Vanlose Stairway

Infobox Song
Name = Vanlose Stairway


Caption =
Type =
Artist = Van Morrison
alt Artist =
Album = Beautiful Vision
Published =
Released = February 1982
track_no = 7
Recorded =
Genre = Celtic
Length = 4:10
Writer = Van Morrison
Composer = Van Morrison
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Van Morrison
Chart position =
Tracks = #"Celtic Ray" - 4:11
#"Northern Muse (Solid Ground)" - 4:05
#"Dweller on the Threshold" - 4:49
#"Beautiful Vision" - 4:08
#"She Gives Me Religion" - 4:33
#"Cleaning Windows" - 4:43
#"Vanlose Stairway" - 4:10
#"Aryan Mist" - 4:00
#"Across the Bridge Where Angels Dwell" - 4:31
#"Scandinavia" - 6:41
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Misc = "Vanlose Stairway" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1982 album, "Beautiful Vision". It remained a favorite with fans and a popular concert performance for several years during the 1980s. He performed a baroque rendition of this song with the Dallas Jazz Orchestra at the 1989 Montreux Jazz Festival. [Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence, p.465]

Morrison wrote the song about his Danish girlfriend, Ulla Munch, from Vanlose Street in Copenhagen who lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building with no lift. [Rogan, No Surrender, p.342] Clinton Heylin remarks..."he turned this mundane set of stairs in an uninspiring block of flats into a 'Stairway that reaches up to the moon/And it comes right back....to you'. [Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p.371] Alternately, a feature story in the Copenhagen Post in 1999 [Copenhagen Post, October 29, 1999 http://www.cphpost.dk/get/58527.html] cites nearby Vanlose station as the location of the suspect stairway. This seems reasonable, since Morrison was occasionally seen strolling the streets of the city, despite being partially-disguised from passers-by in one of his trademark wide-brimmed hats. (On the other hand, the stairway to the S-train platform is reportedly only 30-odd steps, whereas a regular four-story climb to his girlfriend's flat would likely have been more memorable to the songwriter.)

The singer also includes the lines "Send me your Pillow/" which referenced bluesman John Lee Hooker's influence on his music.

Appearance on other albums

*There is a live version included on the 1984 album, "Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast".
*A medley version appears on the 1994 album, "A Night in San Francisco".
*On the 2007 compilation album, "Still on Top - The Greatest Hits", a re-mastered version is included.

Personnel on original release

*Van Morrison - vocals
*John Allair - organ
*Tom Donlinger - drums
*Pee Wee Ellis - tenor saxophone
*Chris Hayes - guitar
*David Hayes - bass
*Mark Isham - trumpet
*Pauline Lozano - backing vocals
*Chris Michie - guitar
*Annie Stocking - backing vocals
*Bianca Thornton - backing vocals

Notes

References

*Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press ISBN 1-55652-542-7
*Rogan, Johnny (2006). Van Morrison:No Surrender, London:Vintage Books ISBN 9780099431831

External links

* [http://wm10.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:kbfpxqldldke All Music song review]
* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=b2950180e54389f3cf9d93ad908ac00e# Lyrics and Audio sample] 1980s, Beautiful Vision
* [http://www.christianschou.dk/vanlose/ Vanlose Stairway] on the Web
* [http://www.cphpost.dk/get/58527.html Van Morrison tribute to Denmark on the Vanløse stairway] The Copenhagen Post
* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=bcdf0ba5fecbc0ef8494bf0c7a15c7dc# Video: Vanlose Stairway, 2008]