"Vanlose Stairway" is a song written by the Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, and included on his 1982 album '' Beautiful Vision''. It has remained a popular concert performance throughout Morrison's career and has become one of his most played songs.

Recording and composition

It was recorded in the summer of 1981 at the Record Plant in Sausalito, California. Morrison wrote the song about his Danish girlfriend, Ulla Munch, from Vanløse district in Copenhagen who lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building with no lift. 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'. Peter Mills, author of the Morrison biography ''Hymns to the Silence'', refers to "Vanlose Stairway" as this "dark horse of a song". The singer also includes the lines "Send me your Pillow" which referenced bluesman

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

's influence on his music.

Live performances

The song has been performed by Morrison over seven hundred times, making it the seventh most played song at his concerts. He performed a baroque rendition of this song with the

Dallas Jazz Orchestra The Dallas Jazz Orchestra (DJO) is an American jazz big band based in Dallas, Texas. Founded by Galen Jeter and Thom Mason in 1973, the DJO was once called "the only community-supported jazz orchestra in the world" by radio show host Dr. Cone Jo ...

at the 1989 Montreux Jazz Festival.Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence, p.465

Other releases

A live performance of "Vanlose Stairway" was included on the Morrison's 1984 album, ''

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 ...

''. Morrison often performed the song as a medley with "Trans-Euro Train" and Ray Charles' " A Fool for You". Live versions of the song in this format appeared on the 1994 album, ''

A Night in San Francisco ''A Night in San Francisco'' is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were Candy Dulfer, John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison. ...

'', and the 2019 deluxe edition of '' The Healing Game'', from Morrison's 1997 performance at the Montreux Jazz Festival. It was remastered and released on the 2007 compilation album, '' Still on Top - The Greatest Hits''.

Personnel on original release

*Van Morrison -

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound production i ...

s *John Allair -

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

*Tom Donlinger -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

* Pee Wee Ellis - tenor saxophone * Chris Hayes - guitar * David Hayes -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* 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 * Rogan, Johnny (2006). ''Van Morrison:No Surrender'', London:Vintage Books

External links

* class=song, id=t871306, pure_url=yes Allmusic song reviewbr>Vanlose Stairway
on the Web
Vanlose Stairway Page
A Vanloesee reports 1982 songs Van Morrison songs Songs written by Van Morrison Song recordings produced by Van Morrison