The Moondance essays – Track 1 Side 2 – Come Running

This idea sprung from here.

Track 1 Side 1 - And It Stoned Me is here.
Track 2 Side 1 - Moondance is here.
Track 3 Side 1 - Crazy Love is here.
Track 4 Side 1 - Caravan is here.
Track 5 Side 1 - Into the Mystic is here.

By the side of the tracks where the train goes by
The wind and the rain will catch you, you will sigh
Deep in your heart
Then you'll come running to me

--Come Running

Like all great pop songs, it sounds effortless. It could be a throwaway, until you realize that it's worthy of any of the Brill Building classics. Worthy of Berry Gordy. There's nothing to it. Three effervescent chords. It's driven by the piano and the bass, before a simple horn chart materializes, like the sun bursting through could cover. The chorus is instantly memorable. Van sounds almost giddy. When a song like this leaps out, there's a sense of everything being right with the world. For 2 and a half minutes at least. But anything longer would drag, and anything shorter would BE a drag.