Into The Mystic Double Agent Van Morrison

Into The Mystic Album: Moondance (1970)
Double Agent Album: Latest Record Project, Vol. 1 (2021)
by Van Morrison

In 1967, Van Morrison recorded 31 perverse one-minute ditties in order to fulfill his record contract. The off-the-cuff songs, brimming with contempt for just about everything in the young singer-songwriter’s orbit — the Sixties, rock & roll, scoring a surprise hit with “Brown Eyed Girl” — established a young Morrison as, among many other things, a first-rate troll.

Into The Mystic from Moondance 1970

The original title was "Into the Misty."

According to Morrison, he couldn't decide whether the first line should be "We were born before the wind" or "We were borne before the wind."

This was played in the 1989 Mary Stuart Masterson movie Immediate Family. She played a woman who was young and pregnant and planning to give her baby to Glenn Close and James Woods, who couldn't have a baby of their own.

According to a BBC survey, because of this song's cooling, soothing vibe, this is one of the most popular songs for surgeons to listen to whilst performing operations.

Jen Chapin, the daughter of Cat's In The Cradle singer-songwriter Harry Chapin, covered this on her 2008 CD Light of Mine.

Morrison remarked on the song and how its use of homophones lent it alternate meanings:

"'Into the Mystic' is another one like 'Madame Joy' and 'Brown Eyed Girl'. Originally I wrote it as 'Into the Misty'. But later I thought that it had something of an ethereal feeling to it so I called it 'Into the Mystic'. That song is kind of funny because when it came time to send the lyrics in WB Music, I couldn't figure out what to send them. Because really the song has two sets of lyrics. For example, there's 'I was born before the wind' and 'I was borne before the wind', and also 'Also younger than the sun, Ere the bonny boat was one' and 'All so younger than the son, Ere the bonny boat was won' ... I guess the song is just about being part of the universe."

Into the Mystic

We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic

Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic

And when that foghorn blows
I will be coming home
And when the foghorn blows
I wanna hear it

I don't have to fear it
And I wanna rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will float into the mystic

When that foghorn blows
You know I will be coming home
And when that foghorn whistle blows
I gotta hear it

I don't have to fear it
And I wanna rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will float into the mystic
Come on, girl

Too late to stop now

Double Agent
album: "Latest Record Project, Vol. 1" (2021)

One goes on stage, the other goes home
One’s got friends and the other’s alone
One writes the words and one performs the songs
Two different roles, in two different worlds

Double agent, do you concur?
Double agent, when the lines start to blur
Renegade Sir

One must succumb to the mind control
One gives his all to rock and roll
One is an asset of MI5
One keeps on looking at stars in their eyes

Double agent, do you concur?
Double agent, when lines start to blur
And strange things occur

Some slipped under the radar
Some got compromised
Some played a good game
And others were spies
Some drank the Kool-aid
Some did the right thing
But some moved on over to the dark side
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Double agent, do you concur
Double agent, when lines start to blur
And strange things occur

Some said never desert
A comrade in need
Some planted cocaine
Some smoked the weed
Some gave the retort
“Do you know who I am?”
One wrote the report
One didn’t give a damn

Double agent, do you concur?
Double agent, when lines start to blur
Renegade Sir
Renegade Sir

Double agent, do you concur?
Double agent, when lines start to blur
Renegade Sir
Renegade
Renegade
Got to go renegade
Got to go renegade
When lines start to blur
Renegade Sir
Renegade
Renegade