Neil Diamond - Holly Holy live 1971

For many years Neil Diamond was a fixture in music around the world... His list of songs is long and just about everyone of them was a hit... For my next Music Interlude, I bring you a young Neil Diamond from back in 1971 performing Holly Holy...

Background:
"Holly Holy" is a song written and recorded by Neil Diamond with instrumental backing provided by the American Sound Studio house band in Memphis. Released as a single on October 13, 1969, it was a successful follow-on to "Sweet Caroline", reaching #6 on the U.S. pop singles chart by December. The song also reached #5 on the Easy Listening chart. It became a gold record and then eventually a platinum record.

A work with a spiritual focus, "Holly Holy" was influenced by gospel music and was Diamond's favorite of the songs he had written to that point. It begins quietly with acoustic guitar against a bass line, with the sparse lyric stretched with elongated vowels. Gradually the arrangement builds with a tempo shift in the bridge and a backing choir against strings lasting throughout.

"Holly Holy" was later included on Diamond's November 1969 album Touching You, Touching Me. It has been included in live versions on Diamond's Hot August Night (from 1972) and Greatest Hits: 1966–1992 (from 1992) as well as various compilations.

LYRICS:

"Holly Holy"

Holly holy eyes, dream of only me
Where I am, what I am
What I believe in
Holly holy

Holly holy dream
Wanting only you
And she come
And I run just like the wind will
Holly holy

Sing a song
Sing a song of songs
Sing it out, Sing it strong
Yeah! Yeah!

Call the sun in the dead of the night
And the sun gonna rise in the sky
Touch a man who can't walk upright
And that lame man, he gonna fly
And I fly, yeah, And I fly

Holly holy love
Take the lonely child
And the seed
Let it be full with tomorrow
Holly holy

Sing a song
Sing a song of songs
Sing it out, sing it strong
Yeah! Yeah!

Call the sun in the dead of the night
And the sun gonna rise in the sky
Touch a man who can't walk upright
And that lame man, he gonna fly
And I fly, yeah
God (And) I fly

Holly holy dream
Dream 'bout only you
Holly holy sun
Holly holy rain
Holly holy love

Writer(s): Neil Diamond

I hope you like this rendition...