Cleaning Windows
"Cleaning Windows" | ||||
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Record Plant Studios in Sausalito, California | ||||
Genre | ||||
Length | 4:43 | |||
Label | Mercury | |||
Songwriter(s) | Van Morrison | |||
Producer(s) | Van Morrison | |||
Van Morrison singles chronology | ||||
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Single sleeve | ||||
"Cleaning Windows" is a song written by the
Recording and composition
The version of "Cleaning Windows" that was released as a single and was included on the 1982 album was recorded at the
The biographically based song
According to Steve Turner in "Cleaning Windows" "Van sketched the details of his life during 1961 and 1962, and captured the balance between his contentment at work and his aspirations to learn more about music. It conveyed the impression that his happiness with the mundane routine of smoking Woodbine cigarettes, eating Paris buns and drinking lemonade was made possible by the promise that at the end of the day he could enter the world of books and records..."[7]
John Milward wrote in a 1982 Rolling Stone review: "Hung on a metaphor as clear as glass, 'Cleaning Windows' applies one night's notions to a lifetime. It's the LP's musical highlight as well, with a guitar-organ combination reminiscent of the Band, and a jumping sax solo to boot. Shaking himself awake each morning, the dedicated romantic looks to see how he's grown. Peppered with fraternal details that recall 'And It Stoned Me,' 'Cleaning Windows' boldly restates the self-help maxim that you are your own best friend."[8]
Paul Macinnis with The Guardian wrote: "The message of the song is simple – the window cleaner's happy in his work – and the lyrical vignettes combined with delicate, upbeat R&B (with Mark "That ain't working" Knopfler on guitar) convey that feeling wonderfully."[9]
In his descriptions of the songs on Beautiful Vision, Erik Hage wrote that this song is an exception as it is "stuffed with images and remembrances ... and is therefore somewhat anomalous to the rest of the record, which took up more esoteric and spiritual matters."[10] AllMusic's Bill Janovitz, on the other hand, suggests a spiritual reading of the song, with Morrison's literal image of "cleaning windows" doubling as "a metaphor for Zen-like clarity, seeing the essence of life via the repetition of basic chores."[11]
Release
"Cleaning Windows" was released as a single in March 1982 but was not promoted as a
Record World said that Morrison is "at his best, backed by a crack rhythm section."[13]
Other releases
Morrison chose "Cleaning Windows" to be one of the songs included on
Personnel
- Van Morrison - vocals
- John Allair - organ
- Pee Wee Ellis - tenor and baritone saxophones
- Mark Isham - trumpet
- Mark Knopfler - guitar
- Gary Mallaber - drums
- Chris Michie - lead guitar
- Michele Segan - percussion
- Rob Wasserman - bass
Covers
Mark Arneson covered it on the 2005 tribute album Smooth Sax Tribute to Van Morrison.[11] Pee Wee Ellis included a cover on his 1994 album Sepia Tonality.[11] Barrence Whitfield and Tom Russell covered "Cleaning Windows" on Hillbilly Voodoo.[14]
Notes
- ^ "Cleaning Windows – van Morrison". AllMusic (song info).
- ^ https://aquariumdrunkard.com/2022/11/21/celtic-guru-van-morrison-in-the-80s-beautiful-vision/
- ^ Heylin, Can You Feel the Silence?, p. 523
- ^ Hage, The Words and Music of Van Morrison, p. 99
- ^ Rogan, No Surrender, p.20 (*refers to the country singer)
- ^ a b Hinton, Celtic Crossroads, p.235
- ^ Turner, Too Late to Stop Now, p.31
- ^ Milward, John (4 March 1982). "Van Morrison Beautiful Vision". Rolling Stone Magazine. Vol. RS 364. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
- ^ MacInnis, Paul (22 July 2010). "Readers recommend songs about manual labor". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ Hage, The Words and Music of Van Morrison, p. 98
- ^ a b c "Cleaning Windows - Van Morrison". AllMusic. Retrieved 25 August 2016.
- ^ DeWitt. The Mystic's Music. p.109
- ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. 6 March 1982. p. 1. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
- ^ "Hillbilly Voodoo – Barrence Whitfield". Billboard. Retrieved 8 December 2009.
References
- DeWitt, Howard A. (1983). Van Morrison: The Mystic's Music, Horizon Books, ISBN 0-938840-02-9
- ISBN 978-0-313-35862-3
- ISBN 1-55652-542-7
- ISBN 1-86074-169-X
- ISBN 978-0-09-943183-1
- ISBN 9780670851478