February 6, 2026      —–     Chart #336

Hello Music Friends,

Hey folks, welcome to another edition of Chart of the Week. Some songs don’t begin — they arrive. Into the Mystic sweeps in like a warm wind off the Irish Sea, carrying a little salt, a little soul, and a whole lot of something you can’t quite name. The first few notes feel like a door opening to a place you’ve somehow been before, even if you can’t remember when. Van Morrison didn’t just write a great song here — he bottled a mood.

This is Van at the peak of his powers, blending folk, soul, jazz, nostalgia, and spirituality into a tune that feels both ancient and brand new every time you hear it. There are songs you play. And then there are songs you experience. This one falls squarely in the second category.

The Backstory

“Into the Mystic” comes from Van Morrison’s 1970 masterwork, Moondance, an album so loaded with brilliance it’s hard to believe one person wrote it. Van had moved to Woodstock and was writing at a pace that should probably be illegal — “Crazy Love,” “Moondance,” “Caravan,” “Brand New Day,” and this gem all came from the same era.

He later described Into the Mystic not as a story, but a feeling — the pull of the sea, the calling of home, and the mysterious connection between two souls. It’s vague enough to mean anything and specific enough to mean everything.

The Recording

Recorded at A&R Studios in New York City, the song features a group of musicians who absolutely understood Van’s wavelength:

• Van Morrison – vocals & acoustic guitar
• John Klingberg – bass
• Dannie Richmond – drums (from Charles Mingus’s band — a jazz legend)
• Jeff Labes – piano
• John Platania – guitar
• Jack Schroer – sax
• Collin Tilton – flute & sax

The horns float around the track like fog rolling off water, and the rhythm section moves with a relaxed, confident sway — not rushing, not dragging, just drifting exactly where it wants to go.

Chart Performance

• Never released as a single
• Not a chart hit when the album dropped
• Yet today, it’s one of Van’s most streamed, most played, and most beloved songs
• Frequently appears on “Greatest Songs of All Time” lists

It is the textbook definition of a sleeper masterpiece — the kind of song that didn’t need radio to become immortal.

Fun Facts

• The “foggy” references come from Van’s childhood in Belfast, where ship horns called out from the harbor.
• The line “I want to rock your gypsy soul” is one of Van’s most quoted lyrics — equal parts romantic and mystical.
• Bob Dylan reportedly held this song in extremely high regard.
• The song has been used in films like American Beauty, Patch Adams, and The Five-Year Engagement, usually at the emotional peak of the story. Directors know good magic when they hear it.

What’s It Really About?

It’s about returning — not just physically, but spiritually.
To a person.
To a memory.
To something that feels like home, even if you can’t draw it on a map.

The song is part love story, part meditation, part journey — a reminder that the things that truly matter often live in the quiet space between words.

Perfect for January, when we all start thinking about where we’ve been… and where we’re headed next.

Playing the Song

This one is a gift to acoustic players. The chords are friendly, the rhythm is relaxed, and the emotional space is wide open. Strum it softly on a Taylor or Martin acoustic and the room immediately changes temperature.

If you can get someone with a sax or flute to join you, the song becomes something almost otherworldly.

Why It Lasts

Because it speaks to something deep and universal.
Because the music feels timeless.
Because Van Morrison somehow captured the feeling of stepping into a warm glow after a long journey.

And because everybody, sooner or later, heads into the mystic.

Keep Rockin’,

Stan Bradshaw