Released: June 12, 2009

Songwriter: Pål Waaktaar-Savoy Magne Furuholmen

Producer: Mark Saunders ​a-ha Erik Ljunggren Steve Osborne

Empty glass
Gets another round
Squeaky chair
Makes another sound
There is a gentle breeze
Playing in your hair
Come take a bow
While you’re still
All there

It’s what it is
It’s what it was
It’s what it will be here
After us

There is no memory
There’s no recall
No recollections
At all

Your dark glasses
Sliding down your nose
Now bring these proceedings
To a close

It’s what there is
It’s what there was
It’s what will be here
After us

Your dark glasses
Sliding down your nose
Now bring these proceedings
To a close

You can make it all worthwhile
You can lend yourself some style
You can give them all the reasons
Al the facts that you have seasoned

You can hear them hoot and holler
As you come across a scholar
You can set your name in lights
You can make two wrongs a right

​a-ha

A-ha is a Norweigian synth pop group formed in 1982. All ten of their studio albums have either reached #1 or #2 in Norway – the first three also reaching the top 10 in several countries across Europe – with a total of over 35 million sold worldwide. They became a ‘teen pin-up band’ and were followed by screaming, enthusiastic fans. In 2012, all three members were appointed to knighthood in Norway for their contributions to music.

Frontman Morten Harket was lured away from the blues/soul group Soldier Blue in 1982 by keyboardist Magne Furuholmen to join his band with guitarist Paul Waaktaar. When Harket saw a song in Waaktaar’s notebook that was going to be titled either “a-ha” or “A-hem”, he suggested naming the band “a-ha”.

A year later, the band released their debut single “Take On Me” in 1984 to huge success in Norway. However, when the song was re-recorded and re-released alongside their debut album Hunting High And Low in the summer of 1985 it achieved massive international success, reaching #1 in eleven countries. Its success was definitely aided by its groundbreaking, award-winning music video of pencil-sketch animation combined with live-action shots.