Van Morrison: 'Those who are shutting down our economy haven't missed a paycheck'
Iconic singer Van Morrison is known the world over for his instantly recognizable stellar vocals. And those among his biggest fans — in this case those who lean left politically — know something else about the veteran crooner: He has an attitude and doesn't scare easily.
So it's quite a thing to witness Morrison rip into coronavirus lockdowns, then watch leftists castigate Morrison's stance — then see the singer come back for more.
What's the background?
Morrison and fellow music superstar Eric Clapton have made a number of headlines over anti-lockdown songs. Back in September, a health minister in Northern Ireland labeled Morrison's anti-lockdown songs "dangerous." Morrison's tunes "Born to Be Free," "As I Walked Out," and "No More Lockdown" reportedly target the U.K. government for using COVID-19 lockdowns to "enslave" the people.
Clapton noted late last month that he and Morrison were releasing a new anti-lockdown song, "Stand and Deliver" — penned by Morrison and recorded by Clapton — and the guitarist took a lot of grief from the left over it.
But despite the ever-looming specter of cancel culture , Morrison just won't shut up.
On Monday the singer took to Twitter to blast politicians who suffer no economic hardships due to coronavirus lockdowns since they always stay employed as long as they're in office:
Remember, those who are shutting down our economy haven't missed a paycheck since lockdown began. We are not in this together.— Van Morrison (@Van Morrison)1608565250.0
"Remember, those who are shutting down our economy haven't missed a paycheck since lockdown began," Morrison tweeted to his nearly 66,000 followers before adding a mocking zinger. "We are not in this together."
Earlier Monday he also tweeted, "10 months on and the @niexecutive still hasn't presented the science for the Northern Ireland lockdown."
How did folks react?
While it appears that the majority of fans lauded Morrison's stance ("You're spot on Van," one commenter replied. "We can't stand for this anymore."), others — whose ultimate loyalties are to their leftist causes — blasted Morrison:
- "You're dead to me," one user wrote.
- "From he who hath not had to worry about pay checks for decades!" another commenter said.
- "I am a massive fan, but you're testing me with this bulls**t, you're in the wrong side of this argument, and you much like the people you refer to are not worried about a paycheck either, whilst huge numbers of people worry about nothing else," another user noted.
Far-left singer-songwriter David Crosby predictably skewered both Morrison and Clapton for their anti-lockdown stance:
Dumb ...childish ....masks and lockdown are how you beat this ...proof is already there ...New Zealand for instanc… https://t.co/VTqIs72dHs— David Crosby (@David Crosby)1608581407.0
Specifically regarding Morrison, Crosby added the following:
Talented ....makes good records. ...but ....yeah that’s what my friends who know him say ...but then ...lots of peo… https://t.co/KeeDx5jims— David Crosby (@David Crosby)1608581584.0
The media also is in lockstep against what the Morrison/Clapton collaboration hath wrought, as Consequence of Sound titled its piece, "Eric Clapton and Van Morrison Share Awful Anti-Lockdown Song 'Stand and Deliver'"; Variety said, "Van Morrison and Eric Clapton Strike the Wrong Note About COVID-19," and the Los Angeles Times took it a step further: "Eric Clapton's anti-lockdown protest song by Van Morrison is totally worth protesting."
Here's "Stand and Deliver":
Stand and Deliver by Eric Clapton - Music from The state51 Conspiracy youtu.be
(H/T: The Daily Wire)