"The Blood That Moves the Body" is a song by Norwegian band

A-ha A-ha (often 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 ros ...

, released on 6 June 1988 by

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

as the second single from the band's third studio album, ''

Stay on These Roads ''Stay on These Roads'' is the third studio album by Norwegian band A-ha, released on 3 May 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. Six singles were released from the album. Recording A Synclavier, Sequential Circuits Prophet 5, Yamaha DX-7, Roland D-50, a ...

'' (1988). The song was written by bandmember

Pål Waaktaar 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 synth-pop band a-ha, which has sold more than 50 mill ...

and produced by

Alan Tarney Alan Tarney (born 19 November 1945) is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spenc ...

. It peaked at number one in Iceland, and was a top 20 hit in Belgium, Ireland, Italy and South Africa. The music video was directed by

Andy Morahan Andrew Douglas Morahan (born 11 August 1958) is a British commercial, film and music video director. He is the son of director Christopher Morahan and the half-brother of actress Hattie Morahan. Married to Joanna Lewis, he has two children. ...

and filmed in Austria and France. On 30 March 1992, the song was re-released with the remixes by Alan Tarney. The video remained unchanged. The dark, enigmatic lyrics of this song have been attributed to many things, including teen suicides in Japan and literary references to '' Eyes of a Blue Dog''. The "Two-Time Gun mix" was later included on A-ha's 2010 compilation album, '' 25'', which features all of the band's hits, across two CDs.

Critical reception

Bob Stanley from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "In the absence of any

Stock Aitken Waterman Stock Aitken Waterman (abbreviated as SAW and also known as the Hit Factory) are an English songwriting and record production trio consisting of Mike Stock, Matt Aitken and Pete Waterman. The trio had great success from the mid-1980s throug ...

product this is far and away the best chart pop single of the week. Morten Harket's voice ranges from gruff 'n' moody to its more familiar velveteen lilt, backed by a string arrangement John Barry would be proud of — very good indeed."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "The Blood That Moves the Body" was directed by

and filmed in and around Hotel Regina Louvre in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Some additional scenes were filmed in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Track listings

* 7-inch single: Warner Bros. / W 7840 United Kingdom (1988) #"The Blood That Moves the Body" (album version) – 4:06 #"There's Never a Forever Thing" – 2:50 * 12-inch single: Warner Bros. / W 7840 TW United Kingdom (1988) #"The Blood That Moves the Body" (extended version) – 5:25 #"The Blood That Moves the Body" (album version) – 4:06 #"There's Never a Forever Thing" – 2:49 Track 1 is also known as "extended remix" or "extended mix". Also released as a 12-inch picture disc (W 7840 TP). * CD single: Warner Bros. / W 7840CD United Kingdom (1988) #"The Blood That Moves the Body" – 4:07 #"There's Never a Forever Thing" – 2:51 #"The Blood That Moves the Body" (extended version) – 5:25 #"

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The fourth film in the series to ...

" (James Bond version) – 4:11 * 7-inch single: Warner Bros. / W 0089 United Kingdom (1992) # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (The Gun mix) – 4:15 # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (Two-Time Gun mix) – 4:17 Remixes by

. * 12-inch single: Warner Bros. / W 0089T United Kingdom (1992) # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (The Gun mix) – 4:15 # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (Two-Time Gun mix) – 4:17 # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (The Second Gun Around mix) – 5:56 Remixes by Alan Tarney. * CD single: Warner Bros. / W 0089CD United Kingdom (1992) # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (The Gun mix) – 4:15 # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (Two-Time Gun mix) – 4:17 # "The Blood That Moves the Body" (The Second Gun Around mix) – 5:56

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blood That Moves The Body, The 1988 singles 1988 songs 1992 singles A-ha songs Music videos directed by Andy Morahan Number-one singles in Iceland Song recordings produced by Alan Tarney Songs about suicide Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy Warner Records singles