"Sweet Thing" is a song 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 ...

, released on his second studio album ''

Astral Weeks ''Astral Weeks'' is the second studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was recorded at Century Sound Studios in New York during September and October 1968, and released in November of the same year by Warner Bros. Rec ...

'' (1968). It was on the first side of the album, that was under the heading: ''In the Beginning''. The song was later used in 1971 as the American B-side to Morrison's single "

Blue Money "Blue Money" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was the second of two Top Forty hits from his 1970 album, ''His Band and the Street Choir'' (the other being "Domino"), reaching No. 23 on the US chart. The US ...

Recording and composition

"Sweet Thing" was written by Morrison, aged c.22–23, after he had met his future wife Janet while on tour in the US in 1966 and during the year of separation after he returned to

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

. It was recorded during the last ''Astral Weeks'' session on 15 October 1968, at Century Sound Studios in New York City with Lewis Merenstein as producer. It is the only song on the album that looks forward instead of backward: :''You shall take me strongly in your arms again'' :''And I will not remember that I ever felt the pain'' Van Morrison described the song to

Ritchie Yorke Ritchie Yorke (12 January 1944 – 6 February 2017) was an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist, whose work was widely published in the U.S., UK, Canada and elsewhere. Biography Australia: 1962–1966 Ritch ...

: "''Sweet Thing' is another romantic song. It contemplates gardens and things like that...wet with rain. It's a romantic love ballad not about anybody in particular but about a feeling.''"

Acclaim

The song was listed as No. 415 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by

WXPN WXPN (88.5 FM) is a non-commercial, public radio station licensed to The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that broadcasts an adult album alternative (AAA) radio format, along with many other format shows ...

from listener's votes.

Mark Seymour Mark Jeremy Seymour (born 26 July 1956) is an Australian musician and vocalist. He was the frontman and songwriter of rock band Hunters & Collectors from 1981 until 1998. Seymour has carved a solo career, releasing his debut solo album in ...

on ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' called it "the most perfect song of all time".

Other releases

"Sweet Thing" is the only song from ''Astral Weeks'' included on the 1990 compilation album ''

The Best of Van Morrison ''The Best of Van Morrison'' is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It compiles songs spanning 25 years of his recording career. Released in 1990 by Polydor Records, the album was a critical and commercial succes ...

''. It was also featured on Morrison's album ''

Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl ''Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl'' is the fifth live album recorded by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, and released in the UK on 9 February 2009, and in the United States on 24 February 2009. It was recorded during two li ...

'', released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since ''Astral Weeks'' was first released

Appearance in the media

The song is featured two times in the 2012 movie ''

The Five-Year Engagement ''The Five-Year Engagement'' is a 2012 romantic comedy film written, directed, and produced by Nicholas Stoller. Produced with Judd Apatow and Rodney Rothman, it is co-written by Jason Segel, who also stars in the film with Emily Blunt as a cou ...

''. It is playing when the two main characters first meet. It is also featured in its entirety during the ending of the movie '' Moonlight Mile'', written and directed by

Brad Silberling Bradley Mitchell Silberling (born September 8, 1963) is an American television and film director whose credits include the feature films ''Casper'' (1995), '' City of Angels'' (1998), '' Moonlight Mile'' (2002), '' Lemony Snicket's A Series of U ...

. The song can also be heard in the final scene of the AMC television show ''

Preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach components such as ...

'' during the suicide of the Vampire, Cassidy. It provides the title and closing music for the 2020 movie ''Sweet Thing'' by

Alexandre Rockwell Charles Alexandre Rockwell is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and professor. Life and career Alexandre Rockwell is best known for his independent films made in NYC with a small group of actors he met on the lower east side in ...

Personnel

– vocals, acoustic guitar *

Jay Berliner Jay Berliner (born May 24, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist who has worked with Harry Belafonte, Ron Carter, Charles Mingus, and Van Morrison, among others. Career Berliner had his first television experience at age seven w ...

– classical guitar * Richard Davis – double bass *

Connie Kay Conrad Henry Kirnon (April 27, 1927 – November 30, 1994) known professionally as Connie Kay, was an American jazz and R&B drummer, who was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Self-taught on drums, he began performing in Los Angeles in the mid ...

– drums *John Payne – flute * Warren Smith Jr. –

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three edges and three vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, any three points, when non- colline ...

Larry Fallon Larry Fallon (born Lawrence James Freaso; September 8, 1936 – June 2, 2005) was an American composer, arranger and record producer. Career Fallon's arranger credits include Van Morrison's ''Astral Weeks'', Nico's '' Chelsea Girl'', Jimmy Cl ...

– string arrangements

Covers

The Waterboys The Waterboys are a folk rock band formed in Edinburgh in 1983 by Scottish musician Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England. Mike Scott has remained ...

covered the song on their 1988 album ''

Fisherman's Blues ''Fisherman's Blues'' is a 1988 album by The Waterboys. The album marked a change in the band's sound, with them abandoning their earlier grandiose rock sound for a mixture of traditional Irish music, traditional Scottish music, country music, an ...

'', which also interpolates

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' " Blackbird". German indie band Flowerpornoes did a cover on their 1996 album ''Ich & Ich''.

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

's 1993 recorded but posthumously released (in 2004) live album ''

Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition) ''Live at Sin-é'' is a live EP by Jeff Buckley. The four-song EP was Buckley's first commercial recording and was released in November 1993 on Columbia Records. The EP captured Buckley, accompanying himself on a Fender Telecaster, in the S ...

'' includes a live extended version.

Shana Morrison Shana Caledonia Morrison (born April 7, 1970) is an Irish-American singer-songwriter and the daughter of Northern Irish singer-songwriter, Van Morrison, and his ex-wife, Janet Rigsbee Minto. Early life Morrison grew up in Marin County, Californ ...

included a cover of "Sweet Thing" on her debut album ''Caledonia'' (1999). Ezio covered it on the album '' Live at the Shepherds Bush Empire''.

Joe Louis Walker Joe Louis Walker, also known as JLW (born December 25, 1949) is an American musician, best known as an electric blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer. His knowledge of blues history is revealed by his use of older material and playi ...

included a version on his album ''Pasa Tiempo'' (2002). The 4 of Us covered it at the Astral Weeks Revisited concert in

on 5 January 2008 to mark the 40th anniversary of ''Astral Weeks''.

References

Sources

* Heylin, Clinton (2003). ''Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography'', Chicago Review Press * Yorke, Ritchie (1975). ''Into The Music'', London: Charisma Books,

External links

* Allmusic Review: Sweet Thing {{Authority control 1968 songs Van Morrison songs Jeff Buckley songs Songs written by Van Morrison Song recordings produced by Lewis Merenstein