Van Morrison (b. 1945)

Astral Weeks 1968

If I ventured in the slipstream

Between the viaducts of your dream

Where immobile steel rims crack

And the ditch in the back roads stop

Could you find me?

Would you kiss-a my eyes?

To lay me down

In silence easy

To be born again

To be born again

From the far side of the ocean

If I put the wheels in motion

And I stand with my arms behind me

And I’m pushin’ on the door

Could you find me?

Would you kiss-a my eyes?

To lay me down

In silence easy

To be born again

To be born again

There you go

Standin’ with the look of avarice

Talkin’ to Huddie Ledbetter1

Showin’ pictures on the wall

Whisperin’ in the hall

And pointin’ a finger at me

There you go, there you go

Standin’ in the sun darlin’

With your arms behind you

And your eyes before

There you go

Takin’ good care of your boy

Seein’ that he’s got clean clothes

Puttin’ on his little red shoes

I see you know he’s got clean clothes

A-puttin’ on his little red shoes

A-pointin’ a finger at me

And here I am

Standing in your sad arrest

Trying to do my very best

Lookin’ straight at you

Comin’ through, darlin’

Yeah, yeah, yeah

If I ventured in the slipstream

Between the viaducts of your dreams

Where immobile steel rims crack

And the ditch in the back roads stop

Could you find me

Would you kiss-a my eyes

Lay me down

In silence easy

To be born again

To be born again

To be born again

In another world

In another world

In another time

Got a home on high

Ain’t nothing but a stranger in this world

I’m nothing but a stranger in this world

I got a home on high

In another land

So far away

So far away

Way up in the heaven

Way up in the heaven

Way up in the heaven

Way up in the heaven

In another time

In another place

In another time

In another place

Way up in the heaven

Way up in the heaven

We are goin’ up to heaven

We are goin’ to heaven

In another time

In another place

In another time

In another place

In another face

Considerations for Critical Thinking and Writing
  1. FIRST RESPONSE. The poem is challenging because of its improvised repetitions and its dreamlike imagery. Focusing initially on the “I” and “you,” what separates them (literally or figuratively)? Where do they make progress toward reconciliation?
  2. How do you interpret the references to rebirth and death in the poem?
  3. How might the poem’s title offer an inroad to understanding it?
Connection to Another Selection
  1. Compare this poem to John Keats’s “Ode to a Nightingale” in terms of the way they employ dream imagery and visions.