Uploaded May 2011 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
Van Morrison - TB Sheets
From Album - Early Years 67-68
This song is a true story about Van's former wife who died of tuburculosis.
T.B. Sheets" was recorded on March 29, 1967 at A & R Recording Studios In New York City with Bert Berns as producer.
There is a longstanding, but perhaps apocryphal story of Morrison's emotional state during the song's recording. Michael Ochs, in the liner notes for the 1973 album T.B. Sheets, wrote that "after 'T.B. Sheets' was recorded, the rest of the session had to be cancelled because Van broke down in tears."Likewise, according to John Collis,
Morrison could later joke about this song. "I'm writing 'T.B. Sheets Part II' now," he said in 1972. "Keeping the same riff, the same groove." However, it's on record -- though the story could be exaggerated -- that after laying down this track he broke down in tears, unable to continue the session.
Lyrics
Now listen Julie baby,
It ain't natural for you to cry in the midnight,
It ain't natural for you to cry
Way in the midnight come,
Until the wee small hours
Long 'fore the break of dawn, oh Lord.
Um hmm
Ahhh
Now Julie there ain't nothin' on my mind
More further away than what you're lookin' for,
I see the way they jump at me
Lord, from behind the door, and look into my eyes,
Your little star stuck innuendows,
Inadequacies, foreign bodies.
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain, oh Lord.
So open up the window and let me breathe,
I said, open up the window and let me breathe
I'm looking down to the street below
Lord, I cried for you, I cried, Oh, Lord.
The cool room, Lord, it a fool's room,
The cool room, Lord, it a fool's room,
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets, on your sick bed.
I gotta go, I gotta,
And you said, please stay.
I want, I want a drink of water,
I want a drink of water,
Go into the kitchen and get me a drink of water,
I gotta go baby.
I send, I send, I send somebody around later,
You know we got John comin' around here
Later with a bottle of wine for you, babe.
But I gotta go
The cool room, Lord, it a fool's room
The cool room Lord, it a fool's room, a fools room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
I can almost smell your T.B. sheets T.B.
I gotta go. Gotta go
Send 'round, send one around later on,
Will see what I can pick up for ya, you know
I got a few things gotta do,
Don't worry about it,
Don't worry about it, don't worry, ah ha gotta go go go go
I gotta go,
Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,
And all right, all right,
I turned on the radio, if you wanna hear a few tunes,
I'll turn the radio on for you, there you go there you go
You'll be allright too
Ha ha Yeah
I know it ain't funny, it funny at all baby
To land in the cool room man
To land in the cool room, in the cool room
Van Morrison - TB Sheets
From Album - Early Years 67-68
This song is a true story about Van's former wife who died of tuburculosis.
T.B. Sheets" was recorded on March 29, 1967 at A & R Recording Studios In New York City with Bert Berns as producer.
There is a longstanding, but perhaps apocryphal story of Morrison's emotional state during the song's recording. Michael Ochs, in the liner notes for the 1973 album T.B. Sheets, wrote that "after 'T.B. Sheets' was recorded, the rest of the session had to be cancelled because Van broke down in tears."Likewise, according to John Collis,
Morrison could later joke about this song. "I'm writing 'T.B. Sheets Part II' now," he said in 1972. "Keeping the same riff, the same groove." However, it's on record -- though the story could be exaggerated -- that after laying down this track he broke down in tears, unable to continue the session.
Lyrics
Now listen Julie baby,
It ain't natural for you to cry in the midnight,
It ain't natural for you to cry
Way in the midnight come,
Until the wee small hours
Long 'fore the break of dawn, oh Lord.
Um hmm
Ahhh
Now Julie there ain't nothin' on my mind
More further away than what you're lookin' for,
I see the way they jump at me
Lord, from behind the door, and look into my eyes,
Your little star stuck innuendows,
Inadequacies, foreign bodies.
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain
And the sunlight shining through the crack in the window pane
Numbs my brain, oh Lord.
So open up the window and let me breathe,
I said, open up the window and let me breathe
I'm looking down to the street below
Lord, I cried for you, I cried, Oh, Lord.
The cool room, Lord, it a fool's room,
The cool room, Lord, it a fool's room,
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets, on your sick bed.
I gotta go, I gotta,
And you said, please stay.
I want, I want a drink of water,
I want a drink of water,
Go into the kitchen and get me a drink of water,
I gotta go baby.
I send, I send, I send somebody around later,
You know we got John comin' around here
Later with a bottle of wine for you, babe.
But I gotta go
The cool room, Lord, it a fool's room
The cool room Lord, it a fool's room, a fools room
And I can almost smell your T.B. sheets
I can almost smell your T.B. sheets T.B.
I gotta go. Gotta go
Send 'round, send one around later on,
Will see what I can pick up for ya, you know
I got a few things gotta do,
Don't worry about it,
Don't worry about it, don't worry, ah ha gotta go go go go
I gotta go,
Gotta go, gotta go, gotta go, gotta go,
And all right, all right,
I turned on the radio, if you wanna hear a few tunes,
I'll turn the radio on for you, there you go there you go
You'll be allright too
Ha ha Yeah
I know it ain't funny, it funny at all baby
To land in the cool room man
To land in the cool room, in the cool room
