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And they'll lay you down low in the easy
And the lips that you kiss will say Christmas.
And the miles that you traveled the distance
So believe no lies, dry your eyes and realize
That surprise
La, la, la, la la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la...
And the businessmen will shake hands and talk in numbers
And the princess will wake up from her slumber
Then all the knights will step forth with their arm bands
And ev'ry stranger you meet in the street will make demands
So believe no lies, then dry your eyes and realize
That surprise
La, la, la...
[Bridge:]
And we'll send you glad tidings from New York
Open up your eyes so you may see
Ask you not to read between the lines
Hope that you will come in right on time
And they'll talk to you while you're in trances
And you'll visualize not taking any chances
But meet them halfway with love, peace and persuasion
And expect them to rise for the occasion
Don't it gratify when you see it materialize
Right in front of your eyes
That surprise
And they'll lay you down low and easy
And the lips that you kiss will say Christmas.
And the miles that you traveled the distance
So believe no lies, dry your eyes and realize
That surprise
La, la, la, la la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la...
And the businessmen will shake hands and talk in numbers
And the princess will wake up from her slumber
Then all the knights will step forth with their arm bands
And ev'ry stranger you meet in the street will make demands
So believe no lies, then dry your eyes and realize
That surprise
La, la, la...
[Bridge:]
And we'll send you glad tidings from New York
Open up your eyes so you may see
Ask you not to read between the lines
Hope that you will come in right on time
And they'll talk to you while you're in trances
And you'll visualize not taking any chances
But meet them halfway with love, peace and persuasion
And expect them to rise for the occasion
Don't it gratify when you see it materialize
Right in front of your eyes
That surprise
And they'll lay you down low and easy
Lyrics submitted by archmastermind
Track duration: 03:42
"Glad Tidings" as written by Van Morrison
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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The whole Moondance album is very spiritual, very much on the vanguard of the new age - it was 1970, after all! We "believe no lies" (we know our own inner truth), we "dry our eyes" (we create love and joy instead of fear and pain)... when we "come right in on time" it's because we're just in the flow - everything is the universe is working on our behalf. Beautiful!
I like the comment above from Hal Boutham that "the words flash semi-random mythic messages"
"Open up your eyes so you can see" - we have the power to create our reality with our thoughts and what we visualize. We'll see it "materialize right in front of our our eyes".
Meet the world with "love, peace and persuasion" and EXPECT IT to rise to the occasion!
Exactly so!
So what if someone says it's about a contract negotiation! That may be true, but the story has been transformed by the artist into something beautiful and life-affirming with a mythic resonance indeed.
'Dry your eyes' & 'You're in trances' are from Madame George.
'not to read between the lines' is from Sweet Thing.
Lovely song and I like how it links back to Astral Weeks.
One of my 'life anthems'. A sing along song, always. To me it's about not believing everything people tell you and being careful. 'Believe no lies/and realise' is the clincher for me - it's saying, take on board what people tell you but don't believe everything. It's about not being led astray by people and their ideas, not letting people put you into a hopeful trance,
'Open up your eyes so you may see
Ask you not to read between the lines
Hope that you will come in right on time
And they'll talk to you while you're in trances
And you'll visualize not taking any chances
But meet them halfway with love, peace and persuasion'
It's saying, believe what you want to and believe what you can, but don't let people persuade you with their shallow arguments.
"And it looks like you kids will stay Christmas
It demands that you travel the distance."
It's about looking forward to a visit, but mostly I love individual lines rather than "understanding" it as a clear story.
The princess awakens, the knights step forward...
Don't read between the lines, meet them halfway,
And expect them to rise for the occasion.
The melody is both propulsive and soaring, and the word's flash semi-random mythic images. It works for me.
I'm a little suprised actually no one has ever made this comment already.