Glad Tidings (song)

Infobox Song
Name = Glad Tidings


Caption =
Type =
Artist = Van Morrison
alt Artist =
Album = Moondance
Published =
Released = February 1970
track_no = 10
Recorded =
Genre = R & B/Country rock
Length = 3:42
Writer = Van Morrison
Composer = Van Morrison
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Van Morrison and Lewis Merenstein
Chart position =
Tracks =
#"And It Stoned Me"
#"Moondance"
#"Crazy Love"
#"Caravan"
#"Into the Mystic"
#"Come Running"
#"These Dreams of You"
#"Brand New Day"
#"Everyone"
#"Glad Tidings"
prev =
prev_no =
next =
next_no =
Misc =

"Glad Tidings" is the tenth and final song on Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's best known album, "Moondance" that was released in 1970.

Van Morrison on the writing of the song: [Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p. 110-111]

"Glad Tidings" is about a period of time in which I was living in New York. A friend of mine wrote me a letter from London and he'd written on the envelope 'Glad Tidings from London'. So I wrote 'Glad Tidings' from New York - and that's where I got the idea.

Brian Hinton, in reviewing the song notes that "Glad Tidings" seemed to be addressing some of the issues that Morrison had experienced a few years before with Bert Berns and the record label Bang Records: "businessmen talking in numbers, people who interrupt 'when you're in trances', strangers who 'make demands'.... even the opening line and closing line, 'and they'll lay you down low and easy' , could be either about murder or an act of love." [Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p. 111]

"Glad Tidings" was used on "All Due Respect", the final episode of the fifth season The Sopranos. In a review of that last episode The Star Ledger states: "The episode's use of Van Morrison's "Glad Tidings" as a recurring motif was a classic example of the show's attention to detail. Moments before buckshot hit Blundetto, we heard the verse that opened with "And we'll send you glad tidings from New York" and closed with "Hope that you will come in right on time." [cite web | url= http://www.nj.com/sopranos/ledger/index.ssf?/sopranos/stories/20040607sl_alltv.html | title= 'Sopranos' finale: One hit, bottom of the fifth |publisher=Star-Ledger | accessdate=2007-08-11]

Personnel

*Van Morrison - vocals, guitar
*John Klingberg - bass guitar
*Jeff Labes - organ
*Gary Mallaber - drums
*John Platania - guitar
*Jack Schroer - alto saxophone
*Collin Tilton - tenor saxophone

Notes

References

*Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074169X

External links

* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=b2950180e54389f3cf9d93ad908ac00e Lyrics and audio samples] Moondance 1970s