P.S. While we are on the subject of water, I REALLY think U should react to the Billy Joel song: River of Dreams... it's insanely great (to borrow a phrase)... not to be missed!!
Yeah, it's about ejoying the moment, enjoying life. "High on life" as they say. That's what "just like Jelly Roll" means, how he ejoyed his misic. You could say all this great music is stoning Jamel :)
I was really wondering and hoping you were going to go there and understand the song but you didn't. It's not about drugs or alcohol. It's about being high on life, he says stoned me to my Soul. Stoned is just a metaphor for how he was feeling and it hit his soul so deep, like Jellyroll the blues singer made him feel.The first time I heard this on headphones it stoned me too it blew me away because I knew what his singing about and it wasn't drugs. If you listen to him and feel his music it's so spiritual it's really like a transcendental experience. He's singing about nature and his boyhood experiences, there's a theme of water, fishing in the stream and jumping in, then getting the gift of water from the stream, it's all outdoors. I still love watching you react to my favorite songs but you misinterpreted this one my brother.
NOT drugs. "As Morrison biographer Ritchie Yorke described it, the song remembered "how it was when you were a kid and just got stoned from nature and you didn't need anything else".[3] Morrison, in 1985, related the song to a quasi-mystical experience he had as a child: I suppose I was about 12 years old. We used to go to a place called Ballystockart to fish. We stopped in the village on the way up to this place and I went to this little stone house, and there was an old man there with dark weather-beaten skin, and we asked him if he had any water. He gave us some water which he said he'd got from the stream. We drank some and everything seemed to stop for me. Time stood still. For five minutes everything was really quiet and I was in this 'other dimension'. That's what the song is about.'" Also, yet another song from Moondance.
This. The reason this is one of my favorite songs ever, is this is like a slice of childhood, or just one of those days you can think of from the past, where it was just a perfect day. Being outside, in the water, getting out and letting the sun dry you, fishing, sitting by a campfire, being with friends/family, whatever.
Everyone takes their own meaning from this song. I agree with you. Water is magic, healing, life-giving, be it rain, a mountain stream, the ocean, or a bath. We are made of water, born from water in the womb.
Been listening to this for 30years for me Jelly roll Was always sex and jelly roll morton yeah high on life n nature gonna play the whole album again today😁
@@RandyforRoyals I get it yeah but when van mentions back street jelly roll years before we know what hes talking about ,hey we can all take what we want from vans songs beautiful soul
He's describing how wonderful it is to be a kid and live in the moment. It's better than any 'high'. He's overwhelmed to his very soul of the beauty of the moment.
Can't listen to a song in 2020 without thinking it has drug/alcohol references. This song is about having a great day as a child and how refreshing is pure, clean water.
Morrison and his friends asked the man for water, and he gave them some he'd gotten from a nearby stream. As Morrison drank the stream water he slipped into mystical experience. Time stood still," he says in Too Late to Stop Now. "For five minutes everything was really quiet and I was in this other dimension. "That's what the song is about." Jelly Roll is probably the jazz great...he used to listen to him with his father growing up.
Jellyroll was turn of the previous century slang for a ladies' private parts. And that's what it refers to in the name Jellyroll Morton who cut his chops playing piano in NOLA brothels.
It's Too Late to Stop Now by Jon Landau (who later became Springsteen's manager) is one of my favorite books and one of the great influences of my younger life.
If you think about it, "Into The Mystic" is a double entendre - the boat entering the Mystic River in Ireland, Van entering a spiritual state. Van didn't need dope; his journeys went elsewhere.
Right, as if Van wasn't getting absolutely stoned on weed and acid back in them days and then cocaine later. Right. Let's pretend that was not part of his life. Ok. Whatever you say.
After he left Bang records, he was spotted on Bylston Street, Boston, near the Prudential Center, with his "Them" LPs under an arm and panhandling for booze. What pulled him out was Peter Wolf, who was a DJ on WBCN-FM nights, and he mostly played Atlantic Records and other R&B and blues. He lived with Wolf for a time on Green Street in Cambridge.
Van Morrison is an artist I try not to play too often. His songs are so good that If I played him all the time, it'd ruin me for everybody else. He was a big part of getting me really interested in music in my early teens. Special place in my heart for Van.
Van is singing about a moment of enlightenment, a strong and visceral realization of his connectedness with all life, and with the formless and timeless consciousness that is the fountain from which life flows.
I love his mention of Jelly Roll - one of the all time greats. So nature - being in the water - leaves him feeling as "stoned" as listening to Jelly Roll. Wow - this man has such passion for his music!
Van "The Man" is an Irish national treasure. His lyrics usually come from a mystical stream of consciousness. Every song is great & some greater than others.
After running about 8 miles a sip of water will send you into a mystical state, no additive required. I think Van was referencing something along those lines rather than a a literal chemical substance.
Oh yes,I think I would say that any song Van Morrison sings is my favourite. But this one,this one sings to me every time. I was born to a small rural farm and the nature surrounding that farm raised me more than any human. I remember being by the river or in the woods surrounding our land and being too young to have the words to express what I was feeling. How to describe the overwhelming joy,joy to the point of it being almost difficult to breath,joy to the point of tears. That what this song is to me.
From the very first time I heard this song, I gathered that he was 'stoned' or emotionally elevated just by the nature of his experiences that day: fishing, jumping in a pond, feeling the sun on his back, drinking water from a mountain stream.
The song is about how Van was young and he got stoned on nature. Nothing to do with drugs or alcohol. Just getting high on youth and the beauty of nature.
He's talking about the awe and simple wonder at life we experience naturally, and as life goes on many of us lose that amazement. As to the water. I remember the first time in my youth I drank water fresh from a spring. It really was magical. Hot summer day, sticky with humidity, and crystal clear clean water that was so cold it made your soul sigh. I was maybe 10. Looked at in the right context it was like being stoned. Everything in my world shifted, and it took a little bit to adjust to this new information. Five to ten minutes just spent enjoying the bliss of that magical water. Didn't have the right words then. Still struggle to give it the right words now.
GrumpyDrunken1 Yes! Nature, wilderness , is my cure-all, my drug, my addiction. Has been ever since my first five day bushwalk at 13 years old. We were built to move through this world at walking pace, not driving pace. We were built to feel the sun and breeze and rain on our skin, not the air-con. We were built to squint into the midday glare; to smell a thousand different scents on the wind, to hear the insects, birds, reptiles rustling through the fallen leaves. We were not built to sit inside white boxes that smell of plastic and cleaning fluids. I reckon that ‘stoned’ bliss of your glass of water from a spring is our natural state. We need it more than we realise.
At my Grandma's house in SW VA. a steel dipper hung above the kitchen sink. With the dipper you drank cold, sweet water from the spring on top of the mountain. Grandpa ran the pipe down the mountain in the 1930s. The family shared the dipper and the water.
There is something special in the Irish air to produce such literary talents such as Van The Man (among many others). He is up there with James Joyce as a giant and master of poetic imagery, able to conjure spiritual and visual images with words. Just let yourself go and feel it... "Cypress Avenue" or "Madam George" are two other masterworks worth experiencing.
As he described it himself: "I suppose I was about 12 years old. We used to go to a place called Ballystockart to fish. We stopped in the village on the way up to this place and I went to this little stone house, and there was an old man there with dark weather-beaten skin, and we asked him if he had any water. He gave us some water which he said he'd got from the stream. We drank some and everything seemed to stop for me. Time stood still. For five minutes everything was really quiet and I was in this 'other dimension'. That's what the song is about."
Absolutely. He is just singing about getting stoned by the simple things in life. Sure there are tons of songs about drugs and the rock lifestyle, but this ain't one of them.
Love the song. I grew up 1 mile away from Ballystockart and fished the same river. Swung on rope swings and swam there too. I now live far away across an ocean from that place but this song takes me home and back to those long summer days of my youth. Happy times.
Anyone that likes Van is OK with me, a true Celtic poet. Btw, Jelly Roll is an old blues guy, Van is constantly referencing these old artists in his work. Glad you enjoyed it Jamel.
@Ted Freddy I would suggest I know a lot more about Van Morrison and his works than you sir. I'm from his home town where a lot of us are steeped in his music. My uncle played with him in his band before he became famous in the Sixties and has told us many stories over the years. Keep politics out of it and enjoy the music.Have a good day!
George Ivan Morrison grew up in Belfast where his father would bring him classic blues and Jazz records back home his trips out to sea...Jelly Roll Morton was a jazz pioneer and one of many who shaped young Van's musical landscape
Jelly Roll refers to American jazz blues pianist Jelly Roll Morton. He's a big influence on Van Morrison. Van references him in a number of his songs and performances.
Thanks again for sharing and experiencing my favorite artist. Saint Dominic’s Preview; Jackie Wilson Said; Talk Is Cheap; Almost Independence Day, Caravan (from The Last Waltz concert film). Van also plays sax on some of his songs.
It's not about getting stoned on drugs as much it is being knocked out by those wonderful things in life. Fishing with a friend, being in the world and drinking it all in. Being stoned by the love of God and life and love itself.
(Saint?) Stephen Gaskin used to use the word 'stoned' all the time ay San Francisco State University during his '67 "Monday Night Classes" (stated in a classroom, ended up being over 2,000 attendees every week). He said it was from astonishment.
In my 60+ years I've gone through this album 5 times. 3 were just worn out from playing. When hubby passed I cranked this song, sang to him. He smiled through it, then went on home. It's pretty special.
He was on a good one after listening to Jelly Roll Morton, after returning to the comfort of home, and just just experiencing the good things in life. This is great, cause I been listening to lots of Van Morrison this summer as I drive all over the California coast and canyons to escape all the crazy shit that's happening. He's got some gorgeous music, that's for sure!
" Oh The Water" ; IT IS THE WATER MAKING HIM HIGH ON LIFE ! ! ! ~ Jamel , Great series of Van the Man classics ! But the pure gold waiting for you to discover are these 4 songs; "Wild Nights", "Domino", 'Wavelength" and my personal fave; "Jackie Wilson Said " ! ! ! Thanks, stay safe and as always spread PEACE AND JUSTICE ! ! ! ! !
He really has a nice arrangement, I feel that his voice is a nice contrast, I also feel that back then certain singers used thier voice as an instrument around the music if that make sense.
"Jelly Roll" is a reference to Jelly Roll Morton, an early ragtime pianist/composer-- considered one of the fathers of jazz music. I really think you'd like a few other Van songs-- "Wavelength" (upbeat with real "stank" on the guitar break), "Wild Night" and "She Gives Me Religion"
He's loving the water that's making him feel high. No moonshine. Just pure water for his dry throat. Van is a genious and l love the story telling song.
On Hyndford St..will make you think of your younger days! One of my very favorite songs by Van. In this song he doesn't sing but tells a story of his youth ..with beautiful music..An absolute must!!!
Every time I hear this song two things : makes me feel stoned, the happy vibe. And I think of MY favorite food, that always make me happy! Hes got such a great vibe!
BLUE MAN GROUP - I FEEL LOVE Jamel, here's one that checks every box - 1) Live, Large & Engauged Audiance 2) Electrified, High Energy Performance 3) Funk, Stank, Rock, Disco and Loud! 4) Stage Prescence, Entertaining, Eye Catching. 5) Like a 3-Ring circus, there's something going on throughout the number that your. unable to take your eyes away. From the "Blue Man Groups Complex Rock Tour."
On Mad dogs and Englishmen with Joe Cocker, Leon was the musical director - absolutely brilliant. "The Letter", "Cry me a river" . Also Leon's solo stuff including his version of Dylan's "A hard rains gonna fall". Then there's "This Masquerade", "Tightrope" and "A song for you" beautiful songs in a much underplayed catalogue. Leon was inducted into the r'n'r hall of fame by Elton John after the completed a successful album collaboration "The union"
NOBODY is on the Leon trail or JJ Cale either! No love for the Okies! :) So much great material from both artists, both gone far too soon! RIP brothers Leon and JJ!
Tom Mathews I can’t understand it! I love them both, and despite the fact that Leon was FINALLY inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, they both are so criminally underrated, in my opinion. JJ should get a posthumous induction. He deserves it!
And it stoned me......he really is just referencing how incredible it all is...this moment, this world. Jellyroll referencing Jellyroll Morton.....jazz pianist. That's how I remember him talking about it....
Jelly Roll Morton (not the rapper) was a jazz/Ragtime pianist that he references in the song. While he might have partook of something at some time this song is about the joy of water "stoned" meaning it made him high on the beauty of the water in its different environments.
Not so very strange when you think about American bluegrass music and who the people were singing and playing. Mostly Irish and English immigrants and their descendants, so naturally the "twang" is there!
Thanks for listening to the peeps who love your channel. I am and forever will be a lover all good musif. Van Morrison however... Not just a fan, I love immersing myself in his world. Same as Donovan. These story tellers weave such magic and there is always a song that describes a feeling or or state of mind. It Stoned me always makes me think of the day I had my daughter. I looked down at her tiny face and it stoned me.
"Stoned" in the sense of feeling high from an experience. It could be a pot reference at some point, but I think it's more of an overall good feeling that he's singing about.
In the chorus of And It Stoned Me, the opening track of his seminal 1970 album Moondance, Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison sings "And it stoned me to my soul, stoned me just like Jelly Roll, and it stoned me." The reference is thought to be to the childhood memory of listening to his father's Morton recordings.
J, The purer the mountain stream waters, the smoother the moonshine turns out! That mountain water being crystal clear is just like the ‘shine it produces... crystal clear...thus “And It Stoned Me”!!
You should check out Van's song "T.B. Sheets." It sounds like he's having an emotion breakdown as he's singing it but he just keeps going. It's a hell of an experience.
My friend was sick and she knew she was dying she told me when i hear into the mystic it's her touching me from beyond. When i see a butterfly it's her coming to say hi! She died a few months later. 37 years later i still think of her i tell my daughter that's Heather in a butterfly coming to say hi;-)
Just like jellyroll! Probably a reference to Jelly Roll Morton, jazz piano player. Out fishin', it starts to rain. He and his buddy get a ride to another spot, go skinny-dipping, poles and all. And the joy of nature, the joy of living, it stoned me to my soul. Just like goin' home! And it stoned me!
Ban Morrison started when he was 17. He was in band THEM in 65 he wrote Gloria, mystic eyes. He’s one of the greatest songwriters ever. Still releasing albums and turned 75 on Aug 31
I have a pin BB threw to me at a concert 20 something years age. He made eye contact and tossed it right to me!! It has BB King in the shape of Lucille. Lucille is the neck and BB King is the body. One my most prized possessions. My buddy touched his hand and said it felt like blocks of sandpaper.
One of the best albums out there. And an Irishman too 💚🇮🇪 Brings me back to my teenage years in the 1980s. Was so proud to be an Irish woman in England back in the day,tough times for us Irish but at least Van the man gave us redemption ✊🏼🇮🇪Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy,The Bootmtown Rats & U2 are other great Irish artists you need to listen to.
I first heard this song some years after my family had moved to the West coast. The images of fishing and drinking water on a hot summer day made me feel an intense nostalgia about growing up in my old hometown, places I had not thought about in years. It amazed me that this Irishman's poetic reveries of the joys of childhood were so like my own. I was also getting into jazz and early R and B, and also got a kick out of the puckish reference to Jelly Roll Morton, which prevents the song from feeling too earnest or corny. Later digging into his music, I still marvel at all of the ways he plays with poetic images, especially water. Like walking and talking in gardens misty wet with rain. I think about this during the pandemic and think that I shall never grow so old again.
getting high naturally. "just like jelly roll" is a reference to the music of Jelly Roll Martin, a massive underground influence for musicians in the 70s. He was black, so kind of forbidden fruit, and so good. Jelly Roll Martin, old blues man.
@@richg0404 No I didn't, not only did I spell him wrong, he's jazz, not blues! oops, but the name rings down through history and should not be forgotten!
Ahhhh, Van. Some of the best blue eyed soul on the planet. My kids grew up having to hear "our daily Van" They still love him decades later. He gets right into your soul doesn't he.
Jamal-listening to you, watching how much you enjoy music I’d always a thrill for me. You experience music the same way I did as a young man. It absorbed my generation and to see it can still “Stone” someone tells me we were right a long, long, time ago….our music did matter.
Have you ever seen something in nature so beautiful that it just stopped you, after a few minutes, you realize that everything in you had just been wrapped up in that moment, and it stoned you.
From the amount of positive feed back you're getting i think it's easy to see that what Americans want is radio stations that play good classic rock of all genres and an eclectic mix of music of all eras.
