Caravan (1976) – Van Morrison (The Last Waltz)

Caravan is such a fantastic romp of a song, which I first saw in the legendary The Last Waltz concert by The Band. It’s a great exhibition of the depth and range of Van Morrison’s musical talent as a vocalist and performer. Even Eric Clapton commented that “For me, Muddy [Waters] and Van [Morrison] steal the show. Van doing [“Caravan”] with the leg kicks. Some of the greatest live music you’ll ever see.”

This is a soul song, of course, and Van’s voice is all about soul, so everything is in concordance here. The song is about a caravan of gypsy performers, and the narrator expresses his pure elation and gratitude at being amongst his friends (“And the caravan has all my friends / It will stay with me until the end”). It’s a celebration of that occasion and of the music itself (“Turn up your radio and let me hear the song”). You could also see the song as being dedicated to the whole entourage of The Last Waltz.

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The following was mostly abridged from the Wikipedia article below:
This song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter came to the concert 6 years after it’s release in 1970 on his Moondance album. Caravan was a concert highlight for several years and was included on Morrison’s 1974 acclaimed live album, It’s Too Late to Stop Now and the aforementioned Martin Scorsese’s 1978 film – The Last Waltz. The Last Waltz commemorated The Band’s last concert appearance together before they stopped touring, on Thanksgiving Day 1976.

Van Morrison based the song on real memories while living in a rural house in Woodstock, New York, where the nearest house was far down the road.

He described why he included the reference to radio in the song:

I could hear the radio like it was in the same room. I don’t know how to explain it. There was some story about an underground passage under the house I was living in, rumours from kids and stuff and I was beginning to think it was true. How can you hear someone’s radio from a mile away, as if it was playing in your own house? So I had to put that into the song, It was a must.

And the caravan is on it’s way
I can hear the merry gypsies play
Mama mama look at Emma Rose
She’s a-playin’ with the radio
La, la, la, la…

And the caravan has all my friends
It will stay with me until the end
Gypsy Robin, sweet Emma Rose
Tell me everything I need to know
La, la, la…

Turn up your radio and let me hear the song
Switch on your electric light
Then we can get down to what is really wrong
I long to hold you tight so I can feel you
Sweet lady of the night I shall reveal you

Turn it up, turn it up, little bit higher radio
Turn it up, turn it up, so you know, radio
La, la, la, la…

And the caravan is painted red and white
That means everybody’s staying overnight
Barefoot gypsy player round the campfire sing and play
And a woman tells us of her ways
La, la, la, la…

Turn up your radio and let me hear the song
Switch on your electric light
Then we can get down to what is really wrong
I long to hold you tight so I can feel you
Sweet lady of the night I shall reveal you
Turn it up, turn it up, little bit higher, radio
Turn it up, that’s enough, so you know it’s got soul
Radio, radio turn it up, hum
La, la, la, la…

References:
1. Caravan (Van Morrison song) – Wikipedia