Ballerina (Van Morrison song)

Infobox Song
Name = Ballerina


Caption =
Type =
Artist = Van Morrison
alt Artist =
Album = Astral Weeks
Published =
Released = November 1968
track_no = 3
Recorded = October 15, 1968
Genre = Folk rock
Length = 7:00
Writer = Van Morrison
Composer = Van Morrison
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Lewis Merenstein
Chart position =
Tracks =
#"Astral Weeks"
#"Beside You"
#"Sweet Thing"
#"Cyprus Avenue"
#"The Way Young Lovers Do"
#"Madame George"
#"Ballerina"
#"Slim Slow Slider"
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next =
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Misc = "Ballerina" is one of the songs included on "Astral Weeks" the 1968 album of Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison.

He wrote it upon first meeting his future wife, Janet (an actress and model) when touring the USA with his band Them in June 1966. The band played in San Francisco at the Fillmore Auditorium with the New Tweedy Brothers on June 23. One of the band members, Jim Armstrong has said that he remembers rehearsing and playing it with Morrison for the first time at the Waikiki Shell in Hawaii.

Van Morrison has commented on the song:

I was in San Francisco one time in 1966 and I was attracted to the city. It was the first time I had been there, and I was sitting in this hotel and all these things were going through my head, and I had a flash about an actress in an opera house appearing in a ballet, and I think that's where the song came from.

It has a simple chord pattern but Morrison was able to make it sound like a mini-drama by altering the dynamics of his voice in the seven minute long song. [Turner, Too Late to Stop Now, pp. 71-72]

Brian Hinton says of the song as performed on "Astral Weeks": "If anyone ever argues that Morrison cannot sing — an unlikely scenario anyway — then simply play them this. All human emotion is crystallised here, and subtly vocalised: desire, joy, hope, world weariness, consolation, awe and anticipation." [Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p. 98]

Acclaim

*It was listed as No. 843 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes. [ [http://www.xpn.org/music/885ATGS.php WXPN All Time 885 Greatest Songs] ]

Appearance on other albums

*"Ballerina" is one of the songs performed on the 1980 Montreux concert that is featured on the 2 disc DVD, "Live At Montreux 1980/1974" that Morrison released in 2006.

Personnel

*Van Morrison – rhythm guitar, vocals
*Jay Berliner – guitar
*Richard Davis – double bass
*Connie Kay – drums
*John Payne – flute
*Warren Smith, Jr. – vibraphone
*Larry Fallon – string and horn arrangements

Notes

References

*Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary, ISBN 1-86074169X
*Turner, Steve (1993). Too Late to Stop Now, Viking Penguin, ISBN 0-670-85147-7

External links

* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=b2950180e54389f3cf9d93ad908ac00e# Lyrics and audio sample] 1960s Astral Weeks
* [http://www.vanmorrison.co.uk/?m=Content&Content(record_id)=bcdf0ba5fecbc0ef8494bf0c7a15c7dc# Video: Ballerina, 2008]