Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison, OBE (generally known as Van Morrison or Van… Read Full Bio ↴Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison, OBE (generally known as Van Morrison or Van The Man) (born 31 August 1945) is a Grammy Award-winning artist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He's a singer, songwriter, author, poet, and multi-instrumentalist, who has been a professional musician since 1958. He plays a variety of instruments, including the guitar, harmonica, keyboards, drums, and saxophone. Featuring his characteristic growl - a unique mix of folk, blues, Irish, scat, and Celtic influences - Morrison is widely considered one of the most unusual and influential vocalists in the history of rock and roll. He has received numerous music awards during his career, including six Grammy Awards (1996–2007); inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (January 1993), the Songwriters Hall of Fame (June 2003), and the Irish Music Hall of Fame (September 1999); and a Brit Award (February 1994).

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.

Ivory Tower
Van Morrison Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[Chorus]
When you come down
From your Ivory Tower
You will see how it really must be
To be like me to see like me
To feel like me

Take a look at me I'm a poor man's son

I never did no harm to no one
You've got money in the bank
And I don't have none

When you come down etc etc....

[Bridge]
You can see through
Your rose coloured glasses
In a world that seems
like glamour to you
You've got opinions and judgements about
All kind of things
That you don't know anything about

Don't you know the price that I have to pay
Just to do everything I have to do
Do you think that there's nothing to it
You should try it sometime

[Chorus]

Overall Meaning

The song 'Ivory Tower' by Van Morrison is a cry for empathy and understanding from a man who feels like he's being looked upon with disdain just because he's not as rich as the person he's addressing in the song. The chorus of the song "When you come down from your Ivory Tower, you will see how it really must be, to be like me, to see like me, to feel like me" is a plea for the person on a pedestal to come down and see how the world truly is for people in less fortunate circumstances.

The verses of the song are narrated from the perspective of a person who believes that they've never harmed anyone, even though they don't come from a privileged background. The lines "Take a look at me, I'm a poor man's son, I never did no harm to no one, you've got money in the bank, and I don't have none" is a way to point out the differences between the two people and to let the other person know that just because they're well off, doesn't mean they're any better than someone who has to work hard to make ends meet.

The bridge of the song talks about how the wealthy person sees the world and how they have opinions and judgments about everything they don't know anything about. The lines "You can see through your rose-colored glasses, in a world that seems like glamour to you, you've got opinions and judgments about all kinds of things that you don't know anything about" is a clear indication of the singer's frustration with the person's lack of empathy and understanding.

Overall, 'Ivory Tower' is a song that talks about the chasms between people with different socioeconomic backgrounds and how it ultimately boils down to a lack of understanding and empathy towards each other.

Line by Line Meaning

When you come down
Once you step down from your privileged position

From your Ivory Tower
From your high and disconnected place of privilege

You will see how it really must be
You will finally understand the actual situation

To be like me to see like me
To know what it's like to be in my position

To feel like me
To experience the same struggles and challenges as I do

Take a look at me I'm a poor man's son
I am a person who comes from a lower socioeconomic background

I never did no harm to no one
I have not caused harm to anyone

You've got money in the bank
You possess an abundance of wealth

And I don't have none
And I have none

You can see through
From your privileged perspective

Your rose colored glasses
The optimistic or idealistic view of the world