Madame George
Encyclopedia
"Madame George" is a ten-minute song by Northern Irish
singer-songwriter
Van Morrison
. It appears on the album Astral Weeks
, released in 1968. The song features Morrison performing the vocals and acoustic guitar. It also features an upright bass, flute and a string quartet.
with Lewis Merenstein
as producer.
The main theme of the song is about leaving the past behind. The character of Madame George is considered by many to be a drag queen
, although Morrison himself denied this in a Rolling Stone
interview. He later claimed that the character was based on six or seven different people: "It's like a movie, a sketch, or a short story. In fact, most of the songs on Astral Weeks are like short stories. In terms of what they mean, they're as baffling to me as to anyone else. I haven't got a clue what that song is about or who Madame George might have been."
Van Morrison, speaking to biographer Ritchie Yorke
about the writing and meaning of the song, said in part:
In April 2007 Tom Nolan wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal
suggesting that Madame George was none other than Georgie Hyde-Lees, wife of Irish
poet and mystic
W. B. Yeats who acted as Yeats' muse
through automatic writing
and inducing trances. He cites the ever present interest in Yeats by Morrison, and the words in the song: "That's when you fall into a trance/Sitting on a sofa playing games of chance/With your folded arms in history books you glance/ Into the eyes of Madame George."
An earlier recording with slightly altered lyrics and a much swifter tempo changes the tone considerably from the Astral Weeks recording, which is downbeat and nostalgic; the earlier recording is joyous, and seems to be from the point-of-view of a partygoer who sees the titular character. This version surfaced on T.B. Sheets
a compilation of early recordings for Bang Records
released in 1973.
wrote in 1979 that the song "is the album's whirlpool. Possibly one of the most compassionate pieces of music ever made, it asks us, no, arranges that we see the plight of what I'll be brutal and call a lovelorn drag queen with such intense empathy that when the singer hurts him, we do too." Bangs also remarks that "Morrison has said in at least one interview that the song has nothing to do with any kind of transvestite – at least as far as he knows, he is quick to add – but that's bullshit."
Artist Mark Wallinger
described "Madame George" as: "The sense of desire and loss expressed in this song is so sad because it dares one to try to hear it again as if for the first time. It describes our exile from our past. Radical, allusive, heartbreaking, and the ultimate three-chord trick."
In 1974, after he had recorded eight albums, Morrison told Ritchie Yorke
when he asked him what he considered his finest single track and the one that he enjoyed the most that it was: "Definitely "Madame George", definitely. I'm just starting to realize it more and more. It just seems to get at you... it just lays right in there, that whole track. The vocals and the instruments and the whole thing. I like that one."
listed as No. 467 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN
from listener's votes.
Madame George appears in the "Black Boys on Mopeds" lyrics of Sinéad O'Connor
: "England's not the mythical land of Madame George and roses" suggesting that she is a legendary figure. David Gray
pays tribute to the song on the final track of his album White Ladder
, with his cover version of the Soft Cell
song, "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
", which ends similarly and even borrows lyrics "Through the rain, hail, sleet and snow, say goodbye. Get on the train, the train and say goodbye". In David A. Stewart
and the Spiritual Cowboy's song "Out of Reach", from the album Honest, there is a line that goes: "Madame George got played today, she almost forgot she could feel that way". Although not a direct imitation, the riff that string quartet repeats at the end of the song is mimicked at the end of Bruce Springsteen
's "Born to Run
" (which is an indicator that Morrison had great influence on Springsteen). The American rock band Hat On, Drinking Wine
takes their name from a lyric from the song: "He's much older now/With hat on, drinking wine."
, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released.
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...
. It appears on the album Astral Weeks
Astral Weeks
Astral Weeks is the second solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison, released in November 1968 on Warner Bros. Records. It was Morrison's first album after Warner Bros. had been able to free him from his contract with Bang Records...
, released in 1968. The song features Morrison performing the vocals and acoustic guitar. It also features an upright bass, flute and a string quartet.
Recording and composition
"Madame George" was recorded during the first Astral Weeks session that took place on September 25, 1968 at Century Sound Studios in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with Lewis Merenstein
Lewis Merenstein
Lewis Merenstein is most famous as the record producer for the Van Morrison album, Astral Weeks, and as executive producer for Moondance, Morrison's 1970 album.Astral Weeks is listed as #19 on the Rolling Stone Magazine's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003...
as producer.
The main theme of the song is about leaving the past behind. The character of Madame George is considered by many to be a drag queen
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
, although Morrison himself denied this in a Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
interview. He later claimed that the character was based on six or seven different people: "It's like a movie, a sketch, or a short story. In fact, most of the songs on Astral Weeks are like short stories. In terms of what they mean, they're as baffling to me as to anyone else. I haven't got a clue what that song is about or who Madame George might have been."
Van Morrison, speaking to biographer Ritchie Yorke
Ritchie Yorke
Ritchie Yorke is an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist. Born in Brisbane in 1944, while his father was serving with the Australian Army, Yorke developed a passion for rock ‘n’ roll in his early teens.-Biography:...
about the writing and meaning of the song, said in part:
"Madame George" was recorded live. The vocal was live and the rhythm section and the flute too and the strings were the only overdub. The title of the song confuses one, I must say that. The original title was "Madame Joy" but the way I wrote it down was "Madame George". Don't ask me why I do this because I just don't know. The song is just a stream of consciousness thing, as is "Cyprus AvenueCyprus Avenue"Cyprus Avenue" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and included on his 1968 album Astral Weeks.In performance it was a concert highlight and closer for years to come and would end with Morrison's command, "It's too late to stop now!" as he stalked from the stage...
"..."Madame George" just came right out. The song is basically about a spiritual feeling.
In April 2007 Tom Nolan wrote an article in The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
suggesting that Madame George was none other than Georgie Hyde-Lees, wife of Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
poet and mystic
Mysticism
Mysticism is the knowledge of, and especially the personal experience of, states of consciousness, i.e. levels of being, beyond normal human perception, including experience and even communion with a supreme being.-Classical origins:...
W. B. Yeats who acted as Yeats' muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
through automatic writing
Automatic writing
Automatic writing or psychography is writing which the writer states to be produced from a subconscious and/or spiritual source without conscious awareness of the content.-History:...
and inducing trances. He cites the ever present interest in Yeats by Morrison, and the words in the song: "That's when you fall into a trance/Sitting on a sofa playing games of chance/With your folded arms in history books you glance/ Into the eyes of Madame George."
An earlier recording with slightly altered lyrics and a much swifter tempo changes the tone considerably from the Astral Weeks recording, which is downbeat and nostalgic; the earlier recording is joyous, and seems to be from the point-of-view of a partygoer who sees the titular character. This version surfaced on T.B. Sheets
T.B. Sheets (album)
T.B. Sheets is a retrospective album of recordings made in 1967 by Northern Irish musician Van Morrison, released in 1973 on Bang Records. It contains songs that had appeared on Morrison's debut album, Blowin' Your Mind!, including his first hit, "Brown Eyed Girl"...
a compilation of early recordings for Bang Records
Bang Records
Bang Records was created by Bert Berns in 1965 together with his partners from Atlantic Records: Ahmet Ertegün, Nesuhi Ertegün and Jerry Wexler...
released in 1973.
Response
The rock journalist Lester BangsLester Bangs
Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs was an American music journalist, author and musician. He wrote for Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, and was known for his leading influence in rock 'n' roll criticism....
wrote in 1979 that the song "is the album's whirlpool. Possibly one of the most compassionate pieces of music ever made, it asks us, no, arranges that we see the plight of what I'll be brutal and call a lovelorn drag queen with such intense empathy that when the singer hurts him, we do too." Bangs also remarks that "Morrison has said in at least one interview that the song has nothing to do with any kind of transvestite – at least as far as he knows, he is quick to add – but that's bullshit."
Artist Mark Wallinger
Mark Wallinger
Mark Wallinger is a British artist, best known for his sculpture for the empty fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, Ecce Homo , and State Britain , a recreation at Tate Britain of Brian Haw's protest display outside parliament. He won the Turner Prize in 2007...
described "Madame George" as: "The sense of desire and loss expressed in this song is so sad because it dares one to try to hear it again as if for the first time. It describes our exile from our past. Radical, allusive, heartbreaking, and the ultimate three-chord trick."
In 1974, after he had recorded eight albums, Morrison told Ritchie Yorke
Ritchie Yorke
Ritchie Yorke is an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist. Born in Brisbane in 1944, while his father was serving with the Australian Army, Yorke developed a passion for rock ‘n’ roll in his early teens.-Biography:...
when he asked him what he considered his finest single track and the one that he enjoyed the most that it was: "Definitely "Madame George", definitely. I'm just starting to realize it more and more. It just seems to get at you... it just lays right in there, that whole track. The vocals and the instruments and the whole thing. I like that one."
Influence
Always a favorite of rock critics, "Madame George" is one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll and it waslisted as No. 467 on the All Time 885 Greatest Songs compiled in 2004 by WXPN
WXPN
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 listener's votes.
Madame George appears in the "Black Boys on Mopeds" lyrics of 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"....
: "England's not the mythical land of Madame George and roses" suggesting that she is a legendary figure. David Gray
David Gray (musician)
David Gray is an English singer-songwriter. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later...
pays tribute to the song on the final track of his album White Ladder
White Ladder
White Ladder is the multi-platinum selling fourth studio album by British singer-songwriter David Gray, first released in November 1998. Worldwide sales of the album stand at 7 million.-Background:...
, with his cover version of the Soft Cell
Soft Cell
Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...
song, "Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
Say Hello, Wave Goodbye
"Say Hello, Wave Goodbye" is a song from the album Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret by English synthpop duo Soft Cell that was released as a single in 1982 and reached number three on the UK Singles Chart...
", which ends similarly and even borrows lyrics "Through the rain, hail, sleet and snow, say goodbye. Get on the train, the train and say goodbye". In David A. Stewart
David A. Stewart
David Allan Stewart , often known as Dave Stewart, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Eurythmics. He is usually credited as David A. Stewart, to avoid confusion with other musicians named "Dave Stewart".-Early life:Stewart was born in Sunderland,...
and the Spiritual Cowboy's song "Out of Reach", from the album Honest, there is a line that goes: "Madame George got played today, she almost forgot she could feel that way". Although not a direct imitation, the riff that string quartet repeats at the end of the song is mimicked at the end of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's "Born to Run
Born to Run
The album's release was accompanied by a $250,000 promotional campaign by Columbia directed at both consumers and the music industry, making good use of Landau's "I saw rock 'n' roll's future—and its name is Bruce Springsteen" quote. With much publicity, Born to Run vaulted into the top 10 in its...
" (which is an indicator that Morrison had great influence on Springsteen). The American rock band Hat On, Drinking Wine
Hat On, Drinking Wine
Hat On, Drinking Wine is an American rock band from Worcester, Massachusetts featuring guitars, piano, bass, drums, as well as occasional folk and traditional instruments, such as the accordion, tin whistle, harmonica, and mandolin...
takes their name from a lyric from the song: "He's much older now/With hat on, drinking wine."
Other releases
"Madame George" was featured on Morrison's album Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood BowlAstral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl is the fifth live album recorded by Northern Irish singer/songwriter Van Morrison, and released in the US on February 24, 2009 and on February 9, 2009 in the UK...
, released in 2009 to celebrate forty years since Astral Weeks was first released.
Covers
- Marianne FaithfullMarianne FaithfullMarianne Evelyn Faithfull is an award-winning English singer, songwriter and actress whose career has spanned five decades....
performs this song on the 1994 Van Morrison tribute albumTribute albumA tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
, No Prima Donna: The Songs of Van MorrisonNo Prima Donna: The Songs of Van MorrisonNo Prima Donna: The Songs of Van Morrison released in October 1994 is the first tribute album for the songs of singer-songwriter Van Morrison. The album was produced by Van Morrison and his friend for many years, Phil Coulter. Morrison's longtime girlfriend, Michelle Rocca was the model on the...
. Faithfull's version also plays over the closing credits of Dagmar Hirtz's film Moondance (1995). Faithfull's version of the song was also released as a single in 1994, with Morrison's "Queen of the SlipstreamQueen of the Slipstream"Queen of the Slipstream" is a romantic ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1987 album, Poetic Champions Compose. It was also released as a single in the U.K...
" as the B-side. - Jeff BuckleyJeff BuckleyJeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
has recorded a rare cover version of this song. - Energy OrchardEnergy OrchardEnergy Orchard were an Irish guitar-based rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s, from Belfast. Fronted by Bap Kennedy , their style drew heavily on the influence of Van Morrison and other R&B, but incorporated traditional elements of Irish folk music...
covered "Madame George" on their 1993 album, ShinolaShinola (Energy Orchard album)Shinola was the third album from Northern Ireland based rock band, Energy Orchard, and was released in 1993.-Track listing:# "Coming Through" - 4:34# "Madame George" - 6:01# "Atlantic City" - 3:40# "Stay Away" - 4:20...
. - Phoebe Snow covered "Madame George" on her 1998 album, I Can't Complain.
- Eric BellEric BellEric Robin Bell is a Northern Irish rock musician and guitarist, best known as a founder member and the original guitarist of the rock group Thin Lizzy.-Early career:...
released a live cover of the song on his album, Live Tonite...Plus!. - Ursula Burns
Personnel
- Van Morrison – rhythm guitarRhythm guitarRhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
, vocals - Richard Davis – double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
- Connie KayConnie KayConnie Kay was an American jazz drummer.Kay was a member of the Modern Jazz Quartet from 1955 until the group's dissolution in 1974...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Anonymous – fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
- Larry FallonLarry FallonLarry Fallon was an American composer, arranger and record producer.Arranger credits include Van Morrison's Astral Weeks, Nico's Chelsea Girl, Jimmy Cliff's Wonderful World, Beautiful People, the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" and Gil Scott-Heron's Bridges. He played the distinctive harpsichord...
– string and horn arrangements
External links
- Lester Bangs: Astral Weeks
- Madame George Review
- [ Allmusic Review]