Last year, one of my readers, MY, suggested this song, so this year I’m going to post it. This and the title track were the first songs to get my attention on this album. The drums and guitar really make this song so strong, along with Van’s voice, of course.
The intro to this song is worth the price of admission. Van Morrison and guitarist Ron Elliot trade guitar licks, and then Lee Charlton joins with some great jazz-influenced drumming. Van has said it was written in a stream of consciousness style. The recording was more of a jam than a thought-out, rehearsed process.
The song was on his 1972 album Saint Dominic’s Preview, and it closed the album in a way that only Van Morrison could do. It has that long, drifting feel that he was so good at during this period. You can feel the mood more than the story. This is the Van Morrison who could take a simple phrase and turn it into something epic. He can make any song feel spiritual.
When I got the album, I had a summer job in the middle of nowhere in a backwater town. I had to drive over an hour to get there, and Van kept me company singing about Safeway’s Supermarket, fireworks, and Redwood Trees. One listen to this album, and I’m young, carefree, and having a really good time living life. Music brings back memories, and this one makes me feel exactly like I felt then.
It’s easy to get lost in this song. I’ve always liked the Van Morrison songs that feel more like a place to visit than just a song. Almost Independence Day is one of those. It rolls and flows along at its own pace. Van has many songs that sound like memories, and this one sounds like a memory that is still happening.
The album peaked at #15 on the Billboard Album Charts and #14 in Canada in 1972.
Couldn’t find a live version but I did find this wonderful concert by Van.
Almost Independence Day
I can hear them calling way from Oregon
I can hear them calling way from Oregon
And it’s almost Independence Day
Me and my lady, we go steppin’ (we go steppin’)
We go steppin’ way out on China town
All to buy some Hong Kong silver
And the wadin’ rushing river (we go steppin’)
We go out on the, out on the town tonight
I can hear the fireworks
I can hear the fireworks
I can hear the fireworks
Up and down the, up and down the San Francisco bay
Up and down the, up and down the San Francisco bay
I can hear them echoing
I can hear, I can hear them echoing
Up and down the, up and down the San Francisco bay
I can see the boats in the harbor (way across the harbor)
Lights shining out (lights shining out)
And a cool, cool night
And a cool, cool night across the harbor
I can hear the fireworks
I can hear the people, people shouting out
I can hear the people shouting out (up and down the line)
And it’s almost Independence Day
I can see the lights way out in the harbor
And the cool, and the cool, and the cool night
And the cool, and the cool, and the cool night breeze
And I feel the cool night breeze
And I feel, feel, feel the cool night breeze
And the boats go by
And it’s almost Independence Day
And it’s almost, and it’s almost Independence Day
Way up and down the line
Way up and down the line…
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Big Van Fan! I love your description of his songs being a place to visit, well said, Max!
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Yea I’m a huge fan as well! Thanks Dana!
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Good choice
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Thank you Sheree!
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I have to admit to only knowing the singles from this album. So I don’t believe I have heard this before. Van can take you on a journey for sure. Very adjacent type of song for today. Going to have to this a quiet listen. Happy Independence Day!
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Thank you so much Randy! And again, a late Happy Canada Day for you!
It is like going on a trip with some of his music.
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Thanks Max, I think we’re more excited about the World Cup up here than our birthday. Van has that way about him.
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Good one for the day. I definitely get your point about how certain songs take you back to a time gone by and evoke great memories, and for you in the case of this one, probably very strongly since you don’t hear it several times a day on the radio or in the Walmart.
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Yes…the ones like this…you don’t have any other shared experiences listening to it a lot…it’s about those first few times
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Great song, Max and it has been a long time since I listened to this, but perfect timing for the holiday today. I hope you enjoy your Fourth of July however you celebrate it.
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I sure will! I’ve been invited to 3 parties…I doubt if we can make each one…but we will try. We haven’t got out since we got the puppies…tonight our neighborhood is having a get together like every year…so that will be fun.
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Have fun and try to stay out of the heat.
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I think storms are going to ruin it all…but thanks Jim…hope you have a great day!
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Cool song. Portions remind me a bit of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here.” I’m not saying David Gilmour and Roger Waters deliberately snatched it but do wonder whether they had heard Morrison’s song when they wrote that Floyd gem.
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Yeah. The intro. I heard the similarities right away. Even the singing in unison with the guitar. I’m certain Pink Floyd was inspired by this.
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It does!!! You are right Christian…I love the flow of this song!
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A great write up, Max. This is what writing about music should be about.
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Thanks so much Arthur!
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He has always surrounded himself with the best musicians he could find; those two horns are fantastic, just the entire thing. I’ve always been a fan from back in the day. One of my favorites, “Domino”, that’s where he started getting into horn sections and changed his music completely.
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