Run to You (Roxette song)

According to Ultimate Guitar, "Run to You" has a medium tempo of 99 beats per minute. The verse is composed of two repetitions of Bm–A–G–A–Bm–A–G–D–Bm, with the pre-chorus consisting of two short bars of E–D–C. The first two choruses are made up of two sequences of G–C–E–D–G–C–G–D. The middle 8 consists of an E–Bm–G–Bm–D sequence, followed by an orchestral instrumental refrain of A–D–E–A–D–A–E–Bm–A–E–D. The final chorus and outro are made up of a repeating A–D–E–A–D–A–E pattern.[2]

Writer Per Gessle said he is "especially fond of the middle-8. It's not as important in today's pop music as it used to be, but for me the greatest songs always had a fantastic middle-8, taking you somewhere else before building up to the chorus again. It's almost like a song within a song."[3] The single contains one B-side: a demo titled "Don't Believe in Accidents", which was written by Gessle on 29 March 1988 as a way to "learn how to use my new synthesizer. I wrote another one as well, probably the same day... that was "The Look". A decent Tuesday."[4]

In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "The current single sees the Swedish duo in jangly acoustic mode, producing a not totally unpleasant single but one with work to do if it is going to be a major hit for them."[5] A reviewer from People Magazine complimented Fredriksson's vocals as "more subtle and graceful than her partner’s grating, affected rasp."[6] Pete Stanton from Smash Hits stated that "Per and Marie have done it again", adding that Roxette are "big Euro-pop-marshmallow-soft-rocking stars". He noted the song's "pleasant guitars frolic with twirling violins and wow, we're in Happy Land."[7]

The accompanying music video for "Run to You" was directed by Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund, and consists of behind-the-stage footage of the band during the "Crash! Boom! Bang! Tour". It features shots of the band travelling and performing during sound-checks, and ends with a scene of the band taking to the stage at the tour's 18 October 1994 date at the Festhalle in Frankfurt, Germany.[8]

All songs were written by Per Gessle, except "Listen to Your Heart" by Gessle and Mats Persson.

• UK 7-inch and cassette single (EM360)

1. "Run to You" – 3:39
2. "Love Is All (Shine Your Light on Me)" (edit) – 4:33

• CD single (Australia · Europe 8651292 · UK CDEMS360)

1. "Run to You" – 3:39
2. "Don't Believe in Accidents" (demo, 30 March 1988) – 3:42
3. "Crash! Boom! Bang!" (demo, 6 May 1993) – 4:15
4. "Almost Unreal" (demo, February 1993) – 3:25

• UK CD2 (CDEM360)

1. "Run to You" – 3:39
2. "Listen to Your Heart" (7-inch edit) – 4:05
3. "Joyride" (7-inch version) – 3:59
4. "How Do You Do!" – 3:12

Credits adapted from the liner notes of The Pop Hits.[3]

Studios

• Recorded at Capri Digital Studios (Capri, Italy) and EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)
• Mixed at EMI Studios (Stockholm, Sweden)

Personnel

• Marie Fredriksson – lead and background vocals
• Per Gessle – lead and background vocals, guitars, mixing
• Anders Herrlin – bass guitar, engineering, programming
• Mats Holmquist – string arrangement, conducting
• Jonas Isacsson – guitars
• Clarence Öfwerman – keyboards, string arrangement, production, mixing
• Stockholms Nya Kammarorkester (credited as SNYKO) – orchestration
• Alar Suurna – mixing, engineering