The Astral Weeks album is unlike any other album you'll ever listen to. It takes some time (and possibly repeated listens) to get sucked in and taken away to another world. The music is like a genre of its own with sprinklings of folk, avant garde jazz, and soul. Van Morrison pours his entire heart and soul into this masterpiece. It was a complete flop when released but is now regarded as a masterwork.

Best album of all time, in my honest opinion. Absolute masterpiece 🍀

this entire album is a masterpiece....even van could never get this sound again; he could never get this crazy, improv, spontaneous-sounding, writing style again either, its one of a kind in music/rock history....damn, this album.....all girls love it too, like the violent femmes first album, its one of those albums....check out, from the astral weeks album "ballerina", "sweet thing (studio,version only", and "the way young lovers do"....its so dope and unique

The title track to a great album.

Imagine a band and a singer creating something that they can’t compare to anything else , because nothing like it has been heard before or since. I have loved this album for over fifty years. Bravo.

Dude, please stop trying to figure it out! Just let go, go with it. The feelings it gives you as you flow with it, lets your mind conjure up inspired imaginings and takes you somewhere else.❤

glad you listened to this. I didn't really discover this song until I was in my 40s, but its' become one of my favorites. Every listens reveals a new subtlety. As to what it's about, I think that's up to you. By his own admission, Morrison says the lyrics are more about helping you get into a meditative state than a specific narrative or story. The part about making sure the young boy has clean clothes and puts on his little red shoes is just a snap shot of a moment of time somewhere in 1960s Ireland, a musical polaroid to look at and then move....

Ireland has a great tradition of poetry and prose and Van’s song lyrics come right out of that  tradition. Here he speaks of his moving to the US “from the far side of the ocean ,when I put the wheels in motion” as well as his love for black American artists “ talkin’ to Hudie Ledbetter “ which was Leadbelly’s real name . “Putting pictures on the wall” Van had a photo of Leadbelly which he drew inspiration from .  Those are a few of the references he makes in his lyrics. Nice reaction.

This song is at an acute angle to it.  It’s so sweet sounding. 🔥 request!!!!

"There you go, standin' with the look of avarice, talkin' ta Huddie Leaadbetter, showin' pictures on the wall..."  Genius lyrics

Van makes you feel smart for getting it.

This is a fng beautiful album.

My favorite album of all time.

Not familiar with this album, but I really am glad to hear it here. Thanks for this song request. 💛👍

Great request! I  really like your reaction, and I totally get it.  This is a very different feeling and sounding album from others, and it can take some listens ( but not necessarily) to feel the beauty , ethereal quality and passion in it. It’s best to hear the whole album at once, I think.  
   It Does take you into a different world, as the comments below said, a beautiful one!  
The lyrics are so poetic and maybe even abstract at times, that it is hard to know really what he’s singing about in some songs, plus you have his very thick accent!  But as you listen to it,
the meanings come through , in the feeling of the songs.
My favorite ones are Sweet Thing and The Way Young Lovers Do,  really worth listening to!
( with all of the massive amounts of free time I’m sure you have, putting out 10 videos a day! )
😊

LOL  NOBODY actually "knows" what the song is about, not even Van himself!  it's a string of consciousness and feeling.

It was their first take and the flute playsr had never heard the song before

VAN THE MAN

This is a traveling song - aptly titled.

One of the best LP's of the time and holds true.  Just don't get this nowadays.