Song Analysis - Thank You For The Music

For the longest time, Bjorn and Benny had always dreamed of writing a musical.  It was something they always wanted to try out, and when the opportunity came to go on a major European and Australian tour in 1977, they decided it was time to try out something new and make those dreams into a reality.  Thus the mini-musical, the Girl With The Golden Hair was born.

The story tells the tale of a girl, with golden hair, who loves music, has always loved music, is presented with an opportunity to leave her hometown and follow her dreams, but at the cost of leaving everything behind.  So she does, but soon realizes that show business is not as fun as it sounds.  She begins to feel like a slave to the industry, and is stuck on this carousel and can't get out, and is trapped in the music industry without being able to enjoy anything anymore.  And the musical ends there.  Kinda sad and not a very positive or uplifting outcome hahahaha.  Four songs were written for this mini-musical, those being "Thank You For The Music," "I Wonder (Departure)," "I'm A Marionette," and "Get On The Carousel."  

Now, just as a disclaimer, this musical is NOT based off of the ABBA members own personal experiences.  It's a fictitious story about how the music business can stab you in the back, and take advantage of young, innocent, unknowing people who just want to make their hobbies, aka singing and performing, into a career.  A lot of people claim that Bjorn and Benny even wrote about Agnetha, considering it's claimed that she was a poor sad woman who was taken advantage of by her bandmates when all she wanted to do was be a mother to her children, and that is false and totally not true at all.  It is just a fictional story with fictional characters.  

Anyways, the first song in the musical is Thank You For The Music, which is about the girl with the golden hair and her love for music.  She's been singing since she was a very young kid.  Her mother said she was a dancer before she could walk, and she was even singing since before she could talk.  Basically performing has been her life-long dream, and she wants to make it her career.

The version that was performed as part of the mini-musical live in 1977, is generally the same as what ended up becoming the officially released studio version that everyone today is familiar with, but there are a couple of small differences.

In the chorus, the lyrics are "So I say thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing.  Thanks for all the joy they're bringing.  I can't live without it!  I ask in all honesty, what would life be..."

And then the second verse is, "Mother says I was a dance before I could walk.  She says I began to sing long before I could talk.  Now I am so grateful to all of the guys, who bring these sweet melodies into our lives. I'm in love with them all.  I mean Brian and Chuck, John and Paul."

I actually really like this line, as in a way, it's Bjorn and Benny paying tribute to some of their own personal inspirations.  Brian refers to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, Chuck is Chuck Berry, and John and Paul refer to John Lennon and Paul McCartney of the Beatles, and it was them being such an iconic songwriting duo that Bjorn and Benny were inspired to write their own original music.

The last chorus is also repeated twice at the end of the song.

The pacing is also slightly different, with some fun piano bits from Benny thrown in throughout, especially during the second verse, and also the song feels and sounds very much like a song from a musical.

Both Agnetha and Frida played the part of the Girl With The Golden Hair, both individually and together.  Agnetha sings Thank You For The Music, and she did amazing by the way, Frida sings I Wonder, then the two of them together sing the last two songs, with there even being a dance break in between I'm A Marionette and Get On The Carousel.  Both of them wore identical costumes and wigs, and what do you know, the wigs were golden!

Now, clearly Bjorn and Benny weren't 100% satisfied with the version they presented for the musical, and so when they got around to recording it for their upcoming album, they messed around with the style of the song and changed the lyrics.  The second verse became the one we're all familiar with,

"Mother says I was a dancer before I could walk.
She says I began to sing long before I could talk.
And I’ve often wondered how did it all start.
Who found out that nothing can capture a heart like a melody can?
Well, whoever it was, I’m a fan."

And the chorus changed from "I can't live without it," to "Who can live without it?"

ABBA's first recording of the song was in more of a cabaret and jazzy style, and Agnetha sang in the style of one of her musical inspirations, Doris Day, and this version ultimately got released as the Doris Day version in 1994.  (No, Doris Day doesn't feature on the song.  It's just Agnetha trying to sing like her.)

But, they weren't satisfied with this version and arranged it to be closer to the way they performed it live, and that became official version of the song.  

Agnetha sings the lead vocals on this song, but the other three join her during the chorus, and let me just say, their joint vocals on this song are some of the most beautiful ABBA vocals.  It's got that amazing ABBA magic of all four of their voices blending together, with some lovely harmonies as well.  The way all four of them sing together in this song will always be among my top favorite ABBA vocals.

 In 1980, this song was recorded in Spanish, with the new title "Gracias Por La Musica," which also became the title of the Spanish album.  The song is pretty much the same, just in Spanish.  The first verse is, translated via Google Translate, "I am very simple and maybe a little boring.  The jokes that I know, I'm sure they come out the other way around. But there is a talent in me singular, and the thing is that the people listen to: me when I sing.  And makes me happy. I can proudly announce it, that's why."  Chorus: "I want to thank to the songs that transmit emotions. I want to thank for what they make me feel.  I must admit that with music it is worth living, that's why I want to thank you for this gift in me."  Second verse: "Everyone said that I was a precocious girl. I danced and sang and I stood out for my voice.  And today I wonder which is the reason because he always wins the great attention, a simple song.  If I have done it with my heart, that's why."  (Google translate doesn't always make the most sense, okay?? Hhahaha).  and the bridge: "How lucky I was. I am so happy when I sin.  I want us all to enjoy together. how happy, what pleasure, to exclaim."  Interestingly, I'm surprised that the reference to the Girl With The Golden Hair doesn't appear in the Spanish version.  

As the Spanish version was recorded by Agnetha and Frida alone, with Bjorn and Benny away on a songwriting vacation, that joint vocal effect that I love so much from the English version is not there.  Agnetha and Frida did an amazing job on it, no doubt, but it's just too different for me.  Agnetha's vocals are also a lot more harsh in the Spanish version, not as soft and sweet as the English one, but again, she did a good job.

The song went on to become a pretty major hit, with ABBA going on to perform it on a few different TV shows, live on their next concert tour (the recording from their last night at Wembley was also released on their 2014 live album!), live on their final live concert in 1981, and even sang a shortened version of it on their final two live performances in 1982.  The song has become pretty iconic, as it's such a lovely tribute to all musicians and songwriters, and accurately shares how much music impacts our lives and how much we appreciate it. 

The line, "without a song or a dance, what are we?" is such an impactful statement.  I don't know how the world would survive without music.  Music can play such an important part in everyone's life, whether they're just the songs of our childhood that offer a hint of nostalgia any time you hear it, a musical instrument that you're passionate about to learn and play, or as an obsessed fan of some band's music.  Music is a way to spread joy and share experiences, to read into the lyrics and find things that are applicable to you, or not if you're not into reading lyrics and just like enjoying the sound.  Music is amazing, and I think everyone is thankful and grateful for music being such a prominent part of our lives. 

 Anyways, here's a compilation of all of ABBA's performances of the song.  A lot of these were actually live performances, but I synced them up to the studio track, but I definitely recommend looking up those live versions because they sound really good.  Especially those final two performances from 1982.  They're exceptionally good and beautiful.  Also technically the earliest recording/performance of Thank You For The Music is actually from the end of 1976, when Bjorn and Benny shared a snippet of a new song on a TV report.