Most people hear it at weddings. It’s the safe bet for the "first dance" because it feels warm, familiar, and deeply romantic. But if you actually sit down and listen to Someone Like You by Van Morrison, really listen to it, you realize it isn't just another soft-rock ballad. It’s actually kind of a miracle of minimalism from a guy who spent most of the 70s trying to summon the ghosts of astral weeks and ancient Celtic spirits.
By the time 1987 rolled around, Van was in a different headspace. He wasn't chasing the manic, improvisational energy of Moondance or the sprawling mysticism of Common One. He was looking for something direct. He found it.
The Story Behind Someone Like You Van Morrison Never Told You
You have to look at the album Poetic Champions Compose to understand where this track fits. It’s an album dominated by instrumentals and jazz-inflected musings. Amidst all that high-concept stuff, this song stands out because it’s so incredibly plain. There are no vocal gymnastics here. No "it's too late to stop now" shouting matches with the brass section.
Just a piano. A subtle synth bed. And that voice.
Van’s voice is usually a blunt force instrument. Here, he’s barely whispering. He sounds tired, but in a way that suggests he’s finally found a place to sit down. That’s the core of Someone Like You by Van Morrison—it’s the sound of a restless man finding a moment of genuine stillness.
The lyrics are almost elementary. "I've been searching a long time / For someone exactly like you." It shouldn't work. It’s a greeting card sentiment. But Van Morrison has this specific superpower where he can take a cliché and make it feel like a heavy, undeniable truth just by the way he drags his vowels. He’s not singing to an audience; he’s singing to a person across a very small table.
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Why the Production Style Matters More Than You Think
In the late 80s, everyone was overproducing everything. Big drums. Gated reverb. Synthesizers that sounded like a neon nightmare. Van went the opposite direction.
- The piano arrangement is basically a lullaby. It doesn't resolve in the ways you expect a pop song to.
- The lack of a heavy drum beat allows the phrasing to breathe. You can hear him taking breaths.
- The "wash" of the background creates a sense of space, making the song feel timeless rather than dated to 1987.
It’s easy to dismiss this as "Easy Listening." A lot of critics did. They called it "Middle of the Road." But there is a massive difference between "easy" and "simple." To write something this stripped-back and have it resonate for nearly forty years requires a level of confidence most songwriters never touch.
Someone Like You and the Hollywood Effect
If we’re being honest, most of us know this song because of the movies. It’s been used so many times it’s almost a trope. Bridget Jones’s Diary is the big one, of course. It cemented the song as the anthem for the "long-suffering romantic."
But Hollywood usually picks the "pretty" part of the song and ignores the grit. When you hear it in a film, it’s usually during a montage of realization. It works because the song captures that specific feeling of relief. Not passion, not lust, but relief. The search is over.
There's a reason covers by artists like Dan Bigras or Shawn Colvin never quite hit the same note. They try to "sing" it too much. Van doesn't sing it; he exhales it. You can't replicate that kind of weary authenticity.
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The Technical Brilliance of the Composition
Musically, the track is in the key of E Major. It’s a bright key, but the tempo is so slow it feels melancholic. This is the "Van Morrison Paradox." He can make a major key feel like a rainy afternoon in Belfast.
The structure is deceptively simple.
- A long, wandering intro.
- Verses that bleed into each other.
- No real "bridge" in the traditional sense.
It just flows. It’s circular. This reflects the "searching" mentioned in the lyrics—the song itself feels like it’s been wandering for a long time before it finally settles into that final, quiet coda.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Meaning
Is it a love song? Yeah, obviously. But it’s also a song about the passage of time. When he says "the best is yet to come," he isn't saying it with the bravado of Frank Sinatra. He’s saying it like a guy who’s seen enough of the worst to know that "better" is a precious commodity.
It’s also deeply rooted in Van’s own spiritual journey. If you look at his work from the mid-80s to the early 90s (Enlightenment, Hymns to the Silence), he was obsessed with the idea of "the quiet." Someone Like You by Van Morrison is the pop-accessible version of that obsession. It’s the "quiet" personified in a partner.
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How to Truly Appreciate the Track Today
If you want to get the most out of this song, stop listening to it as background music while you're doing the dishes. Put on a pair of decent headphones. Turn off the lights.
Listen for the way the piano slightly leads the vocal. Notice the tiny imperfections in the recording. In an era of Auto-Tune and perfect digital timing, this song feels like a hand-drawn sketch. It’s human. It’s flawed. It’s perfect because of those flaws.
Honestly, the song is a reminder that you don't need a wall of sound to make a point. You just need to mean what you say. Van Morrison has spent a career being notoriously difficult and grumpy in interviews, but for these four minutes, he’s the most vulnerable guy in the world.
Actionable Steps for Music Lovers
If this song hits you in the right spot, don't just stop at the "Best Of" collections. Dig a little deeper into this specific era of Van’s career to see how he refined this sound.
- Listen to the full album Poetic Champions Compose. It provides the context for "Someone Like You" and shows Van’s interest in jazz and atmosphere at the time.
- Compare it to Have I Told You Lately. Released just a few years later, it’s the sibling song to this one. See how he uses the same "restrained" template to create another massive hit.
- Check out the live versions from the early 90s. He often extended the outro, turning the song into a meditative mantra that could last six or seven minutes.
- Look for the 1989 film The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne. The song was used there in a way that’s much more heartbreaking than the rom-coms we’re used to. It shows the song’s range.
Stop treating it like a wedding standard. Start treating it like the soulful, weary masterpiece it actually is. It’s a song about finding home when you’ve been on the road for way too long. And that’s something everyone, not just newlyweds, can understand.