Van Morrison's Greatest Song

That's what "Madame Joy," "There There Child," and "Try For Sleep" do to me. The Philosopher's Stone is a textbook on how to properly issue vault leftovers.

-siyt

 

Listen To The Lion

 

Sweet Thing

 

Snow in San Anselmo

 

Greatest: A Sense of Wonder

Personal Favorite: Domino

 

Them G-L-O-R-I-A Gloooria!

Solo Van - Caledonia Soul Music (Live) from the 1971 Amazing Kornyfone bootleg Van The Man...

19 mins of Van at the very apex of his talent....heavenly music

 

I decided to total up the votes. Here are the results so far....
(I have omitted songs that got a single vote)

Position, Song, [Number of votes]

1. Into The Mystic [29]
2. Listen To The Lion [17]
3. Madame George [16]
4. Saint Dominic’s Preview [12]
5. Moondance [10]
=6. And It Stoned Me [09]
=6. Brown-Eyed Girl [09]
=6. Cyprus Avenue [09]
=6. Domino [09]
=6. Gloria [09]
=6. Tupelo Honey [09]
7. Astral Weeks [08]
=8. And The Healing Has Begun [07]
=8. Caravan [07]
=8. Sweet Thing [07]
=9. Ballerina [06]
=9. Bright Side Of The Road [06]
=9. You Don’t Pull No Punches But You Don’t Push The River [06]
=10. Summertime In England [05]
=10. TB Sheets [05]
=11. Cul-De-Sac [04]
=11. Fair Play [04]
=11. In The Garden [04]
=12. Almost Independence Day [03]
=12. Autumn Song [03]
=12. Glad Tidings [03]
=12. Jackie Wilson Said [03]
=12. Linden Arden Stole The Highlights [03]
=12. Satisfied [03]
=12. Slim Slow Slider [03]
=12. Vanlose Stairway [03]
=12. Wavelength [03]
=12. Wonderful Remark [03]
=12. Who Was That Masked Man? [03]
=12. Why Must I Always Explain? [03]
=13. Alan Watts Blues [02]
=13. Brand New Day [02]
=13. Bulbs [02]
=13. Caledonia Soul [02]
=13. Carrying A Torch [02]
=13. Celtic New Year [02]
=13. Celtic Ray [02]
=13. Cleaning Windows [02]
=13. Country Fair [02]
=13. Crazy Love [02]
=13. Cry For Home [02]
=13. Enlightenment [02]
=13. Have I Told You Lately [02]
=13. Here Comes The Night [02]
=13. Hey Where Are You? [02]
=13. In The Days Before Rock’n Roll [02]
=13. Moonshine Whiskey [02]
=13. Natalia [02]
=13. Not Suppose To Break Down [02]
=13. Oh The Warm Feeling [02]
=13. Rave On John Donne [02]
=13. Snow In San Anselmo [02]
=13. Street Choir [02]
=13. These Are The Days [02]
=13. Wild Night [02]

 

Van's love songs are pure gold. The gentleness of Crazy Love is as soft and caressing as a lover's embrace after a long absence. And it's just the tip of an incredible list of melt-your-cares-away, iceberg passion-fest love poems.

The vast majority of the songs above touch the same heart strings. He's an unparalleled romantic to my ears. Listen to Fair Play, a uniquely compassionate "break-up" song. It takes all kinds to make this world, but I am extremely grateful that at least one of the 7 billion or so was filled with this kind of heart, soul, and talent. Virtually everyday this music enriches my life and gets me on my way.

When he finally goes on to the next life, I will be profoundly shaken. But at least I'll have hundreds of original songs and thousands of live performances to keep me going.

Some have fussed about too many new releases. Hogwash! I want it all.

Favorite Song? That's ridiculous. There's no such thing. But...

I think the Philosopher's Stone version of Flamingos Fly is deserving of a mention. I mean, since no one else has mentioned it.

 

Irish Heartbeat
“There’s a stranger...”

 

A Sense Of Wonder....down thru the days of the leaves.

 

Too many great songs...

For me, personally, probably something off No Guru (Foreign Window, In the Garden, Tír na nÓg).

 

It has to be In The Garden for me. Now.

 

Into the Mystic

 

And The Healing Has Begun

 

I like so many of his songs, it's impossible for me to pick. What a catalog.