"Nothing Is Keeping You Here" is a song by the Norwegian band a-ha taken from their ninth studio album Foot of the Mountain (2009). It was written by band member Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, produced by Roland Spremberg and it contains elements produced by Mark Saunders. It was released as the second single from the album in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2009, (whereas in mainland Europe "Shadowside" was used as the second single) and as the third single in Europe on 20 November 2009. In an interview in Norway, Waaktaar-Savoy stated that the track was the first song to be written for the album while on tour.
A pop song, "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" received a more electronic approach to it when it was released as a single. Its instrumentation consists in guitar, bass, drums and piano backbone. Lyrically, "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" has themes of transience and restlessness. It appeared on the soundtrack for the German feature film Zweiohrküken (2009) and its "original version" was included on the deluxe edition of the band's tenth studio album Cast in Steel (2015). The song received generally positive reviews from music critics, who went on to praise Morten Harket's vocal range on the track. It charted on German Singles Chart for four weeks, reaching number 65. Its accompanying music video was directed by German music director Uwe Flade.
Background and release
After the success of the lead-single "Foot of the Mountain", "Nothing Is Keeping You Here" was selected to be the album's second single in the United Kingdom, whilst in mainland Europe "Shadowside" was released as the second single instead. In the United Kingdom, the digital single was released on 20 September 2009, including two versions of the song: the "UK radio edit" and the album's version. The UK "radio edit" was remixed by Steve Osbourne, and it rearranges much of the track's structure, moving the third verse to the beginning and mixing it within parts of the first verse, while its final chorus becomes the first chorus. The song was later released as the third single of the album in Germany on 20 November 2009. Its German-CD single features the "single edit", which was the version used in its music video and later on the band's compilation 25: The Very Best of a-ha (2010). The song was featured on the soundtrack for the German feature film Zweiohrküken (Rabbit Without Ears 2) (2009). A slow-version of the song entitled "original version", which can be also interpreted as the demo version, became available on the deluxe edition of a-ha's tenth studio album Cast in Steel (2015).
Composition and lyrics
"Nothing Is Keeping You Here" was written by band member Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, who wrote its words and music, while production was done by Roland Spremberg. It also contains elements produced by Mark Saunders. In an interview with Magnus S. Rønningen of the Norwegian website Massiv.no, Waaktaar-Savoy claimed that the song was the first song to be written for the album during the band's tour in 2008. It was considered one of the most traditional pop songs on the album, with instrumentation consisting in guitar, bass, drums and piano backbone. It opens with a guitar riff, followed by the band's formula of "relaxed" verse and "rousing/interesting" chorus. Lyrically, it deals with themes of transience and restlessness, with Morten Harket singing in one of the chorus, "And everybody talks/And everybody stares/It’s safe to say that/Nothing is keeping you here."