Known as "Van the Man" by his fans, Morrison first rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Northern Irish band Them, writing their 1964 hit "Gloria". A few years later, Morrison left the band for a successful solo career, starting with the album Astral Weeks.
Morrison has pursued an idiosyncratic musical path. Much of his music is tightly structured around the conventions of American soul and R&B, such as the popular singles "Brown Eyed Girl", "Moondance", "Domino", and "Wild Night". An equal part of his catalogue consists of lengthy, loosely connected, spiritually inspired musical journeys that show the influence of Celtic tradition, jazz, and stream-of-consciousness narrative, such as his classic album Astral Weeks and lesser known works such as Veedon Fleece and Common One. The two strains together are sometimes referred to as "Celtic Soul," and Morrison rejects the characterization of his genre of music as Rock, citing Elvis Presley as a non-influence.
He continues to perform regularly and achieved his highest U.S. chart position (number ten on the Billboard 200) with his 2008 album, Keep It Simple.
And I Stoned Me
Van Morrison Lyrics
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And the rain came pourin' down
Me and Billy standin' there
With a silver half a crown
Hands are full of a fishin' rod
And the tackle on our backs
We just stood there gettin' wet
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Hope it don't rain all day
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like Jelly Roll
And it stoned me
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like goin' home
And it stoned me
Then the rain let up and the sun came up
And we were gettin' dry
Almost let a pick-up truck nearly pass us by
So we jumped right in and the driver grinned
And he dropped us up the road
Yeah, we looked at the swim and we jumped right in
Not to mention fishing poles
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Let it run all over me
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like Jelly Roll
And it stoned me
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like goin' home
And it stoned me
On the way back home we sang a song
But our throats were getting dry
Then we saw the man from across the road
With the sunshine in his eyes
Well he lived all alone in his own little home
With a great big gallon jar
There were bottles too, one for me and you
And he said Hey! There you are
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Oh, the water
Get it myself from the mountain stream
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like Jelly Roll
And it stoned me
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like goin' home
And it stoned me
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like Jelly Roll
And it stoned me
And it stoned me to my soul
Stoned me just like goin' home
And it stoned me
"And It Stoned Me" is a song by Northern Irish musician Van Morrison, released as the opening track on his 1970 album Moondance. The lyrics describe a moment in Morrison's childhood when he and a friend, Billy, were caught in the rain while fishing near a county fair. They sought shelter against a fence, but the rain continued to pour down. Suddenly, the rain stopped, the sun came up, and a pickup truck passed them by. The driver picked them up, and they went on a ride, enjoying the warm summer day. Later, they encounter an old man who offers them water from his mountain stream.
The first verse of the song describes the scene of two boys stuck in the rain with fishing gear, longing for the rain to stop. The second verse tells of their relief and happiness when the rain stops and they hitch a ride on a passed by truck. The third verse narrates the encounter with the old man across the road who provides them with a refreshing drink.
The chorus of the song, "And it stoned me to my soul," has been interpreted in different ways. Some listeners believe that the phrase refers to being hit by rocks while others see it as a spiritual experience, or drug induced. Van Morrison explained in a 1973 interview with New Musical Express, "It's about a feeling that I had. I don't know what 'stoned' means. It's just a word we used to use in Belfast to say you're feeling good. It's like how people use 'hip' these days."
Line by Line Meaning
Half a mile from the county fair
Me and my friend Billy were a half mile away from the county fair.
And the rain came pourin' down
It started raining heavily.
Me and Billy standin' there
Billy and I were standing there in the rain.
With a silver half a crown
We had a silver half a crown with us.
Hands are full of a fishin' rod
We were carrying fishing rods in our hands.
And the tackle on our backs
We also had fishing tackle on our backs.
We just stood there gettin' wet
We just stood there getting wet in the rain.
With our backs against the fence
We had our backs against a fence.
Oh, the water
The rain water was significant and a major presence.
Hope it don't rain all day
We were hoping the rain would stop soon.
And it stoned me to my soul
The events that followed were so powerful that it affected me deeply.
Stoned me just like Jelly Roll
It affected me emotionally like the music of Jelly Roll Morton.
Then the rain let up and the sun came up
The rain stopped and the sun started shining.
And we were gettin' dry
We were starting to dry off.
Almost let a pick-up truck nearly pass us by
We almost didn't see a pick-up truck that nearly drove past us.
So we jumped right in and the driver grinned
We jumped in the pick-up truck and the driver was happy to give us a ride.
And he dropped us up the road
He dropped us off up the road.
Yeah, we looked at the swim and we jumped right in
When we got out of the truck, we jumped into the water.
Not to mention fishing poles
We had our fishing poles with us.
Let it run all over me
I let the water run all over me.
On the way back home we sang a song
On the way back home, we sang a song.
But our throats were getting dry
Our throats were getting dry from singing.
Then we saw the man from across the road
We saw a man from across the road.
With the sunshine in his eyes
The man had the sun shining in his eyes.
Well he lived all alone in his own little home
The man lived alone in a small house.
With a great big gallon jar
There was a large jar of something in his house.
There were bottles too, one for me and you
The man had bottles for us to drink from.
And he said Hey! There you are
The man greeted us warmly.
Get it myself from the mountain stream
The man said he got the water himself from a mountain stream.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: VAN MORRISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind