I N T O T H E M Y S T I C ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
by Van Morrison
from the album "Moondance"
Chords & Lyrics Transposed by Ryan Harding
With thanks to Andrew Jerrim Jake Cockcroft, Martin Morrey and Joey Albert for their valuable contributions
We were born before the wind
Also younger than the sun
'Ere the bonny boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now, hear the sailor's cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly
Into the mystic.
When that foghorn blows, I will be comin' home, Mmm hmm hm
When that foghorn blows, I wanna hear it, I don't have to fear it
And I wanna rock you gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And magnificently we will float
Into the mystic
{TWO-SAX SOLO} Eb ... Bb ... Eb
When that foghorn blows, you know I will be comin' home
And when that foghorn whistle blows, I've gotta hear it, I don't have to fear it
And I wanna rock your gypsy soul
Just like way back in the days of old
And together we will float
Into the mystic ............... Come on girl!
{TWO-SAX SOLO} Eb ... Bb ... Eb
........ Too late to stop now-o-ow!...... {THE END}
CHORDS ~~~~~~ Original chord fingerings: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Van appears to have used a capo on the 3rd fret so the Eb is played as C, Bb is played as G, Ab as F and Gm as Em:
E A D G B e Eb chord: 0 3 2 0 1 0
Bb chord: 3 2 0 0 0 3
Ab chord: 1 3 3 2 1 1
Gm chord: 0 2 2 0 0 0
Optional chord fingerings: (without capo) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ E A D G B e Eb chord: 6 6 8 8 8 6
Bb chord: 6 8 8 7 6 6
Gm chord: 3 3 5 5 4 3
Ab chord: 4 6 6 5 4 4
NOTES ~~~~~ If playing the C, G, Em, F shapes with a capo, the fills become easier to play. For example the intro can be played by playing the C-shape Eb major and hammer- ing onto the 4th string (D string), then using the 3rd fret on the same string to play the final note of the fill. I personally tend to use the 2nd and 3rd frets on the treble-e string (string 1) to play the fill leading into the lines "When that foghorn blows...". Experiment with it.
As with nearly all of Van's songs, the timing of the lyrics seems free-form and doesn't tie in with obvious beats in the rhythm. What's important is that you sing a word when you feel it's right, so don't worry if you end up playing the chord above one word when you're singing another. You will probably want to add a few treble notes to some of the chords to match the original tune (especially the G minor chords). Unfortunately, most of us don't have two sax players on hand when we need them, so those gorgeous sax solos will be missing. That's life I'm afraid.
