never be severed and still sustain although strained by distance. Comfort and ease found upon return. "I wanna go home ..." Children, children, come home children ...

And he loved the little children ... I don't know why this song is so intoxicating. It puts me in the room with Van, drink in hand, while he sits at the piano and tells me all about this man.  I feel like I know him intimately.  Almost as if somehow it is my story as well. Or could be. Touching, beautiful and wondrous.  Lord, he was a drinking man ...

I stop a while and take in the scene ... A stately string drenched meditation on mortality and his life from a man recognising where he is on the journey that " curves and twists and turns and twists and turns and wanders 'til you get, 'til you get to the very end." The familiar trope of "standing in the pouring rain" as a metaphor for sadness/depression is made more touching by the admission of the man still having more questions than answers and facing the prospect of death that is ever closer , "there's something moving, moving in the shadows and it's getting dark now up on memory lane."  This place is not the comfort it once was. Don't know where I am or what I'm after ...

I had my eyes closed in the dark ... Twenty-six years.  You record an 8 minute masterpiece. Such is the strength of your output it doesn't see the light of day for twenty-six years.  Twenty-six years. Cut loose. Leave your thoughtlessness behind you ...

When you lived in the grace ... Way, way, way back. To those perfect moments, outside of time. When you are the river, when you are the flow. Breathing in, breathing out. No effort. Only now. When you lived in the light ...

Like a child within the kingdom ... A perfect moment captured in song, the worshipful nature of love and the clarity such depth of feeling can bring.   Oh the warm feeling as we sat beside the sea Oh the warm feeling as I sat beside you Like a child within the kingdom As we sat beside the sea Oh the warm feeling as I sat beside you And it filled with devotion And it made me plainly see And it healed all my emotions As I sat beside you As we sat inside the sunshine And we sat beside the sea Oh the warm feeling as I sat beside you And it filled me with religion And it gave great comfort to me Oh the warm feeling as I sat beside you Oh the warm feeling as we sat beside the sea Oh the warm feeling as I sat beside you

And I turned to you and I said ... Just you and I. In the garden. Wet with rain. You and me.  A girl with her father and mother in their garden. Jesus in Gethsemane. Coming back home and sitting in the garden with Mum and Dad. Resurrection, with the key to your soul and you did open. Born again by your beloved's touch.  And I turned to you and I said ... No guru, no method, no teacher ...

If we're only human what more can we do...? A wonderful song that lingers on the unavoidable sadness of life but ends up lifting your chin and getting you off your stool for another round. All together now ... to-doo-dup ... to-doo-dup ... to-doo-dup ...

It ain't why ... Pastoral delight, romantic poets, high in the art of suffering with Mahalia Jackson coming through the ether.  Smoking up in Kendal and ridin' down by Avalon. And Jesus walking ... It ain't why ... why ... why ... Shhhh ... Can you feel the light? Can you feel the silence? It just is.

Roll me over Romeo ... A finer three minutes and 6 seconds for dancing around the room with your six year old boy you will not find. Funky little guitar riff and horns pumping enough to take down city walls. Dig it. One more time ...

Sometimes I wish I could fly ... Sometimes I feel like a motherless child Sometimes I feel like a motherless child Sometimes I feel like a motherless child Long way from my home Sometimes I wish I could fly Like a bird up in the sky Oh, sometimes I wish I could fly Like a bird up in the sky Sometimes I wish I could fly Like a bird up in the sky A little closer to home Motherless children have such a hard time Motherless children have such a hard time Motherless children have such a really hard time A long way from home Sometimes I feel like freedom is near Sometimes I feel like freedom is near Sometimes I feel like freedom is so near But we're so far from home Sometimes I feel like a motherless child Baby sometimes I feel like a motherless child Sometimes I feel like a motherless Long way from home Sometimes I feel like it's close at hand Sometimes I feel that the Kingdom is at hand Sometimes I feel like the ...

Right there, hold it ... Achingly beautiful.  The material becomes immaterial, the physical metaphysical, transcendence in musical form. This could go on forever and still be too short.  Send me.    It comes right back to you ...

Let yourself go  ... Like the guard on a platform Van's harp signals the journey's beginning. Revolving patterns on synth, piano and harp carry us to "within reach of the sun" via Faith, Alchemy and Ancient Greece. Into the mystery once more. Open up your heart, be joyous, dance, sing and give thanks. Be alive in the mystery and turn all your dirt into gold. Open up your heart to the one. That's all I know ...

Well this world is cruel with its twists and its turns ... A jaunty little number about the inevitability of death and the fact that there's nothing you can do about it.  You may as well dance. Which, with this tune thanks to Mr Pee Wee Ellis, is all too easy. Dance and smile and forget. But the fire's still in me and the passion it burns ...

Sing it in your name ... Shamanic Van. Back on the corner again with call and response. A solo sax which takes you right, right, right up and then falls away leaving you deep down into doo-wop backing vocals and the call and response, up, up and up with gathering intensity as the repetition sets in, the horns swirl and that circular, trance inducing, elevation begins. Round and round, over and over. deeper and deeper, higher and higher. Healed. Sing it. Sublime live version with everyone in blistering form. An incendiary solo from Leo Green. The official video (different take) Sing the healing game ...