Blue Money
title: "Blue Money" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1970-singles", "1971-singles", "van-morrison-songs", "songs-written-by-van-morrison", "1970-songs", "song-recordings-produced-by-van-morrison", "warner-records-singles"] topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Money" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Blue Money |
| cover | BlueMoney.VM.jpg |
| type | single |
| artist | Van Morrison |
| album | His Band and the Street Choir |
| A-side | Blue Money |
| B-side | |
| released | 1971 |
| recorded | 1970 |
| genre | R&B |
| length | 3:40 |
| label | Warner Bros. |
| writer | Van Morrison |
| producer | Van Morrison |
| prev_title | Domino |
| prev_year | 1970 |
| next_title | Call Me Up in Dreamland |
| next_year | 1971 |
| :: |
| name = Blue Money | cover = BlueMoney.VM.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = Van Morrison | album = His Band and the Street Choir | A-side = Blue Money | B-side = | released = 1971 | format = | recorded = 1970 | studio = | venue = | genre = R&B | length = 3:40 | label = Warner Bros. | writer = Van Morrison | producer = Van Morrison | prev_title = Domino | prev_year = 1970 | next_title = Call Me Up in Dreamland | next_year = 1971 | misc = "Blue Money" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was the second of two Top Forty hits from his 1970 album, His Band and the Street Choir (the other being "Domino"), reaching No. 23 on the US chart. The US single featured "Sweet Thing", from the album Astral Weeks, as the B-side. It was released as a single in the UK in June 1971 with a different B-side, "Call Me Up in Dreamland". The song became Morrison's third best selling single of the 1970s, remaining on the charts for three months.
The lyrics have the singer promising his girl that they will paint the town together with her "blue money". Critic Maury Dean states that the theme picks up from Lefty Frizzell's 1950 No. 1 song "If You've Got the Money I've Got the Time".
Critical response
Robert Christgau, writing in the Village Voice in 1971, described "Blue Money" and "Domino" as "superb examples of Morrison's loose, allusive white r&b." Record World called it a "nifty cut" and praised Morrison's "scat singing." Cash Box said "Van Morrison heads further into the blues base that marked his early hit material, but which now serves as a change of recent pace." Billboard called it "a solid rocker that should keep [Morrison] active on the charts."
Writer M. Mark described it as "a pun-filled song about time and cash." Biographer Brian Hinton compared the song's sound to Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames: "boozy horns and a nonsensical chorus." Dean praises the song's "snarly, snappity sounds" and Morrison's "jazzy baritone."
Covers
Cristina covered "Blue Money" on her 1984 album, Sleep It Off and The Flying Pickets included an a cappella version as the title track on their 1990 album, Blue Money. The song was also featured throughout the 1985 British television film Blue Money, starring Tim Curry
Personnel
- Van Morrison – guitar, vocal
- Alan Hand – piano
- Keith Johnson – trumpet
- John Klingberg – bass
- John Platania – guitar
- Jack Schroer – baritone saxophone
- Dahaud Shaar (David Shaw) – drums
The Street Choir:
- Larry Goldsmith
- Janet Planet
- Andrew Robinson
- Ellen Schroer
- Dahaud Shaar
- Martha Velez
Charts
::data[format=table] | Chart (1971) | Peak Position | |---|---| | U.S. Pop Singles | 23 | ::
Notes
References
- Hinton, Brian, Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison, Sanctuary (1997).
- DeWitt, Howard A., Van Morrison: The Mystic's Music, Horizon Books (1983).
References
- Dewitt. The Mystic's Music. p.87
- Dean, M.. (2003). "Rock 'n' Roll Gold Rush". Algora.
- Grissim Jr., John. (2 June 1972). "Van Morrison: The Rolling Stone Interview".
- Christgau, Robert. (1 March 1971). "Consumer Guide".
- (January 30, 1971). "Picks of the Week".
- (January 30, 1971). "CashBox Singles Reviews".
- (January 30, 1971). "Spotlight Singles".
- ''Stranded: Rock and Roll for a Desert Island'', [[Greil Marcus]], ed., p.10 (1979)
- Hinton, ''Celtic Crossroads'', p.123
- (23 April 1985). "Blue Money (TV Movie 1985) - IMDb".
- [{{Allmusic
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