Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1969
These Dreams of You
Buy These Dreams of You now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
{{Infobox song
| name = These Dreams of You
| cover =
| alt =
| type =
| artist = Van Morrison
| album = Moondance
| released = February 1970
| format =
| recorded =
| studio =
| venue =
| genre = Rhythm and blues, country rock
| length = 3:50
| label = Warner Bros. Records
| writer = Van Morrison
| producer = Van Morrison and Lewis Merenstein
| misc =
}}
"'These Dreams of You'" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and featured on his 1970 album 'Moondance'. This song was also included on Morrison's 1974 live album, 'It's Too Late to Stop Now'.
"The inspiration of "These Dreams of You", it seems, was a dream about an assassination attempt on Ray Charles, who then 'got up to do his best'. The words are introspective and obscure, but the musical structure and assured playing give the piece its necessary coherence."Collis, Inarticulate Speech of the Heart. p120
Van Morrison describes it as:Hinton. Celtic Crossroads. p.109
The result of a dream I had about Ray Charles being shot down. That started off the whole song. The line 'you paid your dues in Canada', I don't really know where that comes from, I just have a romantic image of going to Canada and that's about it. The song is basically about dreams.
Brian Hinton goes on to say: "Nightmares more like, with Van's lover telling lies, walking out, ignoring his cries, throwing him out, and slapping him on the face; odd behavior for an angel. Van's voice sounds almost strangled on the final chorus."Hinton, Celtic Crossroads. p.110
Appearance on other albums
*A live version was included in the 1974 double live album 'It's Too Late to Stop Now'.
Filmed performances
*There is footage of the song being performed at the Fillmore East on 23 September 1970.
*A performance of the song, featuring special guest Fred Wesley, was shown on the 1998 Rockpalast Christmas special on German television.
Personnel on original release
*Van Morrison vocals, harmonica
*John Klingberg bass guitar
*Jeff Labes organ
*Gary Mallaber drums
*John Platania guitar
*Jack Schroer alto saxophone
*Collin Tilton tenor saxophone
Notes
References
*Collis, John (1996). 'Inarticulate Speech of the Heart', Little Brown and Company,
*Hinton, Brian (1997). 'Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison', Sanctuary,
Category:1969 songs
Category:Van Morrison songs
Category:Songs written by Van Morrison
Category:Song recordings produced by Lewis Merenstein
Category:Song recordings produced by Van Morrison
Buy These Dreams of You now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1969