Vanlose Stairway
Encyclopedia
"Vanlose Stairway" is a song written by 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.
.
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
's influence on his music.
at the 1989 Montreux Jazz Festival
.
. Another live version but as a medley appears on the 1994 album, A Night in San Francisco
. It was remastered and released again on the 2007 compilation album, Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
.
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...
and included on his 1982 album, Beautiful Vision
Beautiful Vision
Beautiful Vision is an album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released February 1982 by Warner Bros. Records in the US and Mercury Records in the UK. As with many of Morrison's recordings, spirituality is a major theme and some of the songs are based on the teachings of...
. 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, CaliforniaSausalito, California
Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California, United States. Sausalito is south-southeast of San Rafael, at an elevation of 13 feet . The population was 7,061 as of the 2010 census. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge, and prior to...
.
Morrison wrote the song about his Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
girlfriend, Ulla Munch, from Vanløse
Vanløse
Vanløse is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It lies on the western border of the municipality. Vanløse covers an area of 6.69 km², and has a population of 36,115, making Vanløse the smallest district of Copenhagen, by population....
district in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
who lived on the fourth floor of an apartment building with no lift
Elevator
An elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
. 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
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
's influence on his music.
Live performances
The song has been performed by Morrison over seven hundred times, making it the fourth most played song at his concerts. He performed a baroque rendition of this song with the Dallas Jazz OrchestraDallas Jazz Orchestra
The Dallas Jazz Orchestra is a jazz big band based in Dallas, Texas, founded by Thom Mason and Galen Jeter. Since its beginning in 1973, the DJO has produced numerous notable recordings, two of which were Grammy nominated, and has performed internationally in concerts and jazz festivals, such as...
at the 1989 Montreux Jazz Festival
Montreux Jazz Festival
The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...
.
Other releases
A live performance version of "Vanlose Stairway" is included on the Morrison's 1984 album, Live at the Grand Opera House BelfastLive at the Grand Opera House Belfast
Live at the Grand Opera House Belfast is the second live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1984...
. Another live version but as a medley appears on the 1994 album, A Night in San Francisco
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 John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison...
. It was remastered and released again on the 2007 compilation album, Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top – The Greatest Hits is the third compilation album to be issued by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison in 2007 . It was released...
.
Personnel on original release
- Van Morrison - vocalSingingSinging 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...
s - John Allair - organOrgan (music)The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
- Tom Donlinger - 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 ....
- Pee Wee EllisPee Wee EllisAlfred "Pee Wee" Ellis is an American saxophonist, composer and arranger. He was an important member of James Brown's band in the 1960s and appeared on many of Brown's most notable recordings...
- tenor saxophoneTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble... - Chris Hayes - 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...
- David HayesDavid Hayes (musician)David Hayes is an American bass guitar player.Hayes has worked with Van Morrison, The Rowans, Terry & The Pirates, Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, Country Joe McDonald and others....
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Mark IshamMark IshamMark Isham is an American trumpeter, synthesist, and film composer. He works in a variety of genres, including jazz, electronic, and film.-Life and career:...
- trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air... - Pauline Lozano - backing vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
- Chris Michie - guitar
- Annie Stocking - backing vocals
- Bianca Thornton - backing vocals
External links
- [ Allmusic song review]
- Vanlose Stairway on the Web
- Vanlose Stairway Page A Vanloesee reports