"Early Morning"
Single by A-ha
from the album East of the Sun, West of the Moon
B-side	"East of the Sun"
Released	February 1991[1]
Length	2:59
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Magne Furuholmen Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Producer(s)	Ian Stanley
A-ha singles chronology
"I Call Your Name" (1990) "Early Morning" (1991) "Waiting for Her" (1991)
Music video
"Early Morning" on YouTube

"Early Morning" is a song by Norwegian band A-ha, which was released in 1991 as the third single from their fourth studio album, East of the Sun, West of the Moon (1990). It was written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen, and produced by Ian Stanley.^[2] "Early Morning" reached number 78 in the United Kingdom and number 29 in Ireland.^[3][4] A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Michael Burlingame, while the video's black-and-white footage was directed by Lauren Savoy.^[5]

Recalling the song in 2015, Furuholmen revealed it references the Doors, who had been "childhood heroes" to the band.^[6]

Critical reception

Upon its release as a single, Music & Media wrote, "The band continue their brand of easy recognisable pop tunes which EHR programmers will welcome with open arms."^[7] Julian Cope of NME picked "Early Morning" as one of the magazine's "single of the week" and commented that it "could be from the second Doors album".^[8] Derry Journal remarked that A-ha had, despite releasing "some extremely dodgy records in the past", "this time around put a record out that is definitely worth the critical acclaim they have received" and added, "Should be a hit if there still any A-ha fans about."^[9] In a retrospective review of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Sassan Niasseri of Rolling Stone said the song "tells of murder and suicide, backed by a psychedelic-sounding bass drumming a la The Doors."^[10] Paul Sinclair of Super Deluxe Edition described it as "wistful adult pop".^[11]

Track listings

• 7-inch and cassette single

1. "Early Morning" – 2:59
2. "East of the Sun" – 4:47

• CD and 12-inch single

1. "Early Morning" – 2:59
2. "East of the Sun" – 4:47
3. "Train of Thought" – 4:11

Personnel

A-ha

• Morten Harket – vocals
• Paul Waaktaar-Savoy – guitars
• Magne Furuholmen – keyboards

Additional musicians

• Jørun Bøgeberg – bass guitar
• Per Hillestad – drums

Production

• Ian Stanley – producer
• Nick Davis – recording, mixing

Other

• Knut Bry – photography
• Bill Smith Studio – design

Charts

References