Rough God Goes Riding

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 ...

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The Beauty Of The Days Gone By

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 ...

Cul de Sac

This is it ... Van celebrating where he is, back in Ireland (despite recording this track in NYC) having travelled far (all the way to California and the Palomar mountain range and observatory), hiding away in the studio, laying down the tracks so fresh they're still wet, with absolute freedom to drift in song. You can't fail to hear how much this all means, his impassioned vocal is among the finest he has ever laid down. Open hearted and open throated, you feel it right inside. He's gone. In the cul de sac, so smooth I look down Be less sure sir And take your rest It's been much too long Since we drifted in song Lay it down wet In this hide away Oh I travelled far To the nearest star And met Palomar, mar, mar, And we don't care just who you know It's who you are And when they all go home Down the cobblestones You can double back (this is it) To a cul de sac Oh I travelled far The nearest star And M...

Dweller On The Threshold

Let me go down to the water ... This song resonated with me the first time I heard it as a young man on the first disc of the original Greatest Hits. It gave voice to the feeling that there was so much 'more' and if I could only make a breakthrough, take a step over some 'threshold' then things would fall into place, make some kind of sense. The remarkable thing about this song, propelled along as it is by the tsking of the high-hat and those insistent horns, is that it still resonates to this day even now when I am so much older. It still feels like I'm on a threshold, possibly we're always and eternally on a threshold. The darkness still exists to be consumed and I'm still waiting for the dawn to end the night. Singing the song of ages until it comes. I'm a dweller on the threshold And I'm waiting at the door And I'm standing in the darkness I don't want to wait no more I have seen without perceiving I hav...

And They Stood Upon The Lawn ...

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