A&E (song)
| "A&E" | ||||||||
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| Single by Goldfrapp | ||||||||
| from the album Seventh Tree | ||||||||
| Released | 11 February 2008 | |||||||
| Format | CD single, Digital download, 7" picture single | |||||||
| Recorded | 2006–2007 | |||||||
| Genre | Folktronica, dream pop, electropop | |||||||
| Length | 3:19 | |||||||
| Label | Mute | |||||||
| Writer(s) | Alison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory | |||||||
| Producer(s) | Goldfrapp, Gregory | |||||||
| Goldfrapp singles chronology | ||||||||
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"A&E" (short for "Accident and Emergency", the term used in the UK for the emergency department of a hospital) is a song performed by British duo Goldfrapp. The song was written and produced by Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory for the duo's fourth album Seventh Tree (2008). It was released as the album's first single on 11 February 2008.
"A&E" was composed as a collaborative effort between Alison Goldfrapp and Will Gregory in 2007 in a recording studio near Somerset, England. Its lyrics were inspired by Goldfrapp's visit to the emergency department of a hospital on a Saturday afternoon. The doctors "pumped [her] up with loads of painkillers" and she described the situation as a "bit surreal." According to Goldfrapp, the song is a metaphor for a horrible relationship. The track describes Goldfrapp reflecting on a bad situation which resulted in an "accident and emergency." (A&E) The situation made her "feel blue" and at the end of the song she concludes that finally "the pain has started to slip away" even though she admits there might be "pills at work." The Lyrical reference to a "backless Dress" is not some fancy evening wear but is a description of standard hospital gown or pajamas given to all hospital patients which fastens at the back for easy removal from a sleeping or otherwise imobile person by nurses or theatre staff.
The music video for "A&E" was directed by Dougal Wilson. In sharp contrast to the song's hospital themes, the video uses a nature theme. The video features Alison Goldfrapp in a forest wearing a white dress. It begins with Goldfrapp lying in a clearing, looking up at the camera. She is soon joined by several leaf-men who dance around her as she sings. Midway through the video, day turns into night and Goldfrapp is joined by several woodland creatures. The video concludes with Will Gregory playing a guitar and making tea beside an orange tent.
The video premiered on 12 January 2008 on Channel 4 in the UK. In a review for Drowned in Sound, Alex Denney described the video as "weird" and compared it to music videos by Kate Bush and The Mighty Boosh. Pitchfork Media reviewer Marc Hogan wrote that the video was a "good fit for Goldfrapp's bright, folksy turn" and praised its "twist ending."
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