The Way Young Lovers Do
Encyclopedia
"The Way Young Lovers Do" is one of the songs included on Northern Irish singer-songwriter
Van Morrison
's second solo album Astral Weeks
that was recorded in 1968 in New York City
. The distinctive feel of the original recording of the song emerges from the non-rock style of double-bass phrasing by veteran jazzman Richard Davis and additional jazz musician session players, which combined with Morrison's soulful vocals, creates a relatively unusual combination of stylistic elements.
Brian Hinton
believes that "The song is about growing up, an adolescent first kiss, and still conveys the same sweet mystery as 'Astral Weeks
' but more upfront."
In Ritchie Yorke
's biography on Van Morrison he comments that Van Morrison told him, "On the second side 'Young Lovers Do' is just basically a song about young love" and that Morrison then laughed mysteriously.
In a 1969 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine about Astral Weeks Greil Marcus
remarks: "It is pointless to discuss this album in terms of each particular track; with the exception of 'Young Lovers Do', a poor jazz-flavored cut that, is uncomfortably out of place on this record, it's all one song, very much 'A Day in the Life.'"
In his review, Scott Thomas writes:
.
, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
's second solo album Astral Weeks
Astral Weeks
Astral Weeks is the second solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in November 1968 on Warner Bros. Records. It was Morrison's first album after Warner Bros. had been able to free him from his contract with Bang Records...
that was recorded in 1968 in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The distinctive feel of the original recording of the song emerges from the non-rock style of double-bass phrasing by veteran jazzman Richard Davis and additional jazz musician session players, which combined with Morrison's soulful vocals, creates a relatively unusual combination of stylistic elements.
Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton, MBE is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts.-Education:...
believes that "The song is about growing up, an adolescent first kiss, and still conveys the same sweet mystery as 'Astral Weeks
Astral Weeks (song)
"Astral Weeks" is the title song and opening track on the 1968 album Astral Weeks by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison.-Recording:...
' but more upfront."
In Ritchie Yorke
Ritchie Yorke
Ritchie Yorke is an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist. Born in Brisbane in 1944, while his father was serving with the Australian Army, Yorke developed a passion for rock ‘n’ roll in his early teens.-Biography:...
's biography on Van Morrison he comments that Van Morrison told him, "On the second side 'Young Lovers Do' is just basically a song about young love" and that Morrison then laughed mysteriously.
In a 1969 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine about Astral Weeks Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
remarks: "It is pointless to discuss this album in terms of each particular track; with the exception of 'Young Lovers Do', a poor jazz-flavored cut that, is uncomfortably out of place on this record, it's all one song, very much 'A Day in the Life.'"
In his review, Scott Thomas writes:
"The Way Young Lovers Do" is an interesting one. On its surface, with its images of tranquil lovers walking through fields and kissing on front stoops, it seems to deliver the romantic bliss anticipated so fervently in "Sweet ThingSweet Thing (Van Morrison song)"Sweet Thing" is one of the songs included on Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison's 1968 acclaimed second album Astral Weeks. It was on the first side of the album, that was under the heading: In the Beginning...
". The music, however, betrays some disturbing undercurrents.
In the media
"The Way Young Lovers Do" was one of the songs in the soundtrack of the 1997 movie, Welcome to SarajevoWelcome To Sarajevo
Welcome to Sarajevo is a British war film from 1997. It is directed by Michael Winterbottom. The screenplay is by Frank Cottrell Boyce and is based on the book Natasha's Story by Michael Nicholson.- Synopsis :...
.
Appearance on other albums
"The Way Young Lovers Do" was featured on Morrison's album Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood BowlAstral 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 US on February 24, 2009 and on February 9, 2009 in the UK...
, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released.
Personnel
- Van Morrison – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Richard Davis – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Connie KayConnie KayConnie Kay was an American jazz drummer.Kay was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet from 1955 until the group's dissolution in 1974...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Barry Kornfeld – guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- John Payne – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- Warren Smith, Jr.Warren Smith (jazz musician)Warren Smith is an American jazz percussionist.Smith was born in Chicago, Illinois, into a musical family; his father played saxophone and clarinet with Noble Sissle and Jimmy Noone, and his mother was a harpist and pianist. He studied clarinet under his father from age four...
– percussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
, vibraphoneVibraphoneThe vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family.... - Larry FallonLarry FallonLarry Fallon was an American composer, arranger and record producer.Arranger credits include Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, Nico's Chelsea Girl, Jimmy Cliff's Wonderful World, Beautiful People, the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and Gil Scott-Heron's Bridges. He played the distinctive harpsichord...
– string and horn arrangements
Covers
- Maria McKeeMaria McKeeMaria Luisa McKee is an American singer and songwriter. She is best known for her work with Lone Justice and her 1990 UK solo chart-topping hit, "Show Me Heaven".-Music:...
included a cover of "The Way Young Lovers Do" on her 1993 album, You Gotta Sin to Get SavedYou Gotta Sin to Get SavedYou Gotta Sin to Get Saved is the second album by American singer/songwriter Maria McKee, released in 1993 .-Track listing:#"I'm Gonna Soothe You" – 3:36#"My Lonely Sad Eyes" – 2:41...
. - A cover of "The Way Young Lovers Do" is included on Jeff BuckleyJeff BuckleyJeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
's first live EPExtended playAn EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
Live at Sin-éLive at Sin-éLive at Sin-é is a live EP by Jeff Buckley. The four-song EP was Buckley's first commercial recording and was released in December 1993 on Columbia Records. The EP captured Buckley, accompanying himself on a Fender Telecaster, in the Sin-é coffeehouse in New York City's East Village, the...
released in 1993, and is also included on Buckley's 2004 posthumously released Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition)Live at Sin-é (Legacy Edition)Live at Sin-é is a 2003 live double album by Jeff Buckley. It is the extended version of Buckley's 1993 EP Live at Sin-é, released by Columbia Records. Recorded over two afternoons at Sin-é, the Legacy Edition is a two-disc set , plus a ten-minute bonus DVD containing brief excerpts of Jeff...
. - StarsailorStarsailor (band)Starsailor is an English post-britpop band, formed in Leigh, Warrington and Greater Manchester. By 2009, they had four charting albums and ten Top 40 singles in the UK since 2001.-Early history:...
released their version of this song as a B-side on their first single released in April 2001. - The Winding Stair