Tonight in London there’s a special evening of words and music to mark the publication of the lyrics of Van Morrison, Lit Up Inside, taking place at the Lyric theatre on Shaftesbury avenue.

Reviews of the book have been mixed in Ireland with a harsh critique on RTÉ for instance, publisher Faber & Faber slammed for presenting Van Morrison lyrics as literature. Somehow I don’t think the reviewer in this case really “gets” Van Morrison at all: he seems hung up on the fact that Morrison is keeping company as a Faber author with literary giants and concentrates on lesser lyrics from the book as examples rather than the more evocative selections of which there are many.

However, far worse was the “repetitive gibberish” comment the Irish Independent saw fit to publish in its attack on the lyrics. By contrast the most considered, knowing, and non-judgmental review in the national newspaper reviews so far has been Gerald Dawe’s in The Irish Times and not just because it’s positive but because Dawe displays greater insights into what makes Morrison tick as a lyricist in the first place. SG