Song: It Will Take A Long Long Time
Album: Have A Nice Day
Year: 1999
Track: #6

Is Per channeling a bit of “Sunny Came Home” by American folk singer Shawn Colvin? Always felt that when I heard this song. Regardless. What a glorious ray of sunshine this gentle, exquisite pop song is!

Clarence never liked it apparently. He rarely likes the songs I do. How can you not fall in love with this gorgeous song? I always wanted this to be a single off the album. Then again, “Crush On You” would’ve been a leading single for me… and of course “7Twenty7” should’ve been thrown in the mix too. Anyway. Back on topic.

In 1999,  the recipe was there for this song to make an impact. Two words: Runaway Bride. Pretty Woman director Gary Marshall reunited the classic pairing of Richard Gere and Julia Roberts in a rom-com and the movie even featured a Roxette ballad. Sound familiar? Yes, nine years after “It Must Have Been Love” dominated the charts, the chance to put the old team back together was there. “It Will Take a Long Long Time” briefly features in the movie but for whatever reason, does not feature on the Soundtrack.  Sure the movie wasn’t a mega smash hit like it’s predecessor was but still, it did OK and it would’ve been a perfect tie in but alas, it wasn’t to be for the heartbreaking Have A Nice Day era where so many things went awry – I could write a book about that era, eats at my soul to this very day. Such astonishingly good material and so many things that didn’t go to plan – and yet people bought Cher’s auto tuned come back? Go figure! Anyway, back to the lush ballad.

During the Room Service Tour,  the band pulled out a few songs from the Have A Nice Day album but unfortunately, this one didn’t make the cut. They even did their usual acoustic segment of the night but the nod went to “Fading Like a Flower” and “Spending My Time” – this track performed live would’ve been really cool.

What do we think about the “Inganakee leo yo – Inganakee leo” mantra in the middle? Does it confuse the song to the point where it’s a bit distracting or is it a lovely break and a chance to reset before the gentle guitar solo? Share your thoughts below.

Regardless, this song deserves so much more attention. It’s not a “lead” single song but that’s what makes Roxette albums so amazing, each song has their own place and serves a greater narrative and helps reinforce the tone of the album. Extremely underrated song, relaxed, chilled out and of course, Marie’s amazing vocals, so controlled yet so capturing.

Here’s what Per had to say about “It Will Take A Long Long Time” in his book Songs, Sketches and Reflections: “Written for Marie and Roxette’s Have A Nice Day album. Recorded in Marbella, Spain, we did a couple of different versions between the bottles of Rioja and the mighty paella”

“…an angel smiled across the room all in all it was a lazy afternoon”

Thoughts from The Daily Roxette crew:

Paul: Runaway Bride was not a good movie. This song was so hidden in the movie as well, there was no way it was going to repeat the success of IMHBL. The song itself is nice enough, although the line “oh what a jar!” makes me cringe still.

Thomas: “Not a good movie”… “Not a good movie”?! Well let me put it like this, it’s probably the second worst movie of all time! Only “Bridesmaids” beats it, and beats it good. About the song though, cute, I like it. Isn’t there another version of it somewhere? Modern Rock version? I don’t seem to recall if it’s any different. I may be wrong though. So many songs, so little time.