A Kind of Christmas Card

"A Kind of Christmas Card"
Single by Morten Harket
from the album Wild Seed
B-side "Lay Me Down Tonight"
Released August 1995[1]
Format Cassette single, CD single
Length 3:50
Label Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s) Håvard Rem
Morten Harket
Producer(s) Christopher Neil
Morten Harket singles chronology
"A Kind of Christmas Card"
(1995)		 "Spanish Steps"
(1996)

"A Kind of Christmas Card"
(1995)		 "Spanish Steps"
(1996)

A Kind of Christmas Card is a song by Norwegian singer Morten Harket, released in 1995 as the lead single from their debut solo album Wild Seed.[2] It was written by Håvard Rem and Harket, and produced by Christopher Neil.[3] "A Kind of Christmas Card" reached No. 1 in Norway and No. 53 in the UK.[4][5] Following the song's success in Norway, Harket received the Spellemannprisen "Song of the Year" award for "A Kind of Christmas Card".[1]

A music video was filmed in Los Angeles to promote the single. It was directed by Mark Neal and features Harket's wife, Camilla.[6] In Germany, the song was re-titled to "Burning Out Again (A Kind of Christmas Card)".[7][8]

The lyrics of "A Kind of Christmas Card" were written by the Norwegian poet Håvard Rem. During a visit to Los Angeles with Harket, they met with a friend of Harket's, who told them the true story of a Norwegian girl who had moved to Los Angeles to become a film star, but got involved in pornography and drugs.[1] Speaking to Robert Sandall of VH1, Harket said:

"She told Håvard quite a typical story about a young Norwegian girl who came to Los Angeles to become a film star - that was her dream. And very quickly [she] started doing X-rated movies, porno films, and got deeply involved in drugs. When my friend realised what was happening to her, she contacted the Norwegian consulate and got her put on a plane back to Norway – hopefully in time. This prompted Håvard to write the lyrics."[9]

Track listing

Cassette single (UK release)
  1. "A Kind of Christmas Card" – 3:50
  2. "Lay Me Down Tonight" – 2:18
CD single
  1. "A Kind of Christmas Card" – 3:50
  2. "A Change Is Gonna Come" – 5:57
  3. "Lay Me Down Tonight" – 2:18

Chart performance

Chart (1995) Peak
position
Norwegian Singles Chart[4] 1
UK Singles Chart[5] 53

Personnel

  • Morten Harket - vocals
  • Christopher Neil - producer
  • Bjørn Nessjø - engineer
  • Simon Hurrell - mixing
  • Barry Hammond, Kai Robøle - engineers on "Lay Me Down Tonight"

References

  1. 1 2 3 Page, Barry (2017-09-14). "LIFELINES: The Side Projects Of a-ha". The Electricity Club. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  2. ↑ "Morten Harket - A Kind Of Christmas Card at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  3. ↑ "Wild Seed - Morten Harket | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  4. 1 2 Steffen Hung. "Morten Harket - A Kind Of Christmas Card". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  5. 1 2 "MORTEN HARKET | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  6. ↑ "a-ha diary 1984 - now". A-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  7. ↑ "a-ha diary 1984 - now". A-hadiary.co.uk. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  8. ↑ "Morten Harket - Burning Out Again (A Kind Of Christmas Card) (CD) at Discogs". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
  9. ↑ "Morten Harket interview (with Robert Sandall) 1995 VH-1". YouTube. Retrieved 2018-04-11.
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