We used to take a short cut up Cyprus Avenue.' we used to walk up to the Sky Beam for an ice cream or a cup of mushy peas and vinegar. there was an Italian shop up in Ballyhackamore, that's where all the young ones used to go of a Sunday. the Beersbridge Road had the railway line cut across it and our side of it was one side of the tracks and Cyprus Avenue was the other. Īccording to Roy Kane, who grew up with Morrison in Belfast, Cyprus Avenue '.was the street that we would all aspire to - the other side of the tracks. Ĭalling it the central song of the album, AllMusic described it as 'a chamber-music hybrid of folk-blues, jazz, and classical music, and over it Morrison sings a meditative memory lyric about his adolescence in Belfast, Northern Ireland.' On the Astral Weeks recording, Morrison's vocals are backed by his acoustic guitar, Richard Davis on acoustic bass and Larry Fallon on harpsichord, along with flute and strings. The strings and harpsichord were overdubbed a month later. Recording and composition Cyprus Avenue – the street in Belfast that inspired the song.īuilt on a basic blues structure with an unusual arrangement, the song was recorded at the Astral Weeks sessions on 25 September 1968, at Century Sound Studio with Lewis Merenstein as producer. A dynamic 10-minute version with the usual stop-start ending was included on his 1974 live album It's Too Late to Stop Now. In performance the song was a concert highlight and closer for years to come and would end with Morrison's command, 'It's too late to stop now!' (a quotation from his song ' Into the Mystic') as he stalked from the stage.

It refers to Cyprus Avenue, a residential street in Morrison's hometown of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

' Cyprus Avenue' is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1968 album Astral Weeks. Official audio 'Cyprus Avenue' (1999 remaster) on YouTube

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