Sweet Thing (Van Morrison song)

"Sweet Thing" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on his second studio album Astral Weeks (1968). It was on the first side of the album, that was under the heading: In the Beginning. The song was later used in 1971 as the American B-side to Morrison's single "Blue Money".

"Sweet Thing"
Song by Van Morrison
from the album Astral Weeks
ReleasedNovember 1968 (1968-11)
Recorded15 October 1968
StudioCentury Sound, New York City
GenreFolk rock
Length4:22
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Van Morrison
Producer(s)Lewis Merenstein
Astral Weeks track listing
8 tracks
  1. "Astral Weeks"
  2. "Beside You"
  3. "Sweet Thing"
  4. "Cyprus Avenue"
  5. "The Way Young Lovers Do"
  6. "Madame George"
  7. "Ballerina"
  8. "Slim Slow Slider"

Recording and composition

"Sweet Thing" was written by Morrison, aged c.22–23, after he had met his future wife Janet while on tour in the US in 1966 and during the year of separation after he returned to Belfast.

It was recorded during the last Astral Weeks session on 15 October 1968, at Century Sound Studios in New York City with Lewis Merenstein as producer.[1] It is the only song on the album that looks forward instead of backward:[2]

You shall take me strongly in your arms again
And I will not remember that I ever felt the pain

Van Morrison described the song to Ritchie Yorke: "'Sweet Thing' is another romantic song. It contemplates gardens and things like that...wet with rain. It's a romantic love ballad not about anybody in particular but about a feeling."[3]

Acclaim

The song was listed as No. 415 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes.[4] Mark Seymour on The Guardian called it "the most perfect song of all time".[5]

Other releases

"Sweet Thing" is the only song from Astral Weeks included on the 1990 compilation album The Best of Van Morrison. It was also featured on Morrison's album Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released

Appearance in the media

The song is featured two times in the 2012 movie The Five-Year Engagement. It is playing when the two main characters first meet. It is also featured in its entirety during the ending of the movie Moonlight Mile, written and directed by Brad Silberling. The song can also be heard in the final scene of the AMC television show Preacher during the suicide of the Vampire, Cassidy. It provides the title and closing music for the 2020 movie Sweet Thing by Alexandre Rockwell.

Personnel

Covers

The Waterboys covered the song on their 1988 album Fisherman's Blues,[6] which also interpolates the Beatles' "Blackbird". German indie band Flowerpornoes did a cover on their 1996 album Ich & Ich.[7] Jeff Buckley's 1993 recorded but posthumously released (in 2004) live album Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition) includes a live extended version.[8] Shana Morrison included a cover of "Sweet Thing" on her debut album Caledonia (1999).[9] Ezio covered it on the album Live at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Joe Louis Walker included a version on his album Pasa Tiempo (2002).[10] The 4 of Us covered it at the Astral Weeks Revisited concert in Belfast on 5 January 2008 to mark the 40th anniversary of Astral Weeks.[11]

References
  1. Heylin, p. 518
  2. Heylin, p. 157
  3. Yorke, p. 57
  4. "All-Time 885 Greatest Songs" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 January 2009. Retrieved 8 December 2008.
  5. Seymour, Mark (15 January 2023). "Mark Seymour: Sweet Thing by Van Morrison is the most perfect song of all time". the Guardian. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  6. "The Waterboys Fisherman's Blues". magazine.jamsbio.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2009. Retrieved 7 October 2009.
  7. "Flowerpornoes, 'Ich & Ich'". Discogs. 1996. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
  8. "Live at Sin-é (Bonus DVD)". AllMusic. Retrieved 15 September 2009.
  9. "Caledonia: Shana Morrison". rollingstone.com. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  10. "Joe Louis Walker: Latest release". evidencemusic.com. Retrieved 20 November 2009.
  11. Bailie, Stuart. "Astral Weeks, Wondrous Days". BBC. Retrieved 8 August 2010.

Sources
  • Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7
  • Yorke, Ritchie (1975). Into The Music, London: Charisma Books, ISBN 0-85947-013-X
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