Summary
"And the Healing Has Begun" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1979 album, Into the Music.
| "And the Healing Has Begun" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Van Morrison | |
| from the album Into the Music | |
| Released | August 1979 |
| Recorded | Spring 1979 |
| Studio | Record Plant Studios, Sausalito, California |
| Genre | Celtic, folk rock, pop rock |
| Length | 7:59 |
| Label | Warner Bros. |
| Songwriter(s) | Van Morrison |
| Producer(s) | Van Morrison |
Recording and composition edit
"And the Healing Has Begun" was recorded at the Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California in spring 1979 with Mick Glossop acting as engineer.[1]
Biographer Brian Hinton calls it the central song in the album and perhaps in Morrison's whole career: "It starts just like 'Cyprus Avenue', no coincidence as the line about 'songs from way back when' hints, and with a walk down the avenue (of dreams), to the sound of a haunted violin. A song of full, blazing sex as well as revelation. The healing here is like that in Arthurian myth, the wounded King restored through the action of the Holy Grail, but it is also through as graphic a seduction, almost, as the original live version of 'Gloria'".[2]
Author Clinton Heylin concludes that "what makes the song, and indeed Into the Music work is its self-awareness. Gone is the awkward self-consciousness... It is replaced by a newly assured tone, born of a genuine awareness of what he (Morrison) was attempting."[3]
Personnel edit
- Van Morrison: vocals, guitar
- John Allair: organ
- Herbie Armstrong: guitar
- David Hayes: bass guitar
- Mark Jordan: piano
- Toni Marcus: violin, viola
- Peter Van Hooke: drums
Covers edit
Glen Hansard covered the song in the 2006 musical film, Once (Collector's Edition of Original Soundtrack).[4] The Waterboys live performance in 1986 is one of the tracks on their album, Live Adventures of the Waterboys.[5] Bronagh Gallagher covered it as part of the Hot Press Rave On Van Morrison project to celebrate Morrison's 75th birthday.[6]
Notes edit
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p. 523
- ^ Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p. 221
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p.351
- ^ "The Swell Season – Once: Music from the Motion Picture". sputnikmusic.com. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
- ^ "allmusic (((Live Adventures of the Waterboys > Overview)))". allmusic.com. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
- ^ Bronagh Gallagher - And the Healing Has Begun (Van Morrison Cover) #RaveOnVanMorrison, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved July 21, 2021
References edit
- Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074-169-X
- Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence?, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7