Song Analysis - Angeleyes

 Here we have yet another ABBA song with happy music but actually kinda sinister lyrics. With recording commencing in November, 1978, Angeleyes tells the story of someone having been reminded and then reminiscing about a past relationship.  However, it's not necessarily good memories or reminders.

The first verse sets the scene perfectly, explaining where the main character, what happened, what inspired her to remember his "angel eyes."  Last night, she was out taking a stroll, but then she saw him!  And he was with a girl, not just any girl, but a young girl.  And the way he looked at this young girl was the same exact way he had looked at the narrator back when they were in a relationship.  And the narrator thinks that maybe she needs to walk up to the young girl and warn her and this guy is not good at all, and this is all a game to her.  

The chorus goes on to explain that he has these angel eyes, and the moment you look at him, you just get hypnotized and are made to think that you're in love with him.  He takes your heart, but you then have to pay the price.  One look in his angeleyes and you're in paradise, but it won't take too long before you realize it's all a disguise.  Just don't look too deep into his angeleyes.  Don't get sucked in.  It's not worth it.

The thing I find interesting is that the chorus doesn't really explain what it is that he does that is so terrible.  Was it that he was just not a good boyfriend, like maybe he cheated on her, and she's upset by that?  Is he a groomer and/or a predator, specifically as it's noted that he was interacting with a young girl?  Is he a creep?  Is he even worse, an absolutely disgusting vile creature that needs to be destroyed?  All we know is that he is bad and is awful and everyone needs to avoid him.

Honestly, the second verse, "Sometime's when I'm lonely, I sit and think about him.  And it hurts to remember all the good times when I thought I could never live without. And I wonder does it have to be the same?  Every time when I see him, will it bring back all the pain?  How can I forget that name?" does make it seem like it wasn't all that bad and the guy was just a cheater, a manipulator, or an overall terrible boyfriend, and that's it, but also, it makes me think maybe he was an emotional abuser, and like, when the times were good, they were good, but also when they were bad, they were really, really, really bad.  And of course, having been in this relationship and now being all alone, she does get hit with that nostalgia of missing being with him when things were "good", and maybe almost thinks there's good in him and he's not all bad and he won't do the same to his next "victim", but I think that's all her internally debating with herself and trying to ignore the negatives to try and make things less hard for her.  It probably took her a long time to realize how much of a terrible relationship she was stuck in and it was difficult for her to flee and escape, but eventually she did, and she made it out.

And even though she's free now, it doesn't stop him from he's just back to going this same old same old creepy and horrible behavior, on a quest to hurt more young girls.

And honestly, I don't think we'll even know who this song specifically is about and why.  When Bjorn and Benny wrote this song, Bjorn being the one to write the lyrics, they didn't really explain further on this guy's deal, and honestly I don't think they need to.  Really, this song I think perfectly explains the feelings of people having just lost any relationship, whether it's a horrible scenario or just a simple bad breakup.  As unfortunately and terrible these type of scenarios are,they unfortunately are real, and maybe this song helps call attention to the seriousness of these situations.  While we may not know the specifics of the song, it's obviously not a positive, happy song about a long lost "good" relationship."

Regardless, Agnetha and Frida both sing the lead vocals on this song, with that perfect blend of their voices, and they sound perfect.  We've got that classic ABBA sound, lots of "ahahaha"s - a very common ABBA theme, beautiful harmonies, especially at the end of the song in the last couple of choruses.  And of course, happy music, sad/depressing lyrics.  Also, in the last section of the song, with the lines "Keep thinking.  Keep thinking about his angeleyes," repeating over and over again over some very fast paced keyboard playing, in my opinion reminiscent of Flight of the Bumblee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, is very anxiety inducing, hahaha, like maybe the narrator is having an existential crisis of some sort.

Unfortunately ABBA never performed this song, even though it was released as a double A-side single in August, 1979.  But also I think it's a bit of a complicated song to perform, so idk.  It's still an awesome song, and and of course, I love this song as I do all ABBA songs, just the lyrics have me questioning the meaning a lot haha.  

Also, I remember this song got popular on the social medias, aka Tik Tok and Instagram Reels, where people would upload clips reminiscing about lost loved ones, or just loved ones in general, to the line "Sometimes when I'm lonely...." and it just made me so mad because the song is NOT a positive song, and that line is NOT a positive line about positively reminiscing about people you love, and like when you know the full context of the song, the videos just seem so cringe.  Like maybe don't take just segments of songs and take them out of context?