Have I Told You Lately
Encyclopedia
"Have I Told You Lately" is a hit song written by Northern Irish
singer-songwriter
Van Morrison
and recorded for his 1989 album Avalon Sunset
. It is a romantic ballad
often played at wedding
s although it was originally written also as a prayer
.
"Have I Told You Lately" has become a classic song and has received acclaim by winning a Grammy Award
and a BMI
Million-Air certificate. When released as a single by Mercury
in 1989, it charted at number twelve on US Adult Contemporary Charts and has been a popular cover song with many vocal and instrumental versions recorded by numerous artists and bands. In 1993, Rod Stewart's version charted at number five in the US
and UK
.
", it is preceded on Avalon Sunset by the song, "I'd Love to Write Another Song" proclaiming "In poetry I'd carve it well/ I'd even make it rhyme." Then, in the words of Brian Hinton
what follows is:
from listeners' votes. In August 2006, Van Morrison's original recording was voted #6 on a list of the Top 10 First Dance Wedding Songs, based on a poll of 1,300 DJs in the UK. Van Morrison's original version of this song was #98 on the New York Daily News
, The 100 Greatest Love Songs, from the list published on February 12, 2007. In October 2007, Van Morrison received a Million-Air certificate for over four million air plays of "Have I Told You Lately" from the prestigious BMI
awards held in London
, England
.
, his first ever "Best Of" albums, that was released in 1990. It was also one of the songs on two of the compilation albums that were issued in 2007: Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
contains a remastered version of this song and it was also featured on the compilation album, Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits
. A live performance version was included on his 1994 album, A Night in San Francisco
. In 1995 Morrison accompanied The Chieftains
on a recording of the song for their album The Long Black Veil
; this version was awarded the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
.
Filmed performances of the song include a version recorded in 1989 that was featured on Morrison's video album Van Morrison: The Concert the following year. In 1997 Morrison performed the song in a duet with Sinéad O'Connor
on Late Show with David Letterman
; this version was subsequently released on the Live on Letterman: Music from the Late Show CD.
and Michelle Pfeiffer
and also on the 2003 film, What a Girl Wants
.
Impressionist
and Comedian
Rory Bremner
included the song as one of his eight Desert Island Discs
on BBC Radio 4
on April 20, 2003. Television and radio presenter
Gloria Hunniford
also included the song on her list on December 24, 2006.
's cover of the song was released that was his last Top Five solo hit to date, becoming a #5 hit in the US and the UK. This version also spent five weeks at #1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. Some of the other best known cover versions of the song are by Kenny Rogers
, Barbara Mandrell
, Michael Ball
, Della Reese
, Engelbert Humperdinck
and an instrumental cover by Floyd Cramer
. Andy Williams
covered it on his 2006 album, I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up and performed a live version in 2007 at Royal Albert Hall
in London
, England
. In 2006, Thomas Anders
covered the song for his swing album Songs Forever
. Barry Manilow
included this song on his album, The Greatest Songs of the Eighties
released in November 2008. "Have I Told You Lately" has also been a popular cover song internationally. Tejano
group Mazz
also recorded the song on their 1993 album Que Esperabas. In 1999, the Belgian band Clouseau released a Dutch translation ("Heb ik ooit gezegd", literally : "Have I ever told you"), that charted 16 weeks in the Flemish Ultratop 50
(peaking at #7). A German version, entitled Warum komm ich nur so selten dazu, was published in 2003 by the German soul singer Stefan Gwildis on his album Neues Spiel. Emilio
released a single of it from his album, Life Is Good
, which also included a version in Spanish. Contemporary jazz
\New Age
pianist Chris Geith
covered the song from his album "Timeless World."
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Van Morrison
Van Morrison
Van Morrison, OBE is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician. His live performances at their best are regarded as transcendental and inspired; while some of his recordings, such as the studio albums Astral Weeks and Moondance, and the live album It's Too Late to Stop Now, are widely...
and recorded for his 1989 album Avalon Sunset
Avalon Sunset
Avalon Sunset is the nineteenth album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1989 The album has been described as "a powerful statement that the often turbulent muse had stabilized and was now a sublime force flowing through Van Morrison".The 29 January 2008 reissued and...
. It is a romantic ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
often played at wedding
Wedding
A wedding is the ceremony in which two people are united in marriage or a similar institution. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes...
s although it was originally written also as a prayer
Prayer
Prayer is a form of religious practice that seeks to activate a volitional rapport to a deity through deliberate practice. Prayer may be either individual or communal and take place in public or in private. It may involve the use of words or song. When language is used, prayer may take the form of...
.
"Have I Told You Lately" has become a classic song and has received acclaim by winning a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
and a BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
Million-Air certificate. When released as a single by Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
in 1989, it charted at number twelve on US Adult Contemporary Charts and has been a popular cover song with many vocal and instrumental versions recorded by numerous artists and bands. In 1993, Rod Stewart's version charted at number five in the US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Composition
Composed as a love ballad and built on the framework of "Someone Like YouSomeone Like You (Van Morrison song)
"Someone Like You" is a popular, romantic ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1987 album, Poetic Champions Compose...
", it is preceded on Avalon Sunset by the song, "I'd Love to Write Another Song" proclaiming "In poetry I'd carve it well/ I'd even make it rhyme." Then, in the words of Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton
Brian Hinton, MBE is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen’s Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts.-Education:...
what follows is:
one of the finest love songs of the century, which I remember devastated me when I first heard it, as it seemed both something never quite said before, and yet a song I felt I had known forever. Earthly love transmutes into that for God, just like in DanteDANTEDelivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
, "there's a love that's divine and it's yours and it's mine". The morning sun has set by the end of the song, suggesting love shading into death, but subtly.
Acclaim
"Have I Told You Lately" was listed as No. 261 on the "All Time 885 Greatest Songs" list compiled in 2004 by Philadelphia radio station WXPNWXPN
WXPN is a non-commercial, public radio station operated by the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia that broadcasts a music radio format called adult album alternative , along with many other format shows supported all with an indie slant...
from listeners' votes. In August 2006, Van Morrison's original recording was voted #6 on a list of the Top 10 First Dance Wedding Songs, based on a poll of 1,300 DJs in the UK. Van Morrison's original version of this song was #98 on the New York Daily News
New York Daily News
The Daily News of New York City is the fourth most widely circulated daily newspaper in the United States with a daily circulation of 605,677, as of November 1, 2011....
, The 100 Greatest Love Songs, from the list published on February 12, 2007. In October 2007, Van Morrison received a Million-Air certificate for over four million air plays of "Have I Told You Lately" from the prestigious BMI
Broadcast Music Incorporated
Broadcast Music, Inc. is one of three United States performing rights organizations, along with ASCAP and SESAC. It collects license fees on behalf of songwriters, composers, and music publishers and distributes them as royalties to those members whose works have been performed...
awards held in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Other releases
Morrison chose "Have I Told You Lately" to be one of the songs included on The Best of Van MorrisonThe Best of Van Morrison
The Best of Van Morrison is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1990 ....
, his first ever "Best Of" albums, that was released in 1990. It was also one of the songs on two of the compilation albums that were issued in 2007: Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top - The Greatest Hits
Still on Top – The Greatest Hits is the third compilation album to be issued by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison in 2007 . It was released...
contains a remastered version of this song and it was also featured on the compilation album, Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits
Van Morrison at the Movies - Soundtrack Hits
Van Morrison at the Movies – Soundtrack Hits is a compilation album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 2007 comprising 19 songs as featured in various movies. The album was released on 12 February 2007 in the United Kingdom and February 13, 2007 in the United States. ...
. A live performance version was included on his 1994 album, A Night in San Francisco
A Night in San Francisco
A Night in San Francisco is a live album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in 1994. Guest artists were John Lee Hooker, Junior Wells and Jimmy Witherspoon as well as Morrison's daughter, Shana Morrison...
. In 1995 Morrison accompanied The Chieftains
The Chieftains
The Chieftains are a Grammy-winning Irish musical group founded in 1962, best known for being one of the first bands to make Irish traditional music popular around the world.-Name:...
on a recording of the song for their album The Long Black Veil
The Long Black Veil (album)
The Long Black Veil is an album by the traditional Irish folk band The Chieftains. Released in 1995, it is one of the most popular and best selling albums by the band. It reached number 17 in the album charts. The band teamed up with well-known musicians such as Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones...
; this version was awarded the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality pop songs on which singers collaborate...
.
Filmed performances of the song include a version recorded in 1989 that was featured on Morrison's video album Van Morrison: The Concert the following year. In 1997 Morrison performed the song in a duet with Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad O'Connor
Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in the late 1980s with her debut album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success in 1990 with a cover of the song "Nothing Compares 2 U"....
on Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman
Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...
; this version was subsequently released on the Live on Letterman: Music from the Late Show CD.
In the media
"Have I Told You Lately" was featured in the movie and soundtrack from the 1996 film, One Fine Day, starring George ClooneyGeorge Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
and Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
and also on the 2003 film, What a Girl Wants
What a Girl Wants (film)
What a Girl Wants is a 2003 film starring Amanda Bynes, Colin Firth, Kelly Preston and Oliver James. Directed by Dennie Gordon, the film is a remake of the 1958 film, The Reluctant Debutante which had a screenplay by William Douglas-Home, based on his play of the same name.The title, "What a Girl...
.
Impressionist
Impressionist (entertainment)
An impressionist or a mimic is a performer whose act consists of imitating the voice and mannerisms of others. The word usually refers to a professional comedian/entertainer who specializes in such performances and has developed a wide repertoire of impressions, including adding to them, often to...
and Comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Rory Bremner
Rory Bremner
Roderick "Rory" Keith Ogilvy Bremner, FKC is a Scottish impressionist, playwright and comedian, noted for his work in political satire...
included the song as one of his eight Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs
Desert Island Discs is a BBC Radio 4 programme first broadcast on 29 January 1942. It is the second longest-running radio programme , and is the longest-running factual programme in the history of radio...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
on April 20, 2003. Television and radio presenter
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford
Gloria Hunniford is a Northern Irish TV and radio presenter, and formerly a singer.-Biography:...
also included the song on her list on December 24, 2006.
Covers
"Have I Told You Lately" has become a classic over the years and has been performed by many unknown as well as many famous artists. In 1993 Rod StewartRod Stewart
Roderick David "Rod" Stewart, CBE is a British singer-songwriter and musician, born and raised in North London, England and currently residing in Epping. He is of Scottish and English ancestry....
's cover of the song was released that was his last Top Five solo hit to date, becoming a #5 hit in the US and the UK. This version also spent five weeks at #1 on the US Adult Contemporary chart. Some of the other best known cover versions of the song are by Kenny Rogers
Kenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
, Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
, Michael Ball
Michael Ball (singer)
Michael Ashley Ball, born 27 June 1962) is a British actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad...
, Della Reese
Della Reese
Delloreese Patricia Early, known professionally as Della Reese , is an American actress, singer, game show panelist of the 1970s, one-time talk-show hostess and ordained minister. She started her career in the 1950s as a gospel, pop and jazz singer, scoring a hit with her 1959 single "Don't You...
, Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck (singer)
Engelbert Humperdinck is a British pop singer, best known for his hits including "Release Me " and "After the Lovin'" as well as "The Last Waltz" .-Early life:...
and an instrumental cover by Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer
Floyd Cramer was an American Hall of Fame pianist who was one of the architects of the "Nashville sound." He popularized the "slip note" piano style where an out-of-tune note slides effortlessly into the correct note...
. Andy Williams
Andy Williams
Howard Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
covered it on his 2006 album, I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up and performed a live version in 2007 at Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. In 2006, Thomas Anders
Thomas Anders
Thomas Anders is a German singer, composer and record producer. Anders was the lead singer of Germany's popular pop-duo Modern Talking in 1984–1987 and in 1998–2003.-Early years:...
covered the song for his swing album Songs Forever
Songs Forever
Songs Forever is the title of the 2006 studio album by German singer-songwriter & producer Thomas Anders, consisting mainly of popular swing covers...
. Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow
Barry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
included this song on his album, The Greatest Songs of the Eighties
The Greatest Songs of the Eighties
The Greatest Songs of the Eighties is Barry Manilow's 38th album, and follow-up to his 2007 album, The Greatest Songs of the Seventies...
released in November 2008. "Have I Told You Lately" has also been a popular cover song internationally. Tejano
Tejano music
Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...
group Mazz
Mazz
Mazz is a Grammy Award–winning Tejano band originating from south Texas. They were formed in Brownsville, TX, by singer/guitarists Jimmy González and Joe López, and emerged as one of the most innovative bands in their genre after adding synthesizer to combine traditional Mexican music and popular...
also recorded the song on their 1993 album Que Esperabas. In 1999, the Belgian band Clouseau released a Dutch translation ("Heb ik ooit gezegd", literally : "Have I ever told you"), that charted 16 weeks in the Flemish Ultratop 50
Ultratop 50
Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995...
(peaking at #7). A German version, entitled Warum komm ich nur so selten dazu, was published in 2003 by the German soul singer Stefan Gwildis on his album Neues Spiel. Emilio
Emilio
Emilio Navaira III is an American musician of Mexican descent, who performs both Country and Tejano music. Known to most by the mononym Emilio, he has charted more than ten singles on the Billboard Hot Latin Tracks charts, in addition to six singles on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks...
released a single of it from his album, Life Is Good
Life Is Good (Emilio album)
Life Is Good is the first country music album by American Tejano music artist Emilio. It was released by Capitol Nashville on September 26, 1995. Its first single, "It's Not the End of the World," reached the Top 30 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart...
, which also included a version in Spanish. Contemporary jazz
Smooth jazz
Smooth jazz is a genre of music that grew out of jazz fusion and is influenced by R&B, funk, rock, and pop music styles ....
\New Age
New Age music
New Age music is music of various styles intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism. It is used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management or to create a peaceful atmosphere in their home or other environments, and is often...
pianist Chris Geith
Chris Geith
Chris Geith is a composer and arranger of contemporary jazz and New Age music. His band, The Chris Geith Group, signed with Jive Records in Asia in 2001. The band has been no. 1 in the contemporary jazz, Jazz Fusion, and Contemporary Urban/ R&B charts on MP3.com...
covered the song from his album "Timeless World."
Charts
| End of year chart (1993) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 32 |