Moondance

Morrison said he wrote the melody first, playing it on a soprano saxophone, and then wrote lyrics to fit. He called it a sophisticated song that Frank Sinatra would not be out of place singing. It is played mostly acoustically over a walking bass line from John Klingberg, with piano, guitar, saxophones and flute. Jef Labes plays a piano solo, followed by an alto saxophone solo from Jack Schroer, and near the end Morrison imitates a saxophone with his voice. Labes said the song was so strong you almost can't mess with it, and Pitchfork's Ryan H. Walsh wrote that it was tried dozens of times in different tempos and styles before it settled.

It was not issued as a single until 1977, when it reached number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rolling Stone placed it at number 226 in its 2004 list of the 500 greatest songs, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame lists it among 500 songs that shaped rock and roll. It is the song Morrison has played most frequently in concert, and it appears in 1,178 of the 2,253 logged setlists that list songs. He left it off It's Too Late to Stop Now because of one wrong guitar note, and a live recording appeared on the 2016 box set. Other live versions include a medley with My Funny Valentine on A Night in San Francisco in 1994 and a performance with Georgie Fame at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club.