The song was first recorded at the Warners Publishing Studio, New York in early 1969 with Morrison's producer at the time, Lewis Merenstein.

Brian Hinton's interpretation of the song was more complex: "The imagery is just like that at the end of "Madame George", a train passing, wind and rain ... an image of implacable nature against which human life and death play out their little games.

[5] Billboard reviewed the single, calling it "a powerful performance that is sure to prove an immediate top of the chart winner.

"[6] Cash Box said that "with further inventiveness, Morrison comes up with a bright side that has already made inroads on the AM & FM playlists.

"[7] Biographer Clinton Heylin remarked that "the lower rung chart success of the "Come Running" 45 hardly accounts for the album's [Moondance] immediate acceptance by a whole new spectrum of young adult listeners.