Sweet Thing (Van Morrison song)
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Sweet Thing
| cover =
| alt =
| type = Song
| artist = Van Morrison
| album = Astral Weeks
| released = {{Start date|1968|11}}
| format =
| recorded = 15 October 1968
| studio = Century Sound, New York City
| venue =
| genre = * Folk rock{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/16/mark-seymour-sweet-thing-by-van-morrison-is-the-most-perfect-song-of-all-time | title=Mark Seymour: Sweet Thing by van Morrison is the most perfect song of all time | newspaper=The Guardian | date=15 January 2023 | last1=Seymour | first1=Mark }}
- jazz
- blues{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/sweet-thing-mt0019016602 | title=Sweet Thing - van Morrison | AllMusic | website=AllMusic }}
| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=22}}
| label = Warner Bros.
| writer = Van Morrison
| producer = Lewis Merenstein
| tracks = {{Astral Weeks track listing}}
}}
"Sweet Thing" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released on his second studio album Astral Weeks (1968). It was on the first side of the album, that was under the heading: In the Beginning. The song was later used in 1971 as the American B-side to Morrison's single "Blue Money".
Recording and composition
"Sweet Thing" was recorded during the last Astral Weeks session on 15 October 1968, at Century Sound Studios in New York City with Lewis Merenstein as producer.Heylin, p. 518 It is the only song on the album that looks forward instead of backward:Heylin, p. 157
Morrison described the song to Ritchie Yorke: "{{'}}Sweet Thing' is another romantic song. It contemplates gardens and things like that...wet with rain. It's a romantic love ballad not about anybody in particular but about a feeling."Yorke, p. 57
Acclaim
The song was listed as No. 415 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN from listener's votes.{{Cite web |url=http://www.xpn.org/images/pdfs/wxpn_885songslist.pdf |title=All-Time 885 Greatest Songs |access-date=8 December 2008 |archive-date=5 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105155906/http://www.xpn.org/images/pdfs/wxpn_885songslist.pdf |url-status=dead }} Mark Seymour on The Guardian called it "the most perfect song of all time".{{Cite web |last=Seymour |first=Mark |date=2023-01-15 |title=Mark Seymour: Sweet Thing by Van Morrison is the most perfect song of all time |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/16/mark-seymour-sweet-thing-by-van-morrison-is-the-most-perfect-song-of-all-time |access-date=2023-01-23 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}
Other releases
"Sweet Thing" is the only song from Astral Weeks included on the 1990 compilation album The Best of Van Morrison. It was also featured on Morrison's album Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released
Personnel
- Van Morrison – vocals, acoustic guitar
- Jay Berliner – classical guitar
- Richard Davis – double bass
- Connie Kay – drums
- John Payne – flute
- Warren Smith Jr. – triangle
- Larry Fallon – string arrangements
Certifications
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Sweet Thing"}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|artist=Van Morrison|title=Sweet Thing|award=Gold|relyear=1968|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=8 April 2025}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|noshipments=true|streaming=true}}
References
{{Reflist|2}}
Sources
- Heylin, Clinton (2003). Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography, Chicago Review Press {{ISBN|1-55652-542-7}}
- Yorke, Ritchie (1975). Into The Music, London: Charisma Books, {{ISBN|0-85947-013-X}}
External links
- [{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t2742224|pure_url=yes}} Allmusic Review: Sweet Thing]
{{Van Morrison singles}}
{{Authority control}}