16 - Into The Mystic (Van Morrison)

Just like way back in the days of old! Van's got such a unique sense of soul here. The song is picturesque. Sounds like a river. 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Into the Mystic is such a majestic song from Van Morrison. It's such a spiritual song, and I love what he says about it. This is a quote from Van Morrison about Into the Mystic. He says, Into the Mystic is another one like Madame Joy or Anne Brown Eyed Girl. Originally I wrote it as Into the Misty, but later I thought that it had something of an ethereal feeling to it, so I called it Into the Mystic. That song is kind of funny because when it came time to send the lyrics to WB music, I couldn't figure out what to send them. Because really the song has two sets of lyrics. For example, there was quote, I was born before the wind, like born uh without the E at the end of born. I was born before the wind, and I was born before the wind. Like B-O-R-N-E. I was born before the wind. And also younger than the sun, air the bonnie boat was one. And then that compared that to all s all like A L L space so younger than the S-O-N sun. Like not the sun in the sky, the S-O-N. Air the Bonnie Boat was one, like W-O-N-1. I guess the song is just about being part of the universe. I thought that was super cool. And um yeah, so let's get into the song, guys. So it's in, I'm gonna call it D, even though it's capable one D, so it's actually E flat. But we're just gonna call this the major one D, okay? Just for lack of a better name, we're gonna call it D major. Even though it's E flat, okay? So it's a half step above what I'm saying. Okay, so what the thing I love about this song is that it takes its sweet ass time, and it's all about his vocal phrasing here, and just the dynamics of the band, everything's so alive. There's not a whole lot of compression going on here, you know what I mean? Like, not everything is like fixed to the same dynamics. It like everything's growing and breathing. It starts like with the guitar. The right ear has like guitar strumming, and then the left ear has more like and that's later when it goes, right? That the left ear has that, and the piano joins in the left ear. But let's talk about the harmony. So it starts on D, okay? And that's the major one chord, okay? And I love how seldom he changes chords. It really is like just like every chord is like its own river, it's its own, like just plane, its own world, right? Just do do do boom boom the bass line. So calming, just like it's it just sounds like you're in a canoe, right? You're like really sailing into the mystic. The music supports the lyrics so well. This anytime you hear like blues, what you're hearing is the root and the fifth and going up to the major sixth. Right. Right? And that's what the bass line is doing. And when it changes to the other chord, it goes right. And it just stays there. We were born before the wind. Still the one chord, also younger than the sun. And then to the five chord, finally.

SPEAKER_03 3:24

The bonnet was warm as we sailed into the mystic.

SPEAKER_00 3:31

And this verse that we're hearing only happens once in the whole song. It never goes back to this section. Hark now, hear the sailors cry. Like the ay. It really just he's so in it. Smell the sea and feel the sky.

SPEAKER_03 3:50

Right? Now the five chord. Let your soul and spirit fly into the mistake.

unknown 3:58

Do do do boom boom.

SPEAKER_00 4:00

So that's like the verse, right? Maybe the first two verses, and never goes back to that section. And then we continue on with the the minor three chord, F sharp minor, okay?

SPEAKER_03 4:11

And when that foghorn blows, I will be coming home.

SPEAKER_00 4:19

And I love when he says foghorn blows, that saxophone really like encapsulates like the feeling, imitates the feeling of a foghorn. And I just love the lyric, right? It's like you're just in the ocean, you're in the river. And when that foghorn blows. Very van to go, I will be coming home. He always goes, he's always singing like you know, do re me. Do reason like Rey Do. He does that so much. It's like such his style. I will be coming home. It goes back to the minor three chord, I've sure minor. Again, I'm in cape of one.

SPEAKER_03 4:55

Yeah, when the Falcon, the Falcon blows.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Now he instead of going back to the one chord, he goes to the five chord. He goes, I wanna hear it. The five chord is the perfect leading chord. Leads to Okay, so wait, he goes to A and the Falcon blows. I wanna hear it. The five chord, and then he grows.

SPEAKER_02 5:20

I don't have to fear it in a wanna rocky gypsy so like that's insane. What an insane line. Wanna rock you're a gypsy so I love I just love the wanna rock y'all gypsy so just like way back in the days of old. Then magnificently we will float into the mystic.

SPEAKER_00 6:03

It's like the lyrics are just amazing, and I want to rock your gypsy soul just like way back in the days of old. It's like so Van, right? So Van Morsen. Then magnificently. I love how he says magnificent, then magnificently we will float into the mystic. And now instead of a verse, instead of we will boom before the white, he does that like section, but not with the vocals, obviously. We got like the beautiful foghorn solo with the saxophone layers. Like beautiful harmonies, and uh, it's such a great texture to layer saxophone harmonies. You don't see you don't hear that like this and done in this way very often. It's like perfect uh context for having a saxophone, the fog horn.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

I I love that five chord dun.

SPEAKER_00 7:18

Like it could have just been like a sack solo, like just going off and doing jazzy bluesy licks, but like the fact that they stick it to that awesome riff, harmonized, it's just beautiful. And then finally it goes it goes back to the B section.

SPEAKER_03 7:32

When that Far Corn blows, that's the minor three to the four chord.

SPEAKER_00 7:37

Okay, G. Again, I'm in K1. You know I he goes, you know I will be coming home. And then he goes, listen to that after the sacks solo, and then it goes back to the vocals. When that fog horn blows, he goes, you know I will be coming home. I love that part so much. It's so great, he's so loose, so free. And back to it, he's like, and when that fog horn whistle blows, so much dynamics and emotion in his vocals, and the five chord, I gotta hear it!

SPEAKER_02 8:13

And he's up there. I don't have to fear it and rock y'all gypsy song. Just like way back in the days of old.

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Like the intricacies of his melody is so nice, and I heard like another take of him doing this. Like uh, you know, obviously they didn't keep this take, but it was pretty different, so he must have just been like improvising and they chose the best part. You know they comped it, right? Like they chose the best vocal. Uh I love the way he improvises vocally. A lot of his songs are pretty loose, you know. He has so much soul, it's it's really awesome. And he's always doing the together we will flow, right? And to the mystic.

SPEAKER_02 9:01

Like that, and to the mystic.

SPEAKER_00 9:04

Oh my god, like so much flow, so much swag. In the left ear, you can hear piano throughout the song, which is really nice blend with the finger style guitar going on in the left ear, and the bass line and the drums are growing in the more intense sections. The song is very alive, it's very natural and organic, right? Nothing's to the grid in these days, you know. Everything is just like the band is breathing and they're like doing multiple takes. Um, beautiful arrangement. Like, like I said, the right ear has more acoustic strumming, the left ear has the finger picking with the piano, the bass is really growing, and like the harmonized saxophones, there's no vocal harmonies in this song, it's just Van doing his thing. The bass grows and it eventually gets more involved. It just like really gets more alive, and uh the the instruments are really speaking to each other, and Van just floating on top. Come on, girl!

SPEAKER_02 10:08

And I love when it goes, too late to stop now.

SPEAKER_00 10:19

It's like so free, man. I can't get enough of the first verse. Like, I just love the lyrics, we were born before the wind. Also younger than the sun. And the bonny boat was warm as we sailed into the mystic. So much soul, man. It's man doing his thing. But in the context of like the imagery and this song and the arrangement, it really just feels like we're just floating down. We're in a canoe. On a canoe, floating down like an eternal river. Beautiful song released in the Moondance album 1970. This is some classic soul right here. Thanks for listening, guys. And uh, if you want some free ear training, check out my show notes. You can also head to learn.damberricuda.com slash practice to get some free ear training in. And that that whole thing that I give you is uh access to the practice room, which is like fifteen days of ear training, five minute exercises, and it's all good warm up for my actual course, which is called Unlock Your Musician's Ear. You can check that out at learn.dambarricuda.comslash unlock. Thanks for listening. I'll see you guys in the next episode.