I’ve been waiting to share probably my most favorite Van Morrison song with you and this is the week! Jim Adams, our host of Song Lyric Sunday, prompted us with the elements. Air, Fire, Earth and Water. I have gone with water and Van Morrison’s “Into The Mystic”. It has a beautiful poetic verse and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
This is about a sailor at sea thinking about returning to his lover, who is back on land. Normally a foghorn signals danger, but in this case it means he is close to home and his love.
There is room for interpretation beyond the superficial meaning. It might be interpreted as expressing an understanding that life is finite (the ship sailing on its round trip) and must be lived to its fullest (“I want to rock your Gypsy soul”), and an acceptance of its inevitable end (“We will magnificently float into the mystic, when the foghorn blows I will be coming home”). When you have seen the world and loved someone, you should have no reason to fear the end because you have lived your life to the fullest.
The original title was “Into the Misty.” According to Morrison, he couldn’t decide whether the first line should be “We were born before the wind” or “We were borne before the wind.” This was played in the 1989 Mary Stuart Masterson movie Immediate Family. She played a woman who was young and pregnant and planning to give her baby to Glenn Close and James Woods, who couldn’t have a baby of their own.
According to a BBC survey, because of this song’s cooling, soothing vibe, this is one of the most popular songs for surgeons to listen to whilst performing operations.
Every evening when the sun
Was low in the sky
He would go to the river’s edge
To reminisce and he would cry
Not so long had passed
Since she had been lost to him
He would sit and play his piano
And drink his tonic and gin
He had moved his instrument
To this special place
To remember her as she was
Before disappearing without a trace
He had loved her deeply
And asked for her hand
She had demurely resisted
Being unsure of a wedding band
She had visited less after that day
Making excuses and avoiding him
He became despondent and sad
Imploring her to come for a swim
Just one more time he begged
And she reluctantly agreed
She was a little wary of him
But did not pay much heed
Once they were in the water
He begged her once more
Marry me please, he implored
But she again did ignore
Placing his hands on her shoulders
He pushed her down
Holding her under the water
Until she drowned
