"Cry Wolf" is a song by Norwegian band

A-ha A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...

, released as the second single from their second studio album, ''

Scoundrel Days ''Scoundrel Days'' is the second studio album by Norwegian new wave band A-ha, released on 6 October 1986 by Warner Bros. Records. A remastered edition with additional tracks was released in 2010. Production ''Scoundrel Days'' was the second lo ...

'' (1986).

Background

The lyrics "Night I left the city I dreamt of a Wolf..." are credited to

Lauren Savoy Lauren Lucia Savoy is an American musician and film director. Upon graduation from the London Film School, Savoy started directing music videos and commercials. She has original songs in the movie "Hawaii, Oslo" as well as "One Night at Mcool's." ...

, who was later married to the band's guitarist

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million alb ...

Commercial performance

"Cry Wolf" was the most successful single from the ''Scoundrel Days'' album in the United States, where it peaked at number 14 on the

Hot Dance Music/Club Play Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as th ...

charts and number 50 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, though it would be the band's last entry on that chart. The single reached the top 40 in various other countries, including top-five placings in the United Kingdom and Ireland, as well as number two in Norway. The single was certified silver by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI) on 1 January 1987.

Music video

The video was directed by

Steve Barron Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker. He is best known for directing the music videos for the songs "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Summer of '69" and " Run to You" by Bryan Adams, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Stra ...

in Couches at the Chateau de Couches,

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, France. The theme of the video was taken from the fable ''

The Boy Who Cried Wolf The Boy Who Cried Wolf is one of Aesop's Fables, numbered 210 in the Perry Index. From it is derived the English idiom "to cry wolf", defined as "to give a false alarm" in e''Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable'' and glossed by the ''Oxford E ...

'', which was also the inspiration for the song.

Track listings

*UK 7-inch single (Warner Bros. / W 8500) # "Cry Wolf" (Album Version) - 4:05 # "Maybe, Maybe" - 2:34 *UK 12-inch single (Warner Bros. / W 8500T) # "Cry Wolf" (Extended Version) - 8:12 # "Cry Wolf" (Album Version) - 4:05 # "Maybe, Maybe" - 2:34

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

1986 singles 1986 songs A-ha songs Music videos directed by Steve Barron Songs written by Magne Furuholmen Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Alan Tarney {{1980s-single-stub