The random nature of the matchups in Montauk Madness serves up some interesting pairings. This is probably the first time Barenaked Ladies and Van Morrison have been mentioned in the same breath.
Initially, I went with Barenaked Ladies here, my rationale being that I own and enjoy nine of their albums vs. only one by Morrison.
But that one album is Moondance, as perfect a record as I own, and when it came down to casting my vote, I just couldn’t throw it out in the first round to see a bunch of talented Canadians advance.
How about you?
I dreamed you paid your dues in Canada
Left me to come through
I headed for the right way
I knew exactly just what to do
I dreamed we played cards in the dark
And you lost and you lied
Wasn’t very hard to do
But hurt me deep down inside
Mmmm, these dreams of you
So real and so true
These dreams of you
So real and so true
My back was up against the wall
And you slowly just walked away
You never really heard my call
When I cried out that way
With my face against the sun
You pointed out for me to go
Then you said I was the one
Had to reap what you did sow
Mmmm, these dreams of you
So real and so true
These dreams of you
So real and so true
And hush-a-bye, don’t ever think about it
Go to sleep don’t ever say one word
Close your eyes, you are an angel sent down from above
And Ray Charles was shot down
But he got up to do his best
A crowd of people gathered round
To the question answered “yes”
And you slapped me on the face
I turned around the other cheek
You couldn’t really stand the pace
And I would never be so meek
Mmmm, these dreams of you
So real and so true
These dreams of you
So real and so true
And hush-a-bye, don’t ever think about it
Go to sleep don’t ever say one word
Close your eyes, you are an angel sent down from above
Meet Me In Montauk 
If Van Morrison had recorded no other song than “Into the Mystic,” he would have my vote, despite how much I enjoy any number on songs by his competitor here.
Just read the post for “Into the Mystic.” Funny how impressed we all were that you hit 800 songs š
I like BNL, but Van is the Man! He gets my vote.
One of the best albums we have is Moondance. It’s Van all the way!
As much fun as I might have belting out “If I had $1,000,000” and “Be my Yoko Ono”, I gotta give this one to Van Morrison. As Amy stated, if not only for “Into the Mystic” and Moondance as an album in general puts him into this next round over Barenaked Ladies
Every time I Google a song I like this site comes up.
Outside of the legendary love songs, These Dreams is my favorite song on Moondance. Compared to Astral Weeks, Moondance can seem almost formulaic and pandering. But this song.
And Ray Charles was shot down
But he got up to do his best…
It’s perfect. And reveals more of the man than the Into the Mystics, as masterful as they are. The deluxe edition of this album has multiple takes and remixes – up to 8 or 9 in some cases, so you can hear how he rarely sings the same syllable twice.