Sunset, Friday, 11 December 2009

William Theodore Van Doren. Painted at Stony Point, Albemarle County, Va. Oil on watercolor block, 16 x 20.

Not to get things totally confused – only just a little confused – the following refers to the song titled, depending on where you look, “Have I Told You Lately” and “Have I Told You Lately That I Love You,” written by Van Morrison. The former title helps distinguish Morrison’s 1989 song from the 1945 standard (“Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?”), which it resembles in outward form although not so much in essence.

In addition, the version that inspired me to write is the one Morrison does with The Chieftains, a performance with a lot less orchestral decor than the better-known record.

There’s a love that’s divine
And it‘s yours and it’s mine
And it shines like the sun
At the end of the day
We shall give thanks and pray to the one

I’m not sure if Van means “the one,” “the One” or “The One,” but – it’s all the same to me.

Where the song really kills comes right after this. Just like the old standard, the song opens with the title line, “Have I told you lately that I love you?” – in the usual from-me-to-you format. But at the end of this verse Morrison adds two words – barely noticeable, just there if you want to notice them – that connect back to, and transform, the title.

. . . At the end of the day
We shall give thanks and pray to the one
And say
Have I told you lately that I love you?