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Released Apr 24, 2002

Lifelines (2002)

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With Lifelines, a-ha began to collaborate in new ways. Eight of the songs are written by Magne, four of which were written together with Morten. The album went platinum in Norway, and the ensuing seven-month tour was kicked off at Ullevaal Stadium in Oslo.

Praised as 'complex and sumptuous' in the German press, Lifelines consistently received high marks in reviews. The recognition was hard-earned: the album was another difficult one for the band to make, and there were often tensions over each person's contribution. However that may be, in the end there were two top five hits, "Forever Not Yours" and "Lifelines."

Liner Notes:

PRODUCED BY MARTIN LANDQUIST (TRACKS 1,2,3,11,12,13), STEPHEN HAGUE (TRACKS 1,2,3,11), IAN CAPLE (TRACKS 4,9,10,15) PAUL WAAKTAAR-SAVOY (TRACK 5), TORE JOHANSSON (TRACK 6), CLIVE LANGER AND ALAN WINSTANLEY (TRACKS 7,8,14).

Track List

Disc 1 Lifelines (2002)

  • 1: Lifelines
  • 2: You Wanted More
  • 3: Forever Not Yours
  • 4: There’s A Reason For It
  • 5: Time & Again
  • 6: Did Anyone Approach You?
  • 7: Afternoon High
  • 8: Oranges On Appletrees
  • 9: A Little Bit
  • 10: Less Than Pure
  • 11: Turn The Lights Down
  • 12: Cannot Hide
  • 13: White Canvas
  • 14: Dragonfly
  • 15: Solace

Lyrics Lifelines

One time
To know that it's real
One time
To know how it feels
That’s all

One call
Your voice on the phone
One place
A moment alone
That’s all

What do you see, what do you know?
One sign; what do we do?
Just follow your lifeline through
What if it hurts, what then?
One sign, what do you say?
Don’t throw your lifelines away

One time
Just once in my life
Yeah one time
To know it can happen twice

One shot
Of a clear blue sky
One look
I see no reasons why
We can't

One chance
To go back to the point where everything starts
One chance
To keep it together when things fall apart

Just one sign
To make us believe it's true

What do you see, where do we go
One sign; how do we grow?
By letting your lifelines show
What if we do, what then?
One sign- how will I know?
Don't let your lifeline go

You're letting your lifeline go
Don't let your lifeline go

Magne Furuholmen
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics You Wanted More

You know the way, you've been before
I’ve seen the signs outside your door
You've set the rules
Their bitter taste can't be ignored
It just the same, just like before
You wanted more

I loved the sun, I loved the rain
I gave it up, but all in vain
I loved the way it was before
So bittersweet to be adored
We had it all, you let it go
You wanted more

But in the end, what is a friend
If not someone, to help pretend
Remember me,
You know my name, I'm still the same
But not for you, that's not enough
You wanted more

I loved the sun, I loved the rain
I gave it up, but all in vain
We couldn’t change, you know the score
So bittersweet to be adored
We had it all, you gave it up
You wanted more

Just say it
You loved the way it used to be
The way it was with you and me
It came to late and left too soon
Just like the rings around the moon
We had it all, you let it go
You wanted more

We had it all
You gave it up
You wanted more

Words: Magne Furuholmen
Music: Magne Furuholmen & Morten Harket
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Forever Not Yours

Hold me tight
This is a lonely night
And I’ve hurt you baby
Because you are my light

Make me strong
Just like you make me weak
When your hands reach out for me
Even in your sleep

(I'll soon be gone now)
Forever not yours
(It won't be long now)
Forever not yours

Memories
They keep coming through
The good ones hurt more
Than the bad ones do
The days were high
And the nights were deep
And I miss you baby
I miss you baby

I'll soon be gone now
Forever not yours
It won't be long now
Forever not yours

I'll soon be gone now
It won't be long now
Forever not
Forever not yours

I'll soon be gone now
Forever not yours
It won't be long now
Forever not yours

I'll soon be gone now
Forever not yours
It won't be long now
Forever not yours 

Words: Morten Harket & Ole Sverre Olsen
Music: Magne Furuholmen & Morten Harket
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics There's A Reason For It

Don't know how it got away from me
Don't know how I let things go, you see
Don't know why it took a sudden turn
Didn't seem to be a big concern

And everything is all too much
Hot and bothered, yet cool to the touch
And everyone is worlds apart
It must have been this way right from the start

When there's nothing here to save the day
Then we have to say
There's a reason for it
When there's nothing left for us to do
You're left without a clue
There's a reason for it

Don't know how it got away from me
Don't know how I let things go, you see
Don't know why it took a sudden turn
Guess it means I have a lot to learn

And everyone is all too well
All well-adjusted people, can't you tell
And everything is all too fast
Just add water, nothing's built to last

When your colleagues can't recall your name
Time and time again
There's a reason for it
When your name's the butt of every joke
You're just about to croak
There's a reason for it
There's a reason for it

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy 
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Time & Again

The sun brought me
The moon caught me
The wind fought me
The rain got me

The road sent me
The years bent me
The stars overwhelmed me
Time and again

But now
I can't see the stars
A star is a thing I can't see
And now
I don't feel the same
To feel is a thing that can't be

Work rushed me
Fame brushed me
The streets hushed me
As life touched me

Time placed me
Events dazed me
Love saved me
Now and again

But now
There can be no love
Love is a thing that can't be
And now
There can be no trust
Trust is a thing I can't see

But now
There can be no love
Love is a thing that can't be
And now
I can't be so strong
Strong is a thing I can't be

Time and again
Time and again
The sun brought me 

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Did Anyone Approach You

You never look up
You never look back
You never say anything based on fact
You've got issues going way back

You never say hi
You never say much
You never make an effort to stay in touch
I got this feeling something happened here
Something happened here

Did anybody feel you
Did anybody deal you
Did anybody make you do some things now
Did anyone approach you
Did anybody coach you
Did anybody tell you what to say now

Hopeless, it's not hopeless
Doubtful, but not hopeless
At all

You never come clean
You never stay clean
You never do anything in between
Everything is black and white with you

You never believe
You never belong
You never make milestones to call your own
I got this feeling something happened here
Something happened here

Did anybody hide you
Did anybody fight you
Did anyone decide to do some harm now
Did anybody read you
Did anybody bleed you
Did anybody feed you lots of junk now

Hopeless, it's not hopeless
Doubtful, but not hopeless
At all 

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Afternoon High

Ah, the sunlight hits the corner of your eye
As it bounces off the morning sky
A summer in the 70's fly by
Bye!

Ah, daylight hits the corner of your mind
Steals the thoughts you thought
No one could find
close your eyes
And it will rob you blind

Incidental memories collide
Sentimental reveries abide
An afternoon high

Ah, daylight hits the corners of your mouth
Steals the words
That filled you up with doubt
Open up and let them all fall out

Ah, honey smooths the wrinkles from the bed
Gone the indentations of your head
Leaving just a frown upon your forehead

Worry works a wrinkle over time
Open up and let it rob you blind
Incidental memories collide
People tell me you've been blinded by;
An afternoon high
Afternoon high

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Oranges On Appletrees

Oranges on appletrees
Bugs that mate with bumblebees
Oranges on appletrees

Water comes and water goes
Where it ends up no one knows for sure
Water rises, waterfalls
Where it comes from no one knows for sure
It seeps from every pore
We have seen the rain before
But not like this, it’s flooding every shore

People come and people go
I can hear their laughter through my door
But no one’s keeping score

Oranges on appletrees
Bugs that mate with bumblebees
One big happy family
Endless possibilities
Oranges on appletrees – and more

I see your face in front of me
You believed what no one else could see
I feel it deep inside of me

Everything we know shall be renewed
And everyone will see
Oranges on appletrees – and more

I used to be the only one
Not now since you have come
’Cause you and I have seen the signs
That’s why we’re running blind

Oranges on appletrees
Birds that mate with bumblebees
Endless possibilities

Oranges on appletrees
All the things that we can see
Multigender wannabes

Oranges on appletrees
Bugs that make with bumblebees
One big happy family
Endless possibilities 

Words: Magne Furuholmen
Music: Magne Furuholmen & Morten Harket
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics A Little Bit

And it will take a little bit of extra time
To make it shine
To make it shine
And it will take a little bit of extra care
To bring it where
You think it's there

And there's no one else around
But this is what I've found

Anyone you see
Anyone you meet
Someone at your feet
Anyone could be the one
Anyone you know
Anywhere you go
someone at a show
could be that one

And it will take a little less than all you've got
To get a shot
To get a shot
And it will take a little bit of extra care
To bring it where
You think it's there

And there's nowhere else to go
But this is what I know

Anyone you see
Anyone you meet
Maybe down the street
Anyone could be that one
Everywhere you look
The pages of a book
All the years it took
Everything that got you down

And it will take a little while to get back home
The road is long
The road is long
And it will take a little work to get it back
To mend the cracks
To bridge the gaps

Anyone you see
Could be the one
Anyone you meet
Could be that one
Someone at your feet
Could feel the same
Making you complete
Could share your name

Everywhere you look
The pages of a book
Everything she took
Never let it keep you down
You're holding out for news
All broken up and bruised
A loser born to lose

Anywhere you go
Anyone you know
You think it doesn't show
But everybody knows
Anyone you see
Maybe down the street
Someone at your feet
Could be that one

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Less Than Pure

We're gonna go downtown
I hear this great new place
Has opened up
And when we get there
I don't know
It's taking ages, don't you know

How long, how long
Will this go on?
How long, how long
The time drags on
How long - I find I can't go
On much longer now

But the place in question
Is hard to find
Not a cab ride to the door
And you wonder in your doubtful mind
Is it really worth all that and more?

We seem to be
A little lost or something
I'm not really sure
About the choice we're making
The toll it's taking

How long, how long
Will this go on?
How long, how long
The time drags on
How long - I find I can't go
On much longer now

But the place in question's hard to find
Like an illness without cure
And our minds are growing wearier
And our hearts are less than pure
Less than pure 

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Turn The Lights Down

Turn the lights on, the night is too long
Keep yourself warm, I'm coming home
I cannot help you, you yourself must see
Decide now what you want to be
Turn the lights down, the lights are too strong

When you're down and out, just hold on
Realize that nothing lasts long
We must believe the things we cannot see
Everything's allright with me
Turn the lights down, the lights are too strong
I'm coming home

I just want to sleep by your side
It makes me feel so alive
I just want to sleep for awhile

Turn around, the night is still young
Keep your lights on, I'm coming home 
You must decide now where you want to be
You're the one that said to me
Realize that nothing lasts long
I'm coming home

I just wanna sleep by your side
It makes me feel so alive

So easy to love from a distance (I still care)
Hard to be near when you can
Impossible now to get back to
Where we began

I just wanna sleep by your side
It makes me feel so alive
I just wanna sleep by your side
I just wanna sleep through the night

Magne Furuholmen & Morten Harket
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Cannot Hide

Can you see me babe
Standing in the light
I feel your cat’s eyes on me
Phosphor in the night

I’ll move inside
got those eyes
something’s burning baby that’s allright
you and I here tonight

Meet me on the other side
(‘cause you can do me right)
Take me where I cannot hide
(‘cause you can do me right)
Meet me on the other side

you don’t know me girl
I’m faceless in the crowd
the things I could show you, babe
c’mon, c’mon to my cloud

I’m alive and tonight
something’s falling, babe
You and I, or the sky
I can see it in your eyes

Meet me on the other side
(‘cause you can do me right)
Take me where I cannot hide
(‘cause you can do me right)
Tonight
Take me to the other side
(‘cause you can do me right)

Words: Morten Harket & Ole Sverre Olsen
Music: Morten Harket & Martin Landquist
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics White Canvas

Stories are painted
In lines on your face
Misunderstandings and little mistakes
A chance to start over is all that it takes
You know if you do;
Your life is a canvas, the colours are you

Follow me out, follow me round
Let’s make the road up as we go along
Just as we planned
You want to believe it, you know that it’s true;
Your life is a canvas, the colours are you

You cannot erase them;
The words that were said -
Just paint them over inside of your head
All that is needed;
You know you must make just one leap of faith
Everything else will fall into place

Follow me out, follow me round
Let’s make it up and go back
To where we began
All that is needed is one leap of faith -
Everything else will fall into place

Anywhere you’ll ever go
Everyone you’ll ever know
You may never find it
Everyone you’ll ever see
Anyone you choose to be
How you look will decide
What you see

Follow the moon
Follow the sun
Let’s make a deal this time
To stay with the plan
All that is needed is one leap of faith
Everything else will fall into place

Stories are painted
In the lines of your face 

Magne Furuholmen
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Dragonfly

I will never let you down
I will always be around
I will never raise my voice
I will keep this tender poise

In the time we are here
We'll see love disappear
In the time that we're here
We'll be lost in our fear
Lost in our fear

I will never bring you down
I will always stick around
I will heat you when you're cold
I will nurse you when you're old

In the time we have left
We'll raise eyes to the sky,
Don't ask how, don't ask why
Just fly dragonfly
Fly, dragonfly 

Magne Furuholmen
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

Lyrics Solace

Some sign of forgiveness
Some form of relief
Is all that she asks for
Is all that she needs

She waits for the day when
She'll feel more at ease
Some time to be cared for
Some time left in peace

Cold stars of the future
They burned bright in the past
But these moments of solace
They won't last
They don't last

You're wasting the moment
Biding your time
No one got ahead
Standing in line

So something is over
Before it's begun
So close she could taste it
But now it is gone

Cold stars of the future
They burned bright in the past
But these moments of solace
They won't last
They cannot last

You're hoping for solace
Well just look around
Everyone here is
Standing in line

Solace now 

Magne Furuholmen
© 2002 Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

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