Released Oct 27, 1990
East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon (1990)
a-ha's fourth album, East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon, marked a departure from their previous albums. Acoustic guitars were added into the mix, and the piano replaced the keyboard/synthesizer of previous albums. The album also features the first non-Morten lead vocals, by Magne on "The Way We Talk."
Paul: "We put together a band with Norwegian musicians, and did full takes on all the songs. It was something completely different, it was a much more human expression. You can listen to it several times and find nuances, 'cause it ain't a machine spitting it out."
In 1991, a-ha was yet again on tour. This time they made history with the largest paying audience at a concert: 198,000 attended a-ha's concert at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Steven McDonald, AllMusic Guide: "This is a nicely crafted collection of songs, performed and sung beautifully, with lots of echoes and suggestions tucked into the music. While not an album one can discuss at length, it's an album that's a pleasure to listen to..."
Liner Notes:
PRODUCED BY CHRIS NEIL, EXCEPT FOR "EARLY MORNING," "EAST OF THE SUN," "WAITING FOR HER," "THE WAY WE TALK" AND "(SEEMINGLY) NONSTOP JULY" BY IAN STANLEY.
Track List
Disc 1 East Of The Sun, West Of The Moon (1990)
- 1: Crying In The Rain
- 2: Early Morning
- 3: I Call Your Name
- 4: Slender Frame
- 5: East Of The Sun
- 6: Sycamore Leaves
- 7: Waiting For Her
- 8: Cold River
- 9: The Way We Talk
- 10: Rolling Thunder
- 11: (Seemingly) Nonstop July
Lyrics Crying In The Rain
I'll never let you see
The way my broken heart is hurting me
I've got my pride and
I know how to hide
All my sorrow and pain
I'll do my crying in the rain
If I wait for stormy skies
You won't know the rain
From the tears in my eyes
You'll never know
That I still love you so
Though the heartaches remain
I'll do my crying in the rain
Raindrops falling from heaven
Could never take away my misery
But since we're not together
I´ll pray for stormy weather
To hide these tears I hope
You'll never see
Someday when my crying's done
I'm gonna wear a smile and walk in the sun
I may be a fool
But till then, darling
You'll never see me complain
I'll do my crying in the rain
I'll do my crying in the rain
I'll do my crying in the rain
I'll do my crying in the rain
Howard Greenfield / Carole King
© 1961 Screen Gems EMI Music Inc. BMI
Lyrics Early Morning
Early morning
Eight o'clock precise
I see the lonely August sun arise
Say you know
You will
Move me like you do
Out on the fields
I'm waiting the whole night through
Early morning, early morning, yeah
Ran the whole way
Down to the tracks
Through the doorway
Then a last look back
Say you know
You will
Save me like you do
Out on the fields
I've waited the whole night through
Early morning, early morning, yeah
I climbed all the stairways
To find the rooftop clear
Got the shotgun lying with me here
Say you know
You will
Move me like you do
Out on the fields
You know how it feels, yeah
Early morning, early morning, yeah
Early morning
Eight o'clock precise
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy / Magne Furuholmen
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics I Call Your Name
We got married on a cold mid-winter's morning
We said our lines
Then kissed
And it was over
Those pronouncements had such weight
I guess they made us hesitate
Hesitate
When she moved her hips
And swayed in my direction
I thought we could make it yet
And beat the isolation
But in that gentle dark
Man, we tore ourselves apart
Through the fire and rain
Through the wilderness and pain
Through the losses, through the gains
On love's roller coaster train
I call your name
Oh God we used to laugh
Is the fire dying, babe?
It hurts to ask
Let me hold you for awhile
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy / Magne Furuholmen
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics Slender Frame
Your coat is hanging loosely
On your slender frame
There's many roads to leave by
But few come back again
I don't believe it
I believe it
Take a look around and see
What's stopping you is stopping me
One moonless night we'll make it right
And vanish in the dark of night
Pack up your things and go
Run down the road, don't take it slow
Pack up your things today and run away
Yeah, run away
You say it's useless crying
Never got you far
You claim there's none as lonely
Lonely as you are
I don't believe it
I believe it
Take a look around and see
What's breaking you is breaking me
One moonless night we'll make it right
And vanish in the dark of night
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy / Magne Furuholmen
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics East Of The Sun
Half of a letter
Tells half a story
The way I see it
It's half the worry
Where I came from
I forgot too soon
East of the sun
And west of the moon
Money talks
And hey, I'm listening
I've lived without it
Enough to miss it
Where I'm going
I'll get there soon
East of the sun
And west of the moon
Ooh, never gonna get there later
You know, I wanna get there soon
Never gonna get there, baby
On a desert road to home
East of the sun
And west of the moon
Another day leaves me aching
I try to wake up
But something's breaking
Here inside me
Deep and hollow
A sound that no other sound
Could follow
I know the pain
Before the wound
East of the sun
And west of the moon
Ooh, never gonna get there later
You know, I wanna get there soon
Never gonna get there, baby
On a desert road to home
East of the sun
And west of the moon
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics Sycamore Leaves
Can't stop thinking 'bout it
It fills me with unease
Out there by the roadside something's buried
Under sycamore leaves
Wet grounds, late September
The foliage of the trees
I came upon this feeling that someone's lying
Covered by sycamore leaves
And I could never make it
And I could never see
And I could never break out
And shake its grip on me
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics Waiting For Her
Waiting for her
That's all I ever do
Waiting for her
So why didn't I
Take the measures justified
Our love has always been the same
She comes, then goes away again
Oh yeah
She used to say
We never have the breaks we should've had
Coming our way
But why didn't I take that time and put it right
Our love has always been the same
She leaves me standing out in the rain -
Oh yeah
Send her my love
She's all I'm thinking of
Oh yeah
I'm telling you
And when she's sleeping by my side
Eyes closed, all knowledge trapped inside
- Oh yeah
So why didn't I
Take the measures justified
Send her my love
She's all I'm thinking of
Oh yeah
I'm telling you
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy / Magne Furuholmen
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics Cold River
I took a ride in an automobile
Pushed my hands out against the wheel
Asked a girl if she needed a ride
She said, "Sure, babe, but I wanna drive"
Hey now, wait awhile
We're going down with a smile
Cold river - she took me down
Cold river - she took my pride
River runs so deep
It runs so deep
It runs so deep
Had to stop on account of the storm
Seemed like years since I'd been warm
We drove all night till the tires blew
Got in the back and did what you do
Hey now, wait awhile
We're going down with a smile
Cold river -- she took me down
Cold river -- she took my pride
On a sunny day
On a sunny day
(She took my pride)
All the money you made
Did you need it, babe
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy / Lauren Savoy
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics The Way We Talk
Sometimes the way we talk isn't all that good
We can't change though we know we should
Baby, these fights we have aren't always fair
Was this problem always there
If I could, I'd change, I swear
If I could, I would, I swear
Magne Furuholmen
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics Rolling Thunder
It's the weight below us
And our fate before us
Like a rolling thunder
Rolling up from under
Don't ever leave this way
I know it's getting harder, but hey
If your world should crumble, yeah
And the rain gets in
Running through your skin
Soaking you outside in
The rain ... see it falling
But I don't know how long it will be
Until the storm is over
I'll wait
I will
Like the years of silence
To the growing violence
Like a rolling thunder
Rolling up from under
Don't ever leave me this way
Wait a little longer, yeah, stay
Through all the night I tumble, yeah
When the rain comes in
I will shed my skin
Losing it from within
See the rain ... it's falling
But I won't be leaving your side
Until all is over
I'll wait
I will
So many lifetimes you've been waiting for it
All through the good times
When you tried to ignore it
You hesitate
It's come too late
You hear the sound
Of when wheels engage
When the rain comes in
I will shed my skin
Losing it from within
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy / Magne Furuholmen
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
Lyrics (Seemingly) Nonstop July
Walking by strangers
Stranger than me
We talk of the future
Between you and me
Sweet little darling
Where will we be
Sweet little darling
Where will we be
It's hard to conceive it
All comes to an end
A joke when it's funny, well
I laugh and pretend
We're fools to believe it
We're fools to try
To slow down this seemingly
Nonstop July
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 1990 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.
