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Length: 7:09
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And I will drink the clear clean water for to quench my thirst
And I shall watch the ferry-boats and they'll get high
On a blue ocean, against tomorrow's sky
And I will walk and talk in gardens all wet with rain
And I will never grow so old again
Oh sweet thing, sweet thing
My, my, my, my, my sweet thing
And I will stroll the merry ways and jump the hedges first
And I will drink the clear clean water for to quench my thirst
And I shall watch the ferry-boats and they'll get high
On a blue ocean against tomorrow's sky
And I will walk and talk in gardens all wet with rain
And never ever ever ever ever get so old again
Ooh...
Sweet thing
My my my...
And I shall drive my chariot down your streets and cry
Hey, it's me! I'm dynamite and I don't know why
And you shall take me warm in your arms again
And I will not remember that I ever felt the pain
And I will walk and talk in gardens all wet with rain
And never ever ever ever ever get so old again
Ooh
Sweet thing
Yeah yeah yeah...
Sweet thing
My my my...
And I will raise my hand up into the night time sky
And count the stars there shining in your eyes
Just to dig it all an' not to wonder, that's just fine
And I'll be satisfied not to read in between the lines
And I will walk and talk in gardens all wet with rain
And never ever ever ever ever get so old again
Sugar-baby with your champagne eyes
And your saint-like smile....
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take this broken wing and learn to fly
All your life you were just waiting for this moment to arrive
Blackbird singing in the dead of night
Take your sunken eyes, learn to see
All your life you were only waiting for this moment to be free...
I'm 50.
My dad's 72. He played Van Morrison's Astral Weeks until he wore the grooves off the vinyl. He might have had to replace a needle or two because of that album. ... anyway, I grew up on Van and this song in particular means a lot to me.
I've put the Van version of this song on mix-tapes for girlfriends in high school, college and still listen to now with my wife of 20 years....
With all that said, I have to say that I LOVE this version nearly as much as the original, even (especially) with the squeaky violins and medley'd Beatles lyrics... It's music to my ears
Exactly
this is ok
give them credit for trying this
Autonomous Sensory Meridian Responses from the git go.
So sorry! My reaction was limited to retching.
I am a massive Van fan but Mike Scott steals the show with this.
![music](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/icon_music.gif)
I am 52 and have been listing to Van since 1982 when I discovered him via the Dexy's Midnight Runners ("Jackie Wilson said it was reet petite...."). I am fortunate enough that I have seen him around 20 times in the late eighties through the early 2000s. Both my children were born with Van playing in the hospital room (the nurse got copies of the mixed CD as they liked the music so much ;-) My teenage daughter is a gifted singer/guitarist in her own right and I like to believe that being born to "Listen to the Lion" has something to do with it ;-)
I wholeheartedly agree that the Waterboys' version of "Sweet Thing", and their version of "And the healing has begun" for that matter, captures much of what makes Van's songs great. They belong to the few artists that can pull off a Van cover. Another artist that does fantastic renditions of Van's songs is Glen Hansard - his version of "Astral Weeks" is pretty amazing.
nice username. Where's Spike?
I LIKE it! Nice job with an old Beatles tune. And I'm usually a purist but this was well-done.
The injection of Blackbird into the song is clearly a nod to Van Morrison as he would frequently weave parts of other songs into his own songs during live performances.
<skip>
11
12
Back when we were kids, there were 2 camps... Waterboys camp and U2 camp.
I'm still in the Waterboys camp. Occasionally see brilliance coming out of U2 but these guys rocked with just about everything they produced.
When I was a kid in the 80's in Wisconsin nobody had heard of the Waterboys, but U2 was all over the place. I didn't discover the Waterboys until "the return of pan" on DreamHarder came out in 1993 as the song got some airplay on the local alternative radio station. I wish there had been a Waterboys camp in my area to compete with the U2 camp!
A group I don't like covering a song by an artist I don't like. With the bonus of fiddle music which I detest. But that's the beauty of RP - for every dud there's so many more styles and artists I would not have discovered I like without listening.
And it´s so great to finally know what you don´t like!
![clap](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/eusa_clap.gif)
A must see - Glen meeting Van. I saw this long before I knew who Glen was - I thought it was just a cool Van story from some random guy.
And I love that you mentioned Listen to the Lion - perhaps my favorite Van song (at least among the top 10), but not well known.
Thanks for the link. Didn't realize the VM connection. Can't wait to see the vid but I'm falling asleep at the keyboard. Tomorrow is another day.
![eek](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/icon_eek.gif)
I am 52 and have been listing to Van since 1982 when I discovered him via the Dexy's Midnight Runners ("Jackie Wilson said it was reet petite...."). I am fortunate enough that I have seen him around 20 times in the late eighties through the early 2000s. Both my children were born with Van playing in the hospital room (the nurse got copies of the mixed CD as they liked the music so much ;-) My teenage daughter is a gifted singer/guitarist in her own right and I like to believe that being born to "Listen to the Lion" has something to do with it ;-)
I wholeheartedly agree that the Waterboys' version of "Sweet Thing", and their version of "And the healing has begun" for that matter, captures much of what makes Van's songs great. They belong to the few artists that can pull off a Van cover. Another artist that does fantastic renditions of Van's songs is Glen Hansard - his version of "Astral Weeks" is pretty amazing.
A must see - Glen meeting Van. I saw this long before I knew who Glen was - I thought it was just a cool Van story from some random guy.
And I love that you mentioned Listen to the Lion - perhaps my favorite Van song (at least among the top 10), but not well known.
My dad's 72. He played Van Morrison's Astral Weeks until he wore the grooves off the vinyl. He might have had to replace a needle or two because of that album. ... anyway, I grew up on Van and this song in particular means a lot to me.
I've put the Van version of this song on mix-tapes for girlfriends in high school, college and still listen to now with my wife of 20 years....
With all that said, I have to say that I LOVE this version nearly as much as the original, even (especially) with the squeaky violins and medley'd Beatles lyrics... It's music to my ears
I am 52 and have been listing to Van since 1982 when I discovered him via the Dexy's Midnight Runners ("Jackie Wilson said it was reet petite...."). I am fortunate enough that I have seen him around 20 times in the late eighties through the early 2000s. Both my children were born with Van playing in the hospital room (the nurse got copies of the mixed CD as they liked the music so much ;-) My teenage daughter is a gifted singer/guitarist in her own right and I like to believe that being born to "Listen to the Lion" has something to do with it ;-)
I wholeheartedly agree that the Waterboys' version of "Sweet Thing", and their version of "And the healing has begun" for that matter, captures much of what makes Van's songs great. They belong to the few artists that can pull off a Van cover. Another artist that does fantastic renditions of Van's songs is Glen Hansard - his version of "Astral Weeks" is pretty amazing.
My dad's 72. He played Van Morrison's Astral Weeks until he wore the grooves off the vinyl. He might have had to replace a needle or two because of that album. ... anyway, I grew up on Van and this song in particular means a lot to me.
I've put the Van version of this song on mix-tapes for girlfriends in high school, college and still listen to now with my wife of 20 years....
With all that said, I have to say that I LOVE this version nearly as much as the original, even (especially) with the squeaky violins and medley'd Beatles lyrics... It's music to my ears
![{#Sunny} {#Sunny}](http://graphics.radioparadise.com/emoji/sunny.gif)
My dad's 72. He played Van Morrison's Astral Weeks until he wore the grooves off the vinyl. He might have had to replace a needle or two because of that album. ... anyway, I grew up on Van and this song in particular means a lot to me.
I've put the Van version of this song on mix-tapes for girlfriends in high school, college and still listen to now with my wife of 20 years....
With all that said, I have to say that I LOVE this version nearly as much as the original, even (especially) with the squeaky violins and medley'd Beatles lyrics... It's music to my ears
Actually, it was a Van Morrison tune originally. They managed to throw in some lyrics to Blackbird in this noisy mess of a remake. Makes me pine for the original. This is just flat-out annoying.
![{#Boohoo} {#Boohoo}](http://graphics.radioparadise.com/emoji/eusa_boohoo.gif)
This one, strangely like. But surely Mr Hendrix "All Along the Watchtower" is best?
Understood and agreed. I've always been conflicted between sort of liking them while simultaneously being a bit annoyed by their aggression and over-confidence.
Solid 5 !
But enough about your song comment.
lol. I think the original runs long too (not complaining)
But enough about your song comment.
Ditto
I'm still in the Waterboys camp. Occasionally see brilliance coming out of U2 but these guys rocked with just about everything they produced.
taxingly long
#fakemusic
had to open browser to login to PSD
(haven't needed this button in ages)
#fakemusic?=Ludicrous
taxingly long
#fakemusic
had to open browser to login to PSD
(haven't needed this button in ages)
could have swore they're from the UK
By half way through I was prepared to rate this tune a 4. Soon I dropped to 3. By the time it (finally!) ended I was so glad it was over I somehow resisted the urge to give it an extremely rare (for me) 1.
So 2. Failed to move me.
edit: I've just been asked to turn this down cos it's making the dogs bark...
Lauriea wrote:
agkagk
(Ontario, Canada)
Stick around. There are plenty of people here who will tell you what to think.
Too funny, but I guess I'll be one of "those people". Song and album a 10 for me.
![{#Notworthy} {#Notworthy}](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/icon_notworthy.gif)
![{#Good-vibes} {#Good-vibes}](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/good-vibes.gif)
Stick around. There are plenty of people here who will tell you what to think.
![{#Lol} {#Lol}](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/icon_lol.gif)
https://www.mikescottwaterboys.com/waterboys-news.php
never get tired of this album. excellent cover.
This one isn't quite there... but listenable none the less
Thanks for the additional information on this song, romeotuma.
![{#Sunny} {#Sunny}](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/sunny.gif)
Miss you so much, Cynaera...
Bad day?
I've always like this rendition. Not greatness, but far from vomit-inducing.
Everybody in my church loves this cover...
lkovathana wrote:
Within the last couple of years, I am pretty sure there was an interview in Rolling Stone with Van Morrison, and they had the gumption to ask him about this cover. As I remember he really didn’t give them a straight answer, BUT he didn’t say anything bad which by Van the Man standards is a HUGE complement!
![](https://img.radioparadise.com/emoji/icon_ask.gif)
Another song that I simply will never get tired of.
I don't know if it was the Guinness or the very Irish crowd but their show was magical.
I think it is exactly a shrill as it needs to be to be right ,,,
but any shriller and it might be annoying.
But I respect your ears and we can both thank the lord for the PSD button. I know I have needed it a few times.
Good cover, the original is inspirational
This is really one of my favorite Van Morrison songs, and I really do like this cover, a LOT. This is one of the things I love most about PR, I get to hear stuff I'd otherwise miss out on.
and i'm not a massive van fan but this tune is very special
Would the sound be better if the blackbird was eating the kitten?
Wow!! Never heard this before!
Never thought anyone could ever do a cover that made me feel the way I did when I first heard Van Morrison create this classic. I'm amazed! Thanks Waterboys, and thanks RP... :)