- published: 23 Jan 2009
- views: 1009229
Van Morrison, OBE (born George Ivan Morrison; 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely viewed as among the greatest ever made.
Known as "Van the Man" to his fans, Morrison started his professional career when, as a teenager in the late 1950s, he played a variety of instruments including guitar, harmonica, keyboards and saxophone for various Irish showbands covering the popular hits of the day. He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the lead singer of the Northern Irish R&B band Them, with whom he recorded the garage band classic "Gloria". His solo career began under the pop-hit oriented guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single "Brown Eyed Girl" in 1967. After Berns' death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks in 1968. Even though this album would gradually garner high praise, it was initially poorly received; however, the next one, Moondance, established Morrison as a major artist, and throughout the 1970s he built on his reputation with a series of critically acclaimed albums and live performances. Morrison continues to record and tour, producing albums and live performances that sell well and are generally warmly received, sometimes collaborating with other artists, such as Georgie Fame and The Chieftains. In 2008 he performed Astral Weeks live for the first time since 1968.
I'll tell me ma when I get home, the boys won't leave the
girls alone
Pulled me hair, stole me comb but that's all right till I
go home
She is handsome, she is pretty, she is the Belle of
Dublin city
She is a courtin' a one two three, Pray can you tell me
who is she
Albert Mooney says he loves her, all the boys are
fightin' for her
Knock at the door and ring at the bell, and Oh, me true
love, are you well
Out she comes, white as snow, rings on her fingers, bells
on her toes
Ould Johnny Morrissey says she'll die if she doesn't get
the fella with the roving eye
Let the wind and the rain and the hail blow high and the
snow come travellin' through the sky
She's as sweet as apple pie, she'll get her own lad by
and by
When she gets a lad of her own she won't tell her ma when
she gets home
Let them all come as they will for it's Albert Mooney she