"Come Running" is a song written by singer-songwriter

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and included on his 1970 album ''

Moondance ''Moondance'' is the third studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was released on 27 January 1970 by Warner Bros. Records. After the commercial failure of his first Warner Bros. album ''Astral Weeks'' (1968), Morris ...

''. "Come Running" was also the only song to survive the ''

Astral Weeks ''Astral Weeks'' is the second studio album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It was recorded at Century Sound Studios in New York during September and October 1968, and released in November of the same year by Warner Bros. Reco ...

'' demos for

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in 1968.

Recording

The song was first recorded at the Warners Publishing Studio, New York in early 1969 with Morrison's producer at the time,

Lewis Merenstein Lewis Merenstein (October 23, 1934 – September 6, 2016) was an American record producer, most famous as the producer of the Van Morrison album ''Astral Weeks'', and as executive producer for ''Moondance'', Morrison's 1970 album. ''Astral Weeks'' ...

. It was then rerecorded in both the spring and summer sessions in the same year, before Morrison returned to the track in the September to November sessions at the A&R Recording Studios, 46th Street, New York, that resulted in the recording of most of the tracks that were released on ''Moondance''.

Composition

"Come Running" is composed in the key of

A major A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only k ...

, with a

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of A-D-A-D-A-D-A-D-A-D-A-E-D, which changes at the

coda Coda or CODA may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Movie coda, a post-credits scene * ''Coda'' (1987 film), an Australian horror film about a serial killer, made for television *''Coda'', a 2017 American experimental film from Na ...

to A-F#m-A-D-F#m-Bm-D-A. The song has a bright rock

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

in 4/4 time, which slows at the three bar coda. Morrison described it as "a very light type of song. It's not too heavy. It's just a happy-go-lucky song. There are no messages or anything like that."

Brian Hinton Brian Hinton, MBE (born 21 September 1950) is an English poet and musicologist. In June 2006 he was honoured in H. M. the Queen's Birthday Honours List with an MBE for services to the Arts. Education Born in Southampton, Hinton studied Englis ...

's interpretation of the song was more complex: "The imagery is just like that at the end of "

Madame George "Madame George" is a song by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. It appears on the album ''Astral Weeks'', released in 1968. The song features Morrison performing the vocals and acoustic guitar. It also features a double bass, flute, dr ...

", a train passing, wind and rain ... an image of implacable nature against which human life and death play out their little games. Van and his lover 'dream that it will never end' while knowing that of course it will. Even the injunction to 'put away all your walking shoes' has a temporary sound to it." The lyrics "you come running to me, you'll come running to me" were later reused in the 1987 track "

Queen of the Slipstream "Queen of the Slipstream" is a romantic ballad written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and recorded on his 1987 album, ''Poetic Champions Compose''. In 1988 it was released as a single in the UK, but did not chart. Recording an ...

Single release

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' reviewed the single, calling it "a powerful performance that is sure to prove an immediate top of the chart winner. Performance and original material are topnotch and sure to bring Morrison back to the charts in a hurry." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said that "with further inventiveness, Morrison comes up with a bright side that has already made inroads on the AM & FM playlists." Biographer

Clinton Heylin Clinton Heylin (born 8 April 1960) is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan. Education Heylin attended Manchester Grammar School. He read history at Bedford College, University of London, ...

remarked that "the lower rung chart success of the "Come Running" 45 hardly accounts for the album's oondanceimmediate acceptance by a whole new spectrum of young adult listeners." The single peaked at number 39 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart.DeWitt. ''The Mystic's Music'', p.86

Personnel

–

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

, vocals *John Klingberg – bass *

Jeff Labes Jef Labes is an American keyboardist and musician. He is best known from his work with Van Morrison and Bonnie Raitt. Jef Labes has also arranged for string and woodwind instruments on numerous albums. Career Labes started his recording career ...

– piano *

Gary Mallaber Gary Mallaber (born October 11, 1946 in Buffalo) is a Los Angeles session drummer, percussionist and singer. He attended Lafayette High School, where he and Bobby Militello, along with other musicians, were mentored by saxophonist Sam Scam ...

– drums *Guy Masson –

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

John Platania John Platania is a session musician, guitar player, and record producer. He was born in 1948 in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, in Ulster County, near Woodstock. Career Van Morrison Platania is best known for his work with Van Morrison, beginni ...

– guitar *Jack Schroer –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in E, smaller than the B tenor ...

*Collin Tilton –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while th ...

Notes

References

*DeWitt, Howard A. (1983). ''Van Morrison: The Mystic's Music'', Horizon Books, * Heylin, Clinton (2003). ''Can You Feel the Silence? Van Morrison: A New Biography'', Chicago Review Press * Hinton, Brian (1997). ''Celtic Crossroads: The Art of Van Morrison'', Sanctuary, *Mills, Peter (2010), ''Hymns to the Silence: Inside the Words and Music of Van Morrison'', London: Continuum, *''Van Morrison Anthology'', Los Angeles: Alfred Music Publishing, 1999, {{authority control 1970 singles Songs written by Van Morrison Van Morrison songs 1969 songs Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Lewis Merenstein Song recordings produced by Van Morrison