Have I Told You Lately

"Have I Told You Lately"
Single by Van Morrison
from the album Avalon Sunset
B-side "Contacting My Angel"
Released 5 June 1989 (1989-06-05)
Format CD single
Recorded 1989
Genre
Length 4:20
Label Mercury
Songwriter(s) Van Morrison
Producer(s) Van Morrison
Van Morrison singles chronology
"I'll Tell Me Ma"
(1988)		 "Have I Told You Lately"
(1989)		 "Whenever God Shines His Light"
(1989)
Avalon Sunset track listing
10 tracks
  1. "Whenever God Shines His Light"
  2. "Contacting My Angel"
  3. "I'd Love to Write Another Song"
  4. "Have I Told You Lately"
  5. "Coney Island"
  6. "I'm Tired Joey Boy"
  7. "When Will I Ever Learn to Live in God"
  8. "Orangefield"
  9. "Daring Night"
  10. "These Are the Days"

"Have I Told You Lately" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded for his nineteenth studio album Avalon Sunset (1989). It is a romantic ballad that is often played at weddings, although it was originally written as a prayer.

"Have I Told You Lately" has received acclaim, winning a Grammy Award and a BMI Million-Air certificate.[1] It was released as a single on 5 June 1989, and reached number 12 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[2] It has become 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 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 as well as on the UK Singles Chart.

Composition

Composed as a love ballad and built on the framework of "Someone Like You",[3] 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:

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 Dante, '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.[4]

Acclaim

  • "Have I Told You Lately" was listed as number 261 on the "All Time 885 Greatest Songs" list compiled in 2004 by Philadelphia radio station WXPN from listeners' votes.[5]
  • In August 2006, Van Morrison's original recording was voted No. 6 on a list of the "Top 10 First Dance Wedding Songs", based on a poll of 1,300 DJs in the UK.[6]
  • Van Morrison's original version of this song was No. 98 on the New York Daily News, The 100 Greatest Love Songs, from the list published on 12 February 2007.[7][8]
  • 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.[9]

Charts

Rod Stewart version

"Have I Told You Lately"
Single by Rod Stewart
from the album Unplugged...and Seated
B-side "Gasoline Alley"
Released March 1993 (1993-03)
Genre Soft rock
Length 4:08
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Van Morrison
Producer(s) Michael Ostin

Rod Stewart covered the song for his album Vagabond Heart (1991). A live version from his album Unplugged...and Seated (1993) was released as a single, becoming a number-five hit in the US[12] and the UK. This version also reached number four on the US Billboard Mainstream Top 40 chart, [13] and spent five weeks at number 1 on the US Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[14] It was certified gold by the RIAA in the US and sold 700,000 copies there.[15][16] Another live version by Stewart from his 2013 performance at The Troubadour, West Hollywood was included on the deluxe edition of his album Time.

Weekly charts

Studio version

Chart (1992–93) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[17] 33

Live

Chart (1993) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA) 12
Canada (RPM) Top Singles[18] 1
Canada (RPM) Adult Contemporary[19] 1
Germany 12
Ireland 13
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 41
Sweden [21] 39
UK Singles Chart[22] 5
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 [23] 5
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary[24] 1
U.S. Cash Box Top 100[25] 2

Year-end charts (Live)

Chart (1993) Rank
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[26] 9
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[27] 32
U.S. Cash Box [28] 22

Other versions

"Have I Told You Lately" has been performed by many unknown as well as many famous artists.

Other releases

Morrison chose "Have I Told You Lately" as one of the songs included on 1990s The Best of Van Morrison, his first greatest-hits album. 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.[1] A jazz arrangement is featured on the 2018 album Morrison recorded with organist Joey DeFrancesco entitled You're Driving Me Crazy.

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.

In the media

"Have I Told You Lately" was featured in the 1996 film, One Fine Day, starring George Clooney and Michelle Pfeiffer,[37] at the end of the Amanda Bynes 2003 film, What a Girl Wants, covered by Matt Acheson,[38] and the 2014 film 5 Flights Up, starring Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton.[39]

Impressionist and comedian Rory Bremner included the song as one of his eight Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 on 20 April 2003.[40] Television and radio presenter Gloria Hunniford also included the song on her list on 24 December 2006.[41]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals - The 38th Annual Grammy Awards (1995)". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on February 12, 2018. Retrieved February 12, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  3. ↑ Hage. The Words and Music of Van Morrison. p. 109
  4. ↑ Hinton. Celtic Crossroads. p. 278
  5. ↑ "All Time 885 Greatest Songs". xpn.org. 2004. Archived from the original on 20 October 2010. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  6. ↑ "Top 10 First Dance Wedding Songs". Uk-disco.co.uk. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  7. ↑ Farber, Jim (February 12, 2007). "The 100 Greatest Love Songs". New York Daily News. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  8. ↑ Throckmorton, Warren (February 14, 2007). "100 Greatest Love Songs". Patheos. Retrieved April 30, 2018.
  9. ↑ "2007 BMI London Awards: Song List". Broadcast Music. 16 October 2007. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
  10. 1 2 3 "Have I Told You Lately - Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 24, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Chart - Billboard", Billboard, retrieved January 29, 2018
  12. ↑ "Music: Top 100 Songs - Billboard Hot 100 Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved February 6, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Top Pop Songs Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  14. ↑ "Adult Contemporary Music Chart". Billboard.com. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  15. ↑ "Rod Stewart - Have I Told You Lately". RIAA. June 29, 1993. Retrieved April 29, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Best-Selling Records of 1993". Billboard. BPI Communications. 106 (3): 73. 15 January 1994. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  17. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 230.
  18. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1993-07-17. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  19. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1993-07-10. Retrieved 2017-04-04.
  20. ↑ "Rod Stewart - Have I Told You Lately". Official New Zealand Music Chart. Recorded Music NZ. 27 June 1993. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Rod Stewart - Have I Told You Lately". swedishcharts.com (Hung Medien). Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  22. ↑ "Have I Told You Lately - Chart History". Official Charts Company. June 26, 1993. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  23. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  24. ↑ Adult Contemporary Chart - Billboard, Billboard, May 29, 1993, retrieved February 16, 2018
  25. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, July 10, 1993".
  26. ↑ "RPM 100 Hit Tracks of 1993". RPM. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
  27. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 - 1993". Retrieved 2010-08-27.
  28. ↑ "Cash Box Year-End Charts: Top 100 Pop Singles, December 31, 1993".
  29. ↑ "allmusic(((It Works For Me>Overview)))". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  30. ↑ "allmusic:Secrets of Love". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  31. ↑ "Engelbert Humperdinck and James Last - Christmas Eve". Allmusic. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
  32. ↑ "I Don't Remember Ever Growing Up: Overview". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  33. ↑ "Barry Manilow returns with the Greatest Songs of the Eighties". Access. October 17, 2008. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
  34. ↑ "Timeless World overview". Allmusic.com.
  35. ↑ "What We're Listening To ** February". SmoothVibes.com.
  36. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2013). Hot Country Songs 1944–2012. Record Research, Inc. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-89820-203-8.
  37. ↑ "Van Morrison at IMDb". Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  38. ↑ "Matt Acheson". IMDb. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  39. ↑ "5 Flights Up Soundtrack List". The Ultimate Source for Soundtrack Lists. Retrieved 18 November 2017.
  40. ↑ "Desert Island Discs - Rory Bremner". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-10-09.
  41. ↑ "Desert Island Discs - Gloria Hunniford". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-10-09.

References

  • Hinton, Brian (1997). Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison. London: Sanctuary. ISBN 1-86074-169-X.
  • Hage, Erik (2009). 'The Words and Music of Van Morrison. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 978-0-313-35862-3.
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