"(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" is a song written by

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

that was first released on his 1971 album ''

Tupelo Honey ''Tupelo Honey'' is the fifth studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released in October 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. Morrison had written all of the songs on the album in Woodstock, New York, before his move to ...

''. It was also released as the third single from the album but did not chart.

Lyrics and music

The lyrics of "(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" propose taking advantage of nature to solve one's problems. An example is the opening verse "Well you know sometimes it gets so hard/And everything don't seem to rhyme/I take a walk out in my backyard and go/Do do loo do do, do do loo, do do." The lyrics show

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

influences with references to love, weather and being outdoors. In reviewing ''Tupelo Honey'', ''

Rolling Stone Magazine ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its cov ...

'' critic

Jon Landau Jon Landau (born May 14, 1947) is an American music critic, manager, and record producer. He has worked with Bruce Springsteen in all three capacities. He is the head of the nominating committee for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and recei ...

suggested that "(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" "transmutes the expression of generalized need for excitement and fulfillment on he previous song and hit single" Wild, Wild Night" into an expression of desire for a single person." The music is lively with a

triple metre Triple metre (or Am. triple meter, also known as triple time) is a musical metre characterized by a ''primary'' division of 3 beats to the bar, usually indicated by 3 (simple) or 9 (compound) in the upper figure of the time signature, with , , ...

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

. The feel of the music shows

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and R&B influences. ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' critic

Robert Hilburn Robert Hilburn (born September 25, 1939) is an American pop music critic, author, and radio host. As critic and music editor at the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1970 to 2005, his reviews, essays and profiles appeared in publications around the wor ...

suggested that it as an "uptempo spirit." Producer

Ted Templeman Edward John "Ted" Templeman (born October 24, 1942) is an American record producer. Among the acts he has a long relationship with are the rock bands Van Halen and the Doobie Brothers and the singer Van Morrison; he produced multiple criticall ...

felt that

Ronnie Montrose Ronald Douglas Montrose (November 29, 1947 – March 3, 2012) was an American guitarist who founded and led the rock bands Montrose and Gamma. He also performed and did session work with a variety of musicians, including Van Morrison, Herbie H ...

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

playing was particularly effective on this song, stating that his "infectious strummimg and catchy fills made 'Cannonball' worthy of release as a single." Templeman also praised the 2-note

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved or indented, such that it can be used to grab onto, connect, or otherwise attach itself onto another object. In a number of uses, one e ...

Montrose played after the "Do do loo do do, do do loo, do do" line that ends most of the verses. Templeman felt that "it was a simple lick that any guitarist could have played but the way he played was special. It brightened the tune right up and gave it this pop sheen." Morrison played

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

on the song. Copley News Service critic Judy Hugg praised "Boots" Houston's

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

playing on the song.

Recording

"(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" was recorded at

Wally Heider Studios Wally Heider Studios was a recording studio founded in San Francisco in 1969 by recording engineer and studio owner Wally Heider. Between 1969 and 1980, numerous notable artists recorded at the studios, including Creedence Clearwater Revival, Jeff ...

in San Francisco, California, during the first set of recording sessions for ''Tupelo Honey''.

Reception

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' chose "(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" as a recommended pop single when the single was released. Nonetheless, "(Straight to Your Heart) Like a Cannonball" failed to make the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, topping out on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart at #119. ''Windsor Star'' critic John Laycock praised the "cheerful banality" of the song. ''The Dispatch'' critic Dink Lorance described it as a "bouncy little number with nice guitar and vocal." Patrick Humphries praised the song's "verve and panache." Music journalist Erik Hage described the song a "focused medicine-show Americana."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Straight to Your Heart Like a Cannonball Van Morrison songs Songs written by Van Morrison 1971 songs 1972 singles Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Ted Templeman Song recordings produced by Van Morrison