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.
Slim Slow Slider
Van Morrison Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Horse you ride
Is white as snow
Slim slow slider
Horse you ride
Is white as snow
Tell it everywhere you go
Saw you walking
Saw you walking
Down by the Ladbroke Grove this morning
Catching pebbles for some sandy beach
You're out of reach
Saw you early this morning
With your brand new boy and your Cadillac
Saw you early this morning
With your brand new boy and your Cadillac
You're gone for something
And I know you won't be back
I know you're dying, baby
And I know you know it, too
I know you're dying
And I know you know it, too
Every time I see you
I just don't know what to do
The song "Slim Slow Slider" by Van Morrison tells a story about a woman who is on the edge of dying, and the singer repeatedly encounters her throughout the song. He describes her horse as white as snow, and instructs her to tell her story wherever she goes. The woman is first seen by the singer walking down Ladbroke Grove, which is a famous street in London. She is collecting pebbles, possibly for a sandy beach, but regardless the singer cannot reach her as she is out of his reach. The second time he sees her, she is with a new man in a new car and he knows she won't be back. The singer then reveals that he knows she is dying and that every time he sees her he doesn't know what to do.
The song is somewhat cryptic and leaves much to the imagination of the listener. It is possible that the woman could be a drug addict, as the references to being out of reach and dying could be allusions to addiction. Additionally, the song might reference death and the singer's inability to help.
Line by Line Meaning
Slim slow slider
The character being addressed is small and slow-moving
Horse you ride
Metaphorical description of the character's mode of transportation
Is white as snow
The horse is pure and seemingly innocent
Tell it everywhere you go
A cynical comment on how people will spread their own story, regardless of the truth
Saw you walking
The artist is observing the character walking
Down by the Ladbroke Grove this morning
The observation is being made in a specific location
Catching pebbles for some sandy beach
The character seems to be collecting things that have no real value or use
You're out of reach
The artist cannot connect with the character being addressed
Saw you early this morning
Another observation of the character early in the day
With your brand new boy and your Cadillac
The character is with someone new and has a new luxurious possession
You're gone for something
The character is searching for something, but it's unclear what that something is
And I know you won't be back
The artist has a sense that the character is gone for good
I know you're dying, baby
The singer believes that the character is slowly dying
And I know you know it, too
The singer believes that the character is aware of their own upcoming demise
Every time I see you
The singer has seen the character multiple times
I just don't know what to do
The artist feels helpless or unsure how to help the dying character
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: VAN MORRISON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
andrew james Bunting
Lyrics
Slim slow slider
Horse you ride
Is white as snow
Slim slow slider
Horse you ride
Is white as snow
Tell it everywhere you go
Saw you walking
Down by the Ladbroke Grove this morning
Saw you walking
Down by the Ladbroke Grove this morning
Catching pebbles for some sandy beach
You're out of reach
Saw you early this morning
With your brand new boy and your Cadillac
Saw you early this morning
With your brand new boy and your Cadillac
You're gone for something
And I know you won't be back
I know you're dying, baby
And I know you know it, too
I know you're dying
And I know you know it, too
Every time I see you
I just don't know what to do
cheifguggletram
This song takes me to a whole other plane of consciousness. No drugs, just music. It really helped me out, along with the rest of the album, at a hard time in my life so I'll always hold it in my heart as a truly special piece of art.
J Nagarya
I was 20 when it was rleased. I bought it at the time released. It was wonderful -- the experience tied to it. It was aweful the experiebnce tied to it.
Some times humility demnds silence, instead of pufery about how it did "this" or "that" out of some pseudo-sophisticated "I know what it means" when in fact you don't. 99.99 per cent of assumptions about the meaning of this LP is solipsism. "I agree with me!"
Frank Caplan
Pretty sure you would have to be under the influence of some hardcore psychedelics or other psychosis mimicking drugs to have this kind of experience. Or be secretly observing someone who was experiencing it. That's the only way you could come to these realizations
Tania Kettell
How did a 23-year old make this album? One of the masterpieces of rock/soul/jazz.
Joseph Butler
He was 22!
dolenych
Tania Kettell good question
Johnny Guitar
he had an amazing amazing amazing voice,,, and phrasing,,,,but get logical, dude,,, this Van didnt make the album alone,, he didnt write the soongs,,, it was a very cool proyect played by some of the most well most recognized session musicians at the time,,, the bass carries the whole album, along with the voice,,, and etc,,,, one of the players even says Van just came in to perform the vocals,,, thats how a 23 year old eded up singing about "just like young lovers do",,, lyrics are top notch,,, but a 23 lad wouldnt come up with it,,, i mean,,, im not discrediting this album at all,,, i have been listening it for WEEks in a row,,, the music industry is very weird, man,,, have you seen "a face in the crowd"? thats what im getting at,,, its just like The Wrecking Crew playing all the instruments in the firt couple (or more) Byrds records,,, maybe now you have your home made recordings and shit,,, but we are talking about Big Label Proyects,,, the musician in the spotlight is sometimes liek that mannequin in that episode of The Twilight Zone,,, sometimes they just get stored in floor #9 after they have no use for them anymore,,, cheers!
puzzlepiece
@Johnny Guitar I think you are saying that Van Morrison didn't write these songs which is complete nonsense. Anyone who knows his music can tell that the music and the lyrics from Astral Weeks are very representative of Van's work. I'm sure the session musicians contributed but Van is known to be very controlling and I don't think he would have let anyone change his songs very much if at all. His subsequent huge output of songs just proves how capable his was and is at songwriting.
As for everyone who wonders how someone so young could create something so profound, remember the great poet, Arthur Rimbaud, who wrote all his poetry before the age of 20 and then never wrote another word.
Fallen World
I agree. Pure expression of genius. Still baffles me to this day.
Man O'Neal
Perfectly saturated with the little details that make music great. The guitar plucking at 0:08, the chuckle at 0:41, the vibrations of the bass string at 2:43, the way that the entire composition rises for just a moment at 3:00 right when Van sings "Every time I see you..." in order to represent the sudden rush of intensity that the narrator feels whenever their paths cross, the way he pronounces the final syllable of "do" twice at 3:06. These are things that have been lost in music today.