"Full Force Gale" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter

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 ...

. It was included on his 1979 album ''

Into the Music ''Into the Music'' is the 11th studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and was released in August 1979. It includes "Bright Side of the Road", which peaked at number 63 on the UK Singles Chart, and other songs in which Mor ...

''.

Recording and composition

"Full Force Gale" was recorded in spring, 1979 at the Record Plant Studios,

Sausalito, California Sausalito (Spanish language, Spanish for "small willow grove") is a city in Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States, located southeast of Marin City, California, Marin City, south-southeast of San Rafael, California ...

for the album ''Into the Music''. The song has a moderately fast 4/4

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

. It is in the key of D major. The song's introduction uses the chords D–A–G–A–D–G–D–A, while the verses use the chord progression D–A–G–D–A–G–D–A–G–A–D–A. The

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

uses the progression Bm-G-A. The song features a

slide guitar Slide guitar is a technique for playing the guitar that is often used in blues music. It involves playing a guitar while holding a hard object (a slide) against the strings, creating the opportunity for glissando effects and deep vibratos tha ...

solo by

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

.Mills. ''Hymns to the Silence'', p. 325 In the lyrics Morrison describes the feeling of encounters with "the Lord". Biographer Peter Mills said that "It is a physical effect – he is "lifted up again" as if by a natural force, the full-force gale being a simile for this: Like'' a full force gale'". Because of this Mills concluded that ''Into the Music'' has religious elements to it: "''Into the Music'' is

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

, dealing with forgiveness, love and kindness." When biographer

Steve Turner Steve or Steven Turner is the name of: Sports * Steve Turner (rugby league) (born 1984), Australian rugby league footballer * Steve Turner (Australian rules footballer) (born 1960), Australian rules footballer * Steven Turner (born 1987), Canadi ...

asked the singer about the theme of rebirth that occurs quite often in his songs, Morrison answered, "I wrote a song called 'Full Force Gale' in which I said 'No matter where I roam/I will find my way back home/I will always return to the Lord'. That answers it for me. No matter what I might say at the present, that's my feeling about that."

Response

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's reviewer, P.G. Ward, calls it: "Essentially a brisk pop tune, Morrison sings it with great fervour and commitment, delivering simple

couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...

s such as 'In the gentle evening breeze/In the whispering shady trees/I will find my sanctuary in the Lord' with immense skill. The arrangement is also magnificent, with the fiddle part a particular joy..." He goes on to say: "''Into the Music'' is one of Van Morrison's finest albums, and 'Full Force Gale' is arguably its finest track." As described by Brian Hinton, "'Full Force Gale' has the cheerful punch of the best gospel singing, and sees Van 'lifted up by the Lord' ... as with

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

, the divine is perceived not through religious teachings but through

nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...

... "

Appearance on other albums

*"Full Force Gale" is also featured on the 1990 compilation album '' The Best of Van Morrison''. *A live version appeared on the 1984 CD ''

Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast ''Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast'' is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1984. It was recorded from four live shows in March 1983 at the Grand Opera House, Belfast, Northern Ireland (Morrison's bi ...

''. *This song is one of the hits re-mastered in 2007 and included on the compilation album, '' Still on Top - The Greatest Hits''.

Personnel

: vocal, guitar * Herbie Armstrong: guitar *

* Pee Wee Ellis:

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

* David Hayes: bass * Mark Isham: trumpet *Mark Jordan: piano *Toni Marcus: violin *

Katie Kissoon Mac and Katie Kissoon are a pop soul duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon (born Gerald Farthing, November 11, 1943, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago) and Katie Kissoon (born Katherine Farthing, March 11, 1951, Port of Spain). Ea ...

: backing vocals * Peter Van Hooke: drums

Covers

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus Order of the British Empire, OBE (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. He has won multiple awards in his career, including a Grammy Award in ...

– his version appears on the 1994 tribute album, '' No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison'' and also on Costello's own 1995 album, '' Kojak Variety''.

Notes

References

* Hinton, Brian (1997). ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', Sanctuary, * Heylin, Clinton (2003), ''Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography'', London: Viking, *Mills, Peter (2010), ''Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison'', London: Continuum, * Turner, Steve (1993). '' Van Morrison: Too Late to Stop Now'', Viking Penguin, *''Van Morrison Anthology'', London: Wise Publications,

External links

* "Full Force Gale" allmusic review {{authority control Van Morrison songs 1979 singles Songs written by Van Morrison 1979 songs Song recordings produced by Van Morrison Warner Records singles