I write songs. Then I record them. And later, maybe I perform them on stage. That's what I do. That's my job. Simple. I don't feel comfortable doing interviews. My profession is music, and writing songs. I like to do it, but I hate to talk about it...Music is spiritual. The music business is not. Being famous was extremely disappointing for me. When I became famous it was a complete drag and it is still a complete drag.
Interpretation
Van Morrison expresses the simplicity of his craft while highlighting the disillusionment that fame brings.
In this quote, Van Morrison articulates the essence of his identity as a musician, emphasizing his passion for writing and performing music. However, he contrasts this with his uncomfortable relationship with fame and the music industry, describing fame as a disappointment that detracts from the spiritual nature of music. This reflects a common sentiment among artists who find that commercial success often complicates their genuine love for their art.
In practice
In a discussion about the pressures of fame in the music industry.
Well, it's a marvelous night for a Moondance_x000D_ _x000D_ With the stars up above in your eyes..._x000D_ _x000D_ And I'm trying to please to the calling_x000D_ _x000D_ Of your heart-strings that they play soft and low_x000D_ _x000D_ And all the night's magic seems to whisper and hush_x000D_ _x000D_ And all the soft moonlight seems to shine in your blush..._x000D_ _x000D_ One more Moondance with you in the moonlight_x000D_ _x000D_ On a magic night
Music is spiritual. The music business is not.
Let go into the mystery_x000D_ Let yourself go_x000D_ You've got to open up your heart_x000D_ That's all I know_x000D_ Trust what I say and do what you're told_x000D_ Baby, and all your dirt will turn_x000D_ Into gold.
I'm very lucky, I'm happy with life because my experiences led me to do what I had to do. I don't have any regrets whatsoever.
I'd love to live in Ireland but I'd like to live as me, not what someone thinks I am. People don't understand - I lived there before I was famous.
You can call it nostalgia, I don't mind Standing on that windswept hillside Listening to the church bells chime Listen to the church bells chime In that magic time.
When punk came along, I found my generation's music. I grew up listening to the Beatles and the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd, 'cause that was what got played in the house. But when I first saw the Stranglers, I thought, 'This is it.'
I never considered myself part of rock 'n' roll. My stuff was more adult. It was more difficult for teenagers to relate to; my stuff was filled with more despair than anything you'd associate with rock 'n' roll. Since I couldn't see people dancing, I didn't write jitterbugs or twists. I wrote rhythms that moved me. My style requires pure heart singing.
Until I realized that rock music was my connection to the rest of the human race, I felt like I was dying, for some reason, and I didn't know why.
A lot of people think the blues is depressing but that's not the blues I'm singing. When I'm singing blues, I singing life. People can't stand to listen to the blues, they've got to be phonies.
I'd like to think that all the old Beatle fans have grown up and they've got married and they've all got kids and they're all more responsible, but they still have a space in their hearts for us.
We don't want to be Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones. That type of thing wasn't what we were after. It was most important for each of us to be equal in input and output - each of us has to pull the same amount, musically, in composition and in every sense of being in the band.
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