John Payne, the flautist who had been working with Morrison, said it was the first time he had ever heard it, and that although the song may sound rehearsed it was actually captured from the only take.
[1][2] Morrison described the song "Astral Weeks" as being: "like transforming energy, or going from one source to another with it being born again like a rebirth.
"[3] Morrison told Steve Turner that he was working on the song back in Belfast in 1966 when he visited painter Cecil McCartney who had drawings on astral projection "and that's why I called it "Astral Weeks".
[1] Brian Hinton's review of the song states: "All is uncertain, this spiritual rebirth a question still, not a statement, and Van equates his move to a new world — both America and that of love— with a sense of being lost, "ain't nothing but a stranger in this world".
The song "Astral Weeks" has been covered by Glen Hansard of The Frames,[6] Brian Houston,[7] and The Secret Machines on their EP The Road Leads Where It's Led.