Van Morrison: Almost Independence Day | HeadButler

Go to the archivesByJesse KornbluthPublished: Mar 20, 2022 Category:Rock“Almost Independence Day” is the last song on Van Morrison’s 1972 release, “Saint Dominic’s Preview.” If you’re tired or restless or not willing to convert music to images in your head — to make a private movie — this is not for you. But if you’ve got some centered calmness or have adjusted your consciousness… turn off the lights.Morrison wrote the songs for this record as his marriage was cratering. Some are tight and jaunty — the record opens with “Jackie Wilson Said,” which you often hear on classic rock station — but as the seven-song record continues, he moves away from words and meaning to sound and feeling. If you think “Almost Independence Day” begins like another song you know — Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” — you’re right. Which came first? This song.The lyrics are a patchwork. The song begins, “I can hear them calling all the way from Oregon.” (Yes, he did: a musician called him from Oregon about pla...