0054 – Ballerina - Van Morrison (1968)

Compositor: Van Morrison

• Foi gravada em 15 de outubro de 1968 no Century Sound Studios, em New York City e lançada em novembro de 1968 no disco Astral weeks. O produtor foi Lewis Merenstein.

• Foi feita pra Janet, sua futura esposa, em San Francisco, enquanto ele estava em turnê com o Them, nos Estados Unidos.

• Van cantou e tocou violão. Jay Berliner tocou violão. Richard Davis tocou baixo. Connie Kay tocou bateria. John Payne tocou flauta. Warren Smith Jr. Tocou vibrafone.

A letra:

Spread your wings
Come on fly awhile
Straight to my arms
Little angel child
You know you only
Lonely twenty-two story block

And if somebody, not just anybody
Wanted to get close to you
For instance, me, baby
All you gotta do
Is ring a bell

Step right up, step right up
And step right up
Ballerina
Crowd will catch you
Fly it, sigh it, try it
Well, I may be wrong

But something deep in my heart tells me I'm right and I don't think so
You know I saw the writing on the wall
When you came up to me
Child, you were heading for a fall

But if it gets to you
And you feel like you just can't go on
All you gotta do
Is ring a bell

Step right up, and step right up
And step right up
Just like a ballerina
Stepping lightly
Alright, well it's getting late
Yes it is, yes it is

And this time I forget to slip into your slumber
The light is on the left side of your head
And I'm standing in your doorway
And I'm mumbling and I can't remember the last thing that ran through my head

Here come a man, here come a man and he say, he say the show must go on
So all you gotta do
Is ring the bell

And step right up, and step right up
And step right up
Just like a ballerina, yeah, yeah
Crowd will catch you
Fly it, sigh it, c'mon, die it, yeah
Just like a ballerina
Just like a, just like a, just like a, just like a ballerina

Get on up, get on up, keep a-moving, moving on, moving on, moving on up
Little bit higher, baby
You know, you know, you know, get on up baby
Alright, a-keep on, a-keep on, a-keep on pushing, keep on, keep on pushing
Stepping lightly

Just like a ballerina
Ooo-we baby, take off your shoes
Working on
Just like a ballerina

A versão de Van Morrison:

A versão de Warren Haynes:

A versão de Brett Andrew: