Song Analysis: Burning My Bridges

 Appearing at the 8:56 second mark in ABBA Undeleted is a short 1 minute and 26 snippet of a track titled Burning My Bridges.  Recorded June 3, 1980, the track is about a frustrated partner tired of the way their relationship is playing out, and instead of continuing to put up with it, the narrator of the song decides they're officially done with it and cutting ties.  

From the very little bit of information that we get from the song, you get the feel that the narrator's partner has been extremely nasty, hooting and hollering all the time, which makes the narrator stressed and upset.  So they decide to what's right for them, which is burning all the bad bridges from before, prioritizing themself, and giving themself peace.

Although the song is short, I actually find it to be very inspiring.   I feel like this song, although it isn't about being in a healthy relationship, is a really good and healthy song.  Prioritizing your needs and your mental health is a very important thing, and if a relationship just isn't working out no matter how hard you try, then ending it may just be the best thing.

Bjorn sings the leads on this song, although the track is just a demo, so it wouldn't surprise me if the intention was to have Agnetha or Frida or both take the lead.  But I actually like how Bjorn sounds singing it.  However as it is just a demo, he sounds rather bored and lazy while recording, which in a way  conveys how sick and tired the main character of the song is.

Musically, it definitely doesn't sound like a song that was fit for the Super Trouper album.  It has a very country, southern feel to it.  I'm curious how the song would have sounded with more of the synthesizer pop sound that a lot of Super Trouper tracks have.  

Also, I mentioned this before in my post about Hamlet III, but a portion of the melody from Hamlet was reused for Burning My Bridges, specifically the line "Burning my bridges, moving at last.  Girl I’m leaving and I’m burying the past" is the same melody as the line "Autumn’s chilly winds were blowing through the trees the rain fell softly on your face," as in Hamlet.  Unfortunately, no matter how much Bjorn and Benny tried to use this melody in an ABBA song, it never ended up happening and instead the song remained an instrumental track that Benny would eventually release as "Lottis Schottis."

Of course, I like this song, I like every single ABBA song, but I really wish they would have released this song in full.  Honestly, why not just release all the Undeleted tracks in full??  Please???