Into The Mystic – Navigating the Seas of Soul and Spirit
Lyrics
Also younger than the sun
Ere the bonnie boat was won
As we sailed into the mystic
Hark, now hear the sailors cry
Smell the sea and feel the sky
Let your soul and spirit fly into the mystic
And when that foghorn blows
I will be coming home
And when the foghorn blows
I wanna 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 magnificently we will float into the mystic
When that foghorn blows
You know I will be coming home
And when that foghorn whistle blows
I 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
Too late to stop now
Van Morrison’s ‘Into the Mystic’ is more than a song; it’s an auditory journey through the realms of the soulful and the spiritual. On its surface, the 1970 classic is a melodic embrace of folk rock, but dive deeper, and you discover that this is not merely music—it’s Morrison’s vessel, steering listeners through a voyage to understand the intangible elements of our existence.
As we cast off to scrutinize the lyrical depth of ‘Into the Mystic,’ each verse, each line, serves not just as a set of navigational coordinates but as waypoints that mark the trajectory of a soul’s yearning to transcend the material plane and to reconnect with something much larger, something endlessly poetic.
The Eternal Voyage of Life and Love
Morrison opens with a declaration of primordial existence, ‘We were born before the wind/Also younger than the sun.’ These lines speak to the eternal nature of the soul—one that transcends time and outlasts even the celestial. It’s not the body that’s immortal, but the essence within us, a sentiment that echoes in spiritual teachings that regard the soul as an infinite traveler.
The ‘bonnie boat’ is not just a vessel on the water but a metaphor for the journey of life and the passage of love that carries us. To ‘sail into the mystic’ is to embrace the unknown adventures of life, unafraid of where the winds of fate may lead. This sets the tone for a song that isn’t so much about the destination as it is about the voyage and the beauty found within.
Let Your Soul and Spirit Fly
The sensory experience Morrison invokes—’Smell the sea and feel the sky’—is deeply evocative, urging us to fully immerse ourselves in the here and now. It’s a call to consciousness, encouraging the listener to release their essence into the greater beyond. The act of letting ‘your soul and spirit fly’ is a liberating command, to become one with the surrounding cosmos and in doing so, grasp a piece of the infinite.
Such a release is paradoxically both a means of rooting in the present and transcending it. Morrison’s appeal to hark and hear the sailors cry puts us in touch with the collective human spirit, one that longs to explore, to feel, to be free. In this manner, ‘Into the Mystic’ becomes an anthem for anyone at the crossroads of life, ready to embark on their own spiritual pilgrimage.
Soul-Stirring Sounds: The Role of the Foghorn
Central to the song’s landscape is the foghorn’s call—’And when that foghorn blows/I will be coming home.’ The foghorn acts as a guiding light through the murkiness of our personal journeys, resonating with the deep longing for return—that homecoming we all seek, whether it be a return to loved ones, to self, or to a state of inner peace.
The repetition of the foghorn’s significance throughout ‘Into the Mystic’ is no casual refrain; it is the heartbeat of the song. Morrison uses this auditory beacon to signal the inevitability of return. Regardless of how far we stray into the mystic, the familiar, grounding beacon always calls us back, and in acknowledging it, Morrison instills a sense of anticipation and comfort.
Channeling Nostalgia to Rock the Gypsy Soul
‘And I wanna rock your gypsy soul/Just like way back in the days of old.’ The imagery evoked here by Morrison is rich, connecting the listener to a historical tapestry of raw, unadulterated emotion. The ‘gypsy soul’ he seeks to rock isn’t bound by the norms of society. It’s an emblem of freedom, of living life unchained, adorned with the wisdom and carefree spirit of an age long gone.
The reference to the ‘days of old’ adds a nostalgic dimension to ‘Into the Mystic,’ suggesting that despite the passage of time, some truths remain constant. The human desire for connection, adventure, and spiritual awakening isn’t constrained by an era. In channeling this nostalgia, Morrison is urging us to awaken our dormant wanderlust, to remember the passions that may have been dimmed by the modern world’s humdrum.
A Journey’s End or The Incessant Ebb and Flow?
The concluding directive, ‘Too late to stop now,’ is Morrison’s declaration that the journey into the mystic is perpetual, an ongoing exploration with no true conclusion. It’s a song that doesn’t end because the mystic—representative of our quest for meaning and connection—never ceases to beckon, always just beyond the horizon, always enigmatic.
And so, ‘Into the Mystic’ emerges not just as a melodic masterpiece, but as a philosophical template for life. It’s about the love we carry, the home we yearn for, and the inexorable pull of the unknown. It’s a reminder to brave the vast seas of our inner worlds, to find solace in the foghorn’s call, and to rock the gypsy soul that resides within each of us, with conviction, perpetually into the mystic.
