Van Morrison – Wavelength

The first time I saw Van Morrison was on November 4, 1978 on Saturday Night Live. I was 11 and didn’t know anything about him. I hadn’t even heard Brown Eyed Girl…I would not hear that song until I was 18 in 1985. That in itself is one of the mysteries of life…how I could of possibly go 18 years without hearing that song.

He was playing the song Wavelength and it sounded great. I would not become a fan until 1985…I bought a compilation album of the sixties and I heard Brown Eyed Girl…it started a Van Morrison record buying frenzy. Since then I’ve been a huge fan. I saw him on March 7, 2006 at the Ryman Auditorium and he didn’t disappoint. If I could sing like anyone in history…it would be Van.

Van has said that this song is about the Voice of America, which is a radio service run by the United States government for political purposes. Morrison said that he listened to the service when he was a kid.

The song peaked at #42 in the Billboard 100 and #63 in Canada in 1978. The album Wavelength peaked at #28 in the Billboard Album Charts, #31 in Canada, #27 in the UK, and #9 in New Zealand in 1978.

Van Morrison: “It’s actually about Europe, because that’s where the station was. It came out of Frankfurt, and the first time I ever heard Ray Charles was on the Voice of America. We tried to get a tape recording of the Voice of America to put on the front of that track, but it didn’t work out. I didn’t get it by the time the album was due to be mixed. But I think it would have made it a lot clearer if the signature thing was on the front of it. It doesn’t click for a lot of people.”

Wavelength

This is a song about your wavelength
And my wavelength, baby
You turn me on
When you get me on your wavelength
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
With your wavelength
Oh, with your wavelength
With your wavelength
With your wavelength
Oh mama, oh mama, oh mama, oh mama oh mama, oh mama

Wavelength
Wavelength
You never let me down no
You never let me down no

When I’m down you always comfort me
When I’m lonely you see about me
You are ev’ry where you’re ‘sposed to be
And I can get your station
When I need rejuvenation

Wavelength
Wavelength
You never let me down no
You never let me down no

I heard the voice of America
Callin’ on my wavelength
Tellin’ me to tune in on my radio
I heard the voice of America
Callin’ on my wavelength
Singin’ “Come back, baby
Come back
Come back, baby
Come back”

Do do do dou dit do do dou dit do do do do do
Do do do dou dit do do dou dit do do do do do

Won’t you play that song again for me
About my lover, my lover in the grass, yeah, alright
You have told me ’bout my destiny
Singin’ “Come back, baby
Come back
Come back, baby
Come back”

On my wavelength
Wavelength
You never let me down no
You never let me down no
When you get me on
When you get me on your wavelength
When you get me
Oh, yeah, Lord
You get me on your wavelength

You got yourself a boy
When you get me on
Get me on your wavelength
Ya radio, ya radio, ya radio
Ya radio, ya radio, ya radio
Wave wave wave

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

42 thoughts on “Van Morrison – Wavelength”

  1. One of my favorite all time songs is Van’s Caravan off of Moondance. I have some of his compilation albums but have never listened through his catalog which I need to do someday.

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    1. Yes he is one artist I would get some of the original albums… Astral Weeks, Moondance, Tupelo Honey… on and on. Tupelo Honey is my favorite song by him… it’s simple but epic

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  2. There’s no doubt Van Morrison has written many great songs. This is a nice tune I had not known. That being said, I’m really conflicted about Van the Man these days.

    It’s hard to overlook a guy who has made irresponsible statements about a deadly global pandemic and then went on to double down with spreading crazy conspiracy theories.

    Van should probably retire or shut up. Otherwise, I’m afraid he risks tarnishing his legacy.

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    1. I try to separate art from the artist. Artists like Ted Nugent and Madonna… well those are not good examples because I don’t like their art either but you know what I mean.

      There are many we wouldnt like if we knew them either way we believed.

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      2. That’s the only way I could listen to anyone… I felt the same about Nugent and Madonna and thought… that’s not right but I didn’t like their stuff anyway lol.
        I just don’t like extreme point of views either but if the music is good… it’s good… but I get it

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      4. That is the point though Vic…they are polar opposites but both say the most outrageous things far left/right
        they remind me of each other in some cosmic way…I can see a duet album/// Madonna/Nugent lol NOT

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      5. The entire album would be sounds of them trying to kill each other. 😄

        You know…🤔…with enough money, they could actually lay down tracks and never see each other. The whole music world would be apoplectic. 😂

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  5. I like it better than most Van songs… quite good indeed. Wow, I’m surprised you heard no Van until the mid-80s! Although he was never huge on the radio I listened to, I heard some songs like “Brown Eyed Girl” and “Domino” quite regularly on the AM of the 70s

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    1. I heard Domino and Blue Money but not Brown Eyed Girl! Which is hard to believe. I didn’t know who he was though

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    1. I know Jeff! I don’t know how the hell I missed it. I got it on a compilation album…when I heard the song…not only did I love it right off the bat….the clouds opened up above me. I fell head over heals in love with the song and drove my friends and bandmates bananas! That is the first song I ever learned how to play AND sing on bass…singing and playing bass is not an easy thing…at least not to me.

      I learned the guitar and bass to the song…after that I researched and started to buy his earlier band’s albums…”Them”…then I bought all of his 70s albums and I still love them to this day…he is up there almost with the Beatles to me.

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      1. One of my longtime best friends has always been a massive Van Morrison fan, so I heard a lot of his music over the years. While I wouldn’t call myself a fan, I have liked a lot of his music. But I detest “Brown Eyed Girl” anymore. It’s right up there with Three Dog Night’s “Joy to the World”, which annoys the shit out of me.

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      2. You know for some reason the song still makes me feel 18 years old! I’m with you on Joy To The World though!
        Sorry for the novel before lol…but I am passionate about him. I’ll be around tomorrow on your site Jeff.

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  8. A really good song, this. He’s a complicated man, isn’t he? A right cantankerous fella who raised his game to a new level over the last year.

    Anyhoo, he’s a pretty great songwriter with an exceptional voice. I only have four of his albums, but I like them a lot.

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    1. Oh yes he did. He has always been strange…Them’s bus broke down outside of London…he goes to “get help” and gets to London and checks into a hotel and never says a word about his stranded bandmates lol.

      His voice is something special …. live it’s even better.

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      2. No they couldn’t…he WAS the guy and they knew it…he wanted out anyway though and soon would go solo and do Brown Eyed Girl

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      4. I read where Rolling Stone was interviewing him and right in the middle he just got up and left…strange guy.

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    1. I like Kingdom Hall and Checkin’ It Out quite a bit.
      The thing is about Van is he doesn’t really bottom out like some artists…he may have a weaker album but then comes back and is back on track. I like his songwriting. because he writes around his voice…he knows that is where his strength is….

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      1. Period of Transition, his previous one, is pretty weak by his 1970s standards. I like Hungry for your Love off Wavelength a lot too. Almost everything he did from Astral Weeks to Enlightenment in 1990 is worth hearing IMO.

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  10. Never got in to Van although he does have some incredible songs. I’ve stuck more to the singles than anything else. And like jeff above, Brown Eyed Girls used to be good, but overkill big time.

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