Song Analysis - Happy New Year

 On April 9th, 1980, ABBA began recording another song for their newest album, Super Trouper.  With the working title "Daddy Don’t Get Drunk On Christmas Day," the song was inspired by Bjorn and Benny's desire to write a musical set during the winter holidays.   Eventually the song would become Happy New Year, a melancholy track with lead vocals by Agnetha, about how depressing the world is.  But, at least there's the new year to look forward to, and maybe just maybe, with the start of the new year, things can start looking up for the better! 

As the title suggests, the song is set on New Year's Day after a night full of celebration, partying,  champagne, toasts to the new year - a momentary pause in the dullness of the current situation, but now as the new year begins, although there is a hope and a dream for better things to happen, it all still seems very far into the future.  

In the chorus, despite the fact that Agnetha and Frida are wishing us all a happy new year and sharing vision of a world where every neighbor is a friend, there is still quite a depressing overtone, especially with the line, "may we all have our hopes, our will to try, if we don’t we might as well lay down and die, you and I," essentially telling us that if we don't hold onto the hope that everything will be okay, then there's no point in living anymore.  

In the second verse, Agnetha sings about how foolish it is to think that even when things are tough and life isn't going anywhere, everything is going to be okay, essentially telling us that just being satisfied with how things are now isn't going to make any difference, and like I kinda get that.  Life can't change for the better if we're all just living in it and doing anything to make a difference.  So although this song on a whole is rather depressing, it is suggesting that things can get better.  And even if all our dreams are dead, nothing more than confetti on the floor, who knows what could happen ten years from now. 

I've seen it mentioned how a lot of people, I think Bjorn and Benny included, don't like how the song essentially traps itself in the past with the line "who can say what we’ll find, what lies waiting down the line, in the end of eighty-nine," and I've personally never been bothered by the fact that the song is dated, because it shows how even back then, people were still hoping for a better world.  Who can say whether the world is better off now than it was then, but as the song says, what are we without hope?  Also, I think it also adds how Bjorn and Benny had no idea the song would still be relevant today and would be played every year on New Year's in a lot of households, nearly 40 years since it was written!  So in a way, the song is a reminder of how even though they didn't expect ABBA to still be popular, the band still is amongst the young and old! 

The pacing of the song is quite slow and sad, capturing the melancholy feel of the song, with the slight hint of hopefulness in the chrous.  I think this song has some really beautiful vocals from the ladies, specifically in the second half of the 2nd and 3rd choruses, specifically when Agnetha sings "dragging on feet of clay, never knowing he’s astray," and "who can say what we’ll find, what lies waiting down the line," where Frida harmonizes with Agnetha and extends the last word, showing off her stunning vocal abilities.  Agnetha and Frida also capture the emotions of the song in the chorus perfectly.

For the release of the Super Trouper album in Spanish speaking territories, ABBA rerecordeded the song in Spanish.  Although Bjorn and Benny aren't very prominent at all in the English version of the song, their lack of vocals in the Spanish one is definitely noticeable, making the song seem a bit empty.  That's not to say Agnetha and Frida don't sound amazing as usual, it's just I wish Bjorn and Benny would have recorded their vocals in Spanish.

The Spanish lyrics are generally the same as the English one.  Here they are roughly translated via Google Translate:

Verse 1: No more champagne the sparkler went out. only you, only me, the celebration has already passed.  It is the end of the party and there is a gray dawn.  Where is that yesterday that we must propose?

Chrous:  Happiness, happiness, when toasting we wish you from now on peace, love where friendship reigns.  Happiness, happiness when praying for hope to change without letting discouragement dominate and triumph

Verse 2:  And when I see that world that will come, new at last it will come from ashes. Mistaken people who pretend to be very well, you see them dragging feet of clay and walking without knowing where to go

Chorus

Verse 3: I think I understand that dreams are unfaithful, when dying, they are nothing more than candy and paper.  It is the time past, and in the years to come, who can predict what the future holds, future that we have yet to live?

Chorus

 

Although ABBA did film a music video for both the Spanish and English version of the song and released it as a single, they only performed it on one TV show that was broadcast on New Year's Eve right at midnight.  And here they all are synchronized together:

 

Of course I love this song as it's an ABBA song and I love all of them, but every year I love doing a New Year's themed speedpaint set to this song and upload it to my YouTube channel on December 31st, so like this song is very fun for me hehe.

Also, floating around on YouTube every once in a while before getting copyright stricken is a video of outtakes and bloopers from filming the music videos, and it is so delightful seeing the ABBA members expressions go from all serious to suddenly laughing.  The clip keeps on disappearing for YouTube, but when it does show up it is always a delight to watch!