Song Analysis - Watch Out

 Watch Out is quite a unique song in terms of style.  ABBA never recorded a song like this before, and never again after it.  Watch Out is this rocky song with electric guitars and loud vocals.  Bjorn sings lead on this song in a way that reminds me of other rockstars of the 70s and even 80s.  The only other time he sings in this style is on Rock Me.

I've always had a soft spot for the Bjorn(& Benny)-led songs because a. Bjorn and Benny contribute so much to the ABBA sound, it's not just Agntha and Frida who sing leads, and because a lot of people don't like any ABBA song that isn't Agnetha and Frida singing, the Bjorn(& Benny) -led songs tend to get overlooked, and b. the songs that the guys sing lead on offer AMAZING backing vocals from the girls. 

This song is so fun and exciting, but for me, not to understate Bjorn's vocals because he does an epic job on this song, is Agnetha and Frida's backing vocals.  I am OBSESSED with them.  From the layers upon layers of singing "Watch Out"s in the chorus to the "Oooh la la la"s, Agnetha and Frida make this song soooo good!

As for what the song is about, honestly I have no clue.  Is it about a stalker?  It's very much like "Tiger", which doesn't come until a good three two years later, in terms of main character in the song is saying "anywhere you go I’ll find you".  The second verse of the song is, "It’s been kind of funny lately you act like I was a stranger I think you begin to hate me but then you’re a girl in danger" definitely gives stalker vibes. Maybe the main character in the song is a creepy ex. Again, not saying this song is ABBA promoting stalking. It's just a song.  

Anyways, we do have a live bootleg recording of this song from Eskilstuna, 1975.  ABBA really bring the energy for this song.  I think it's just as good as the studio version, with Agnetha and Frida really giving their all with the backing vocals and Bjorn really rocking out.  There are even saxophones which at this funkiness to the song.

So yeah, I REALLY like this song.  It's so fun!

Song Analysis - Waterloo

My my!  

For many, Waterloo is by far one ABBA's most classic and well known songs (aside from Dancing Queen of course.)  When the word Waterloo is mentioned, ABBA are among the first things to come to mind.  That is unless you're actively discussing the battle of Waterloo or just the place Waterloo in general.

ABBA began working on this song in December of 1973, with lyrics written Bjorn, Benny, and Stig.  The song seems to have been written and recorded simultaneously in Swedish and English.  Both lyrics are essentially about the same thing, with the only differences being one is in Swedish and one is in English.

Many people make the mistake of assuming that ABBA's song is literally about the actual Battle of Waterloo, the battle that marked the end of the Napoleonic Wars.  I remember one time watching this episode of Legends of Tomorrow when the character of Mick Rory says in reference to ABBA (They had an ABBA themed episode and it was... full of inaccurate information and  I'm not going to get into it beause it makes me mad), "Why would anyone write a song about a war?"  In fact even in 1974, after ABBA won Eurovision, a reporter asked Stig if ABBA's song was making light of the amount of deaths at the battle of Waterloo.

The song starts with the line, "My, my, at Waterloo Napoleon did surrender, "or in the Swedish version, "Well, well, at Waterloo Napoleon had to surrender."  And that, along with the title of the song which repeats throughout the song, is the only connection to the actual battle of Waterloo.  

In reality, the song is a song about someone who is like "Fine, I give up.  I'm done playing hard to get, I'll give this relationship a try," or "Fine, I give up.  I accept, I'm trapped in this relationship, and I won't fight it anymore." With lines in the first verse such as: Swedish lyrics roughly translated to English: "but, but, one can meet one's fate in so many different ways. I feel myself since I met you. history repeats itself."  English lyrics: "oh yeah, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way. The history book on the shelf is always repeating itself." or in the second verse- Swedish lyrics: "Yes, yes, you defend yourself and fight for the longest time but, but, against emotions the gods fight in vain has been said it's like I heard a song I think there is love going on", English lyrics: "My, my, I tried to hold you back but you were stronger oh yeah, and now it seems my only chance is giving up the fight and how could I ever refuse I feel like I win when I lose."  

The song is comparing the main character's feeling of defeat, or acceptance, in this relationship, to Napoleon surrendering at Waterloo.  It's a very interesting metaphor? allegory?.  English lyrics: "Waterloo – couldn’t escape if I wanted to. Waterloo – knowing my fate is to be with you."  Swedish lyrics: "Waterloo - everything feels right, and that's my belief Waterloo - you are my destiny, my Waterloo."

The song is fun, catchy, and as we all know, nearly 50 years ago, ABBA submitted this song into the Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selections of the Eurovision Song Contest, won that, and then performed it at the Brighton Dome on April 6th, 1974, and won that as well.  Waterloo ended up skyrocketing ABBA into overnight success, and that's where ABBA's claim to success really starts.  Waterloo was completely different from any other song performed in Eurovision prior, which absolutely added to their success, but also their performance - dressed up in bedazzled costumes with sparkly sequins, metal shoulder pieces, and lots of satin/silk and velvet - added to that as well.  ABBA had achieved something new and unique, and they hard work was well earned.

Of course, with the newfound success with Waterloo, ABBA went on to record the song in two more languages, such as French and German.  Again, the songs are all generally about the same thing.  The first verse to the French version is: "Already, at Waterloo Napoleon had to surrender. And I believe that my destiny takes today the same path. History books and life tell the same comedy", the chorus being, "Waterloo - you are victorious and I lose the war. Waterloo - I make myself your prisoner.  Waterloo - I can no longer run away and escape you.  Waterloo - for life I promise to love you Wa Wa Wa Wa Waterloo, my Waterloo has arrived", and the second verse, "However, I tried to resist but in vain. So I think my only chance is to give up the fight.  How to still believe it when I wish for your victory".  

And the German version is, fist verse: "Like you, when you looked at me, I was already lost. And now I'm head over heels in love and I want to just be your prisoner.  From today on you are mine for me!", chorus: "Waterloo, no one took me by storm like you did. Waterloo, I came away like Napoleon.  Waterloo, I give up and I'm coming to you.  Waterloo, even if I lose my heart. Wa-Wa-Wa-Waterloo Even if I lose my heart, " and second verse: "First I thought I had to resist you. You have fought for myself and I have come to terms with time.  It's much nicer together than to definitely be a winner."

 Generally, all versions of the song are the same, and as you can tell from the snippets and rough translations, the song is not about the war of Waterloo, with blood and gore and senseless fighting.  None of that.  It shows that sometimes you just need to read the lyrics if you truly want to understand, otherwise you're just looking dumb for being ignorant.  (Sorry I've come across too many people saying ignorant things about Waterlooo and eugghhhhhh it makes me so maddddd lol)

Naturally, with Waterloo being ABBA's first major hit, we have so many different versions of the song and so many different performances.  They peformed this song live the most -  we have bootleg audio from ABBA's 1975 performance in Eskilstuna, Waterloo performed live in 1977, Waterloo performed live in 1979 and finally in the last leg of their world tour in 1980.  They have probably performed and promoted this song more than any of their other songs.

Here I have compiled all of ABBA's televesion/recorded performances that I could find.  (Technically some of the performances are slightly out of sync and I accidentally forgot one performance of the German version of the song on the show Ein Kessel Buntes, so I will have to make an update to the video at some point... juts not now because it takes a lot of work to try to sync up performances lol.)  As you can see, there are a LOT of performances, even more than Dancing Queen!  My favorite thing about this video is that you can see their first ever performance of the song in early 1974 and then the last visual recording we have of it from Japan, 1980.  6 years of performing this song.   Too bad they stopped performing live much after 1980, because I would have LOVED to see ABBA in their 1982 looks singing this song haha.

Song Analysis - Gonna Sing You My Lovesong

 Gonna Sing You My Lovesong is a song about, well, cheating, infidelity, having an affair.Personally, I don't like that haha.  The main character is singing to her man who has been having some issues in his marriage? relationship? idk.  He's clearly very comfortable telling her all the details of the issues he has been having with his partner, how she's been mad at him lately, but he wants to have be patient with her.  He says all of this about being patient with his partner while being with the main character... who he is actively having an affair with.  But the main character of the song is like "She makes you feel blue.  I'll make you feel better," and the whole song is about how she believes she can treat him better, and is better for him.  Yet she seems to accept that her man is planning to return to his partner, she's just like, "do you think she'd mind if we stay together just one more night?  Just once more?" 

I love relationship drama in the books I read, the shows I watch.(not all that much relationship drama though - sometimes it just makes me so stressed and ugghhhh I hate that.)  I accept that not all relationships work out, and people can fall in and out of love.  I just really don't like cheating.  That takes a whole level of dishonesty and to go behind someone's back and betray their trust.  It just makes me mad haha.  

I recently watched this rom-com, "He's Just Not That Into You".  It's another one of those movies in the style of Love Actually (I haven't actually watched Love Actually so don't quote me) where there's an intertwined story about a bunch of different characters and their struggles with LOVE.  Bradley Cooper plays a guy who is married to a character played by Jennifer Connelly, and Bradley Cooper is super dishonest with his wife about his whereabouts, what he does, and he cheats on Jennifer Connelly with a character played by Scarlett Johansson.  This movie has nothing to do with ABBA by the way, just the dynamic between Scarlett Johansson and Bradley Cooper is very "Gonna Sing You My Lovesong" esque.  And you very clearly know my feelings about cheating so... yeah.  Not my favorite concept.

However, all that aside, this song is actually so beautiful.  Frida takes the lead on this song, and her vocals are absolutely stunning and has this richness to it, and when the other three join in the chorus, it's just that pure ABBA magic sound.  The style of the song, with that lovely synthesizer??? intro, and the beautiful instrumental track is really nice.

We do have a live bootleg audio of this song from ABBA's performance in Eskilstuna, 1975.  Frida carries the song just as beautifully as the studio recording, with even more Frida-isms and ad-libs that really add to the performance of the song.  You guys do not understand how much I WISH we had these early 1975 performances in high quality, specifically in the last chorus.  If they sound so amazing in bootleg quality, imagine what they'd sound like in pristine quality!  I know we probably won't ever get that, but a girl can dream, right?

All in all, my personal thoughts on cheating don't take away from my enjoyment of this song, and I still really love this song, live and studio.

 Quick edit to say: I don't think ABBA are in any way promoting cheating, haha.  Nor is this a personal song to them either.  Just like pretty much all of ABBA's songs, it's just a song about made up characters in a made up scenario, inspired by human nature and different situations that humans can find themselves in.

Song Analysis - King Kong Song

For some reason, Bjorn absolutely hates this song.  I remember in an interview from maybe 2014 or 2016, I can't really remember exactly, Bjorn was asked what ABBA song he would put in a time capsule, and he replied "Definitely not King Kong Song."  The song gets a lot of hate in the ABBA fan community as well, but I disagree that it's one of their worst tracks.   

King Kong Song is, in my opinion, one of ABBA's most fun songs.  It's like one those songs meant to encouraging the audience to interact with the song in new, fun ways.  

The first verse is sung by Bjorn, highlighting how his character was watching a movie about King Kong which inspired him to write a song about it to perform with his band, expecting people to really love this song about this big, mighty killer.  Personally, I don't know why people would like a song about a dreadful gorilla, but regardless, the next verse, sang by Agnetha and Frida, is about how they anticipate the reception to the song to be, with people dancing and acting like monkeys. "so let your arms hang down and waddle all around like a dreadful, mighty killer a big, black, wild gorilla."  

The song is for sure absurd, but the music is so funky and fun, their vocals sound amazing,there's some amazing bass??? backing vocals from presumably Benny in the chorus, Agnetha and Frida scream twice in the song, and the arrangement for the instruments is just so exciting.  The song makes you want to move, for sure.  

ABBA would perform this song live during their 1974-75 concerts, and one of my favorite things about the one bootleg recording we have is that Bjorn gets the lyrics wrong.  Instead of singing "Well I was looking at a movie on the TV last night," he says "Well I was looking at a TV on the movie last night."  I know it's not write to point out flubs, but I really really enjoy the few times when ABBA would make a small error because it just adds to the human side of them, showing that they're not always 100% perfect and it's okay.

Overall, I really love this song.  It's crazy, fun, ridiculous, and amazing all at the same time. 

Song Analysis - Honey, Honey

Although this song doesn't appear ABBA Gold, Honey, Honey is amongst ABBA's more popular songs.  With recording commencing in October, 1973, this song is about a woman who is enamored with a man.  There's another word I would use to describe this song that sounds very similar to the word Honey in terms of spelling, but I'm not gonna use that because I try to keep my blog rather clean.  Anyways, this woman, played by Agnetha and Frida, really likes this guy.  She heard about him, heard how good he is at what he does, really wants him to show her what he's all about, but he's like, "No... I don't think this is right for you. I don't want you to get hurt," but she disagrees.  "There’s no other place in this world where I rather would be" she sings.

Honestly, this song gives clingy energy to me.  How no matter what the guy says, she insists she has to stay with him.  She really really really wants him and won't let go.     

Recorded in early 1974, released as the B-Side to ABBA's Waterloo in Swedish, ABBA recorded the song in Swedish as well.  While the English version is more about a girl pining for this very cool guy that she's heard so much about, the Swedish version, at least from what I can tell via Google Translate, is about a girl who's being told she's a wonderful, sweet girl who doesn't nothing wrong, with lines like "Honey honey, wonderful, ah-ha, honey honey", "Honey honey, not bad, ah-ha, honey honey," and "honey honey, little girl, ah-ha, honey honey," and she's trying to stick to that expectation of her being this really good girl, letting it get to her head almost, but Bjorn and Benny sing, "Do not believe in flattery no, be careful what you do," kind of reminding her to keep her feet on the ground and stay humble and true to herself???  

Google Translate didn't do me well with this translation this time around, but from what I understand, it's actually a pretty nice meaning.  I like it.

The English version of Honey Honey is sang with those lovely blended vocals from Agnetha and Frida, again with that third voice effect.  They're singing in a higher key?? pitch??? idk the right terms, again I'm not a music person, whereas in the Swedish version their voices sound a little more "natural".  I'm not complaining about the English version, I like the way they sound in it, but the Swedish one is really cool too.  

ABBA performed this song a lot on both TV performances and also I'm guessing during their late 1974-75 tours.  We have one bootleg live performance of ABBA in Eskilstuna, and there is this rawness to the live version that I really like.  They also don't sing it as high-pitched as the studio version.  I kind of wish we had more live performances of this song.  It's really fun.

If you want to see some of their TV performances, here are all the ones I could find put together:

Stig Anderson Appreciation Post

 Breaking up my Song Analysis posts to talk about Stikkan Anderson, a key player in ABBA's success story.  Without Stig, I don't think ABBA would have become the worldwide superstars that they still are today.  Stig was ABBA's manager, and co-founder of Polar Music.  Stig played a big part in buying rights to existing popular hits and adding new Swedish lyrics, which added a new level of interest throughout Sweden.  He also discovered a very young Bjorn Ulvaeus with his band, the West Bay Singers, back in the 60s, and skyrocketed their career throughout Scandinavia and parts of Europe under the new name the Hootenanny Singers.  

Aside from being ABBA's manager, Stig also contributed lyrics to a lot of ABBA's songs, including some of their most popular tracks.  His ABBA songwriting credits include: Ring Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal), I Am Just A Girl, Merry-Go-Round, Waterloo, Hasta Manana, Honey Honey, Mamma Mia, Tropical Loveland, S.O.S., Bang-A-Boomerang, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I've Been Waiting For You, Dancing Queen, My Love, My Life, Knowing Me, Knowing You, That's Me, Fernando, Happy Hawaii, The Name Of The Game, Move On, and I Wonder (Departure).

Unfortunately, Stig and ABBA's story together didn't end on the friendliest of terms, with there even being a lawsuit over a dispute about profits.  Nowadays if any ABBA fan even remembers Stig, their opinions tend to be tainted by the negative events of this lawsuit, and many ABBA fans either forget about him  or think he's a bad guy.  In Carl Magnus Palms' book ABBA at 50, there was even this whole section highlighting the events of the ABBA vs. Stig dispute, and it really painted him badly.  But here's the thing, I don't think ABBA want Stig to be remembered that way.  At this point, the ABBA members don't seem to have any negative feelings towards Stig.  There's even a (assuming I'm remembering this correctly) a dance booth at ABBA Voyage named after Stig, and I believe hot dogs are sold at the restaurant at ABBA Voyage as a nod to Stig and his favorite food. 

Today would have been Stig Anderson's 93rd birthday.  He sadly passed away in 1997.  

The dispute that happened between ABBA and Stig was unfortunate and really sad, especially as their relationship with him never recovered, but it's not something that Stig deserves to be remembered for.  And I don't think ABBA want him to be remembered that way.  His legacy should remain as a testament to his significant contributions and unwavering dedication to their success story, allowing us to appreciate the best aspects of his impact on their remarkable journey.

 If you have the time and interest, I definitely recommend checking out this documentary all about Stig.  I think it talks about everything that happened with ABBA and Stig in a very respectful way, but doesn't leave out any of the details.

Song Analysis - What About Livingstone

 I like this song a lot.  To me, it's kind of like a social commentary, accurately pointing out people's resistance to change, trying new things.  Anything new is bad, no purpose, just a waste of time, whereas anything that happened back in the day is fine and innovative.

The song starts out with our main character(s) as sang by Agnetha and Frida going over to buy the morning paper or whatever.  The newspaper.  And while they are there, they hear some other patrons enjoying the newspaper laughing and sort of mocking some of the ventures happening at the time, specifically about traveling to space, walking on the moon.  The patrons are like, "What is this good for anyway?"  

But then our main character is like "now wait a minute.  I have a question for you then.  What about Livingstone?"  Specifically they're referencing the British explorer David Livingstone, who made important discoveries during his exploration of Africa, specifically the Nile River.   You can read more about it on Wikipedia.  (That's what I did lol.)  

How is it that the actions of David Livingstone and his explorations in Africa are seen as good, worthwhile, and important, while humans trying to explore beyond the bounds of planet Earth is not?  I feel like this is an issue that still comes up today.  The more conservative way of thinking (I'm not discussing politics, just the way of thinking) is to not allow things to grow and change, life is good as it is, and the good old days are always better because, and anyone who counters that way of thinking and tries to introduce something new is made fun of and mocked, until years later when these things are finally recognized as good and the cycle continues.  Idk if that fully makes sense lol, but basically what I'm trying to say is, I think ABBA accurately documented how a lot of people's way of thinking is, and managed to discuss it in a way that makes it a little easier to understand, not delving into more of a broader topic but keeping it to the realm of David Livingstone and Spacemen.  

A lot of ABBA fans question this existence of this song.  It's not your typical ABBA song, with happy tunes, sad lyrics, or about the Dancing Queen.  It's not like ABBA at all!  But here's the thing- ABBA have always had a huge variety of songs with a wide array of different themes and topics, so this song doesn't stand out to me as being different.  Plus it's got that early ABBA sound with the sped up vocals, Agnetha and Frida's joint vocals blending together to sound like one voice, and Bjorn and Benny joining in on the chorus.  I'd like to someday try to lower the pitch of the vocals to make them sound a little less "chipmunk-y" haha, but overall the song is really good and I love the meaning of it. 

Song Analysis - My Mama Said

 If I could describe this song in two words, it would probably be over-dramatic parent.  

I've never fully understood why Mama in this song is so dramatic for no reason.  Like, because her daughter is dating Fred without her parents' permission, Mama's first reaction is "I suppose you’d rather see me dead."  Like why???  What's the connection?????

Anyways, this song is a story about a girl who wants to have freedom from her parents "control" to see a boy named Fred whom her parents really dislike, specifically her mother.  And her mother isn't really making it easy to come to a mutual understanding.  Everything the girl wants to do, Mama tells her no or tells her to do something else.  In the first line of the song, our main character tries to sneak out of the house, and Mama catches her and is like "no, clean your room instead."  And then in the next verse, Mama tells her, "pa and me, we give you room and bread", but Mama, that's literally your job as parent.

I don't think this song is in anyway trying to say there's a good guy or a bad guy to this song.  As the song is written from the daughter's perspective, of course the mother being overly controlling and specifically cautious about Fred makes the daughter disdain her.  But Mama is allowed to be concerned, especially if there truly is something about Fred that gives her reason to be cautious.  But then also Mama is being a little unreasonable as well.  But that's life.  There are going to be disagreements and misunderstandings, but hopefully in the end everything will work out alright.  

We don't really know much about the characters in the song, or anything about what happened next, but that's the beauty of a song.  This song manages to capture the emotions and feelings of that moment of being a lovestruck teenager who thinks she's totally in love and can't live without her boyfriend, but her parents really disapprove of him for some reason.  Maybe they see something she doesn't, or maybe it all works out in the end.  

Honestly, this song kinda makes me stressed because the whole situation between overly-dramatic daughter and overly-dramatic mother is super unpleasant!  But the music is really groovy, Agnetha and Frida sing the part of the daughter really well, and I like how we even get Bjorn and Benny singing along in the chorus, and also the bass is really funky and fun in this song.  And then there's that really fun instrumental break.  

I guess this song is fun,  Lyrically, extremely stressful, but the rest of it is enjoyable. Perhaps another occurrence of ABBA's classic theme: Happy Music, Sad(or in this case unpleasant) Lyrics.

Song Analysis - Suzy-Hang-Around

Suzy Hang Around remains the one and only ABBA song to feature Benny Andersson on lead vocals, which is such a shame because Benny has an extremely sweet and soft tone to his voice, I would have loved to see him tackle more songs.  

Recording for this song commenced in October, 1973.  Similar in style to Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother, Suzy-Hang-Around is another song about childhood memories, though this time it's not so much on the positive side.  

Benny's character sings about how when he was 10 and his sister Suzy was 9, he didn't like her hanging around all the time as she would follow him everywhere.  He wanted to hang out and do cool boy things with his boy friends, and didn't like the idea of including a girl.  Despite attempts from their mother to try and have peace, as Mama accurately points out that Suzy's never done anything to harm them, the main character and his friends mercilessly make fun of Suzy, call her "Suzy-Hang-Around" and tell her that nobody wants her around.  And it's so mean!  Why can't they just play together in harmony??

As sad and mean as this song is, I think it does accurately represent how some sibling relationships can be, and is not in anyway trying to promote this sort of behavior.  As a middle sibling myself, I guess I sort of relate more to Suzy than Benny's character, though thankfully any sibling rivalries I've experienced weren't as bad as the characters in the song.

While a lot of ABBA songs are more on the fictitious sides and not retelling of experiences from their personal lives, I've always wondered if the ABBA members took from their own person experiences for this song.  3/4 members have siblings, and Agnetha, Benny, and Bjorn are all older siblings.  But it's just a thought.

Anyways, this song has a lot of beautiful harmonies from Bjorn, Agnetha, and Frida, backing up Benny's lead vocals.  I especially love the outro to the song with all the "oooooh"s and "mmmm"s.  It's such a beautiful arrangement, and I kinda wish ABBA did even more vocal arrangements like that in their songs. 

Happy 13th Birthday Agnetha Dollskog

 And so the birthday cycle begins again.  13 years ago today I put in the finishing stitches to my homemade Agnetha doll.  It's hard to believe that I first started making these dolls when I was a child still, and somehow they're still around.  It's a shame their faces are a little tattered, and I have some plans to try to strengthen them up a bit, but for now, they're looking pretty decent for 13 year olds. :'D  (And yes these are new costumes that I'm *supposed* to be working on...)

Song Analysis - Dance (While The Music Still Goes)

 We've officially finished the Ring Ring era and entered the Waterloo era!  With recording beginning in September of 1973, ABBA officially began working on tracks for their next album.  

Just from listening to this song alone, you can tell that ABBA were beginning to develop their sound even more, with more complex harmonies and a more grand soundscape.  

I don't think there are many other ABBA songs with lead vocals by Bjorn and/or Benny but with a solo intro by one of the ladies.  Move On from 1977 has a spoken intro by Bjorn and lead vocals by Agnetha and Frida, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head to be remotely similar.  

The song is, in classic ABBA style, about a relationship coming to an end, but the main character wants this relationship to end with one final dance and memory, one final goodbye.  I believe this song is about a breakup just going off of the opening verse: "Oh, my love it makes me sad why did things turn out so bad was it just a dream everything we did everything we had", but I think this song can be fitting for any type of final goodbye.  

Bjorn and Benny's vocals manage to capture the sadness very well in the song, and Agnetha and Frida have some really beautiful backing vocals that grow with each chorus.  

Also, I should mention, I *think* this is the first ABBA song to reference birds in their songs, "Our love is a snowbird, it's flying away", and I recently learned that a snowbird is a nickname for the Junco bird, that just so happens to be one of my favorite backyard birds.  Just a fun fact. :D

Song Analysis - I Saw It In The Mirror

I Saw It In The Mirror is probably the most hated ABBA song amongst fans young and old, probably because when compared to all the rest of ABBA's catalog, it sounds nothing like ABBA have produced before.  Some find the song too boring, others dislike Bjorn and Benny's vocals, and others just hate the song on a whole.  

Unlike the majority of fans, I actually really love this song for a variety of different reasons, but specifically Agnetha and Frida's backing vocals.  But more on that in a moment.

I Saw It In The Mirror was originally written in 1970,  recorded and released by Billy G-Son, I believe as the B-side to the song There's A Little Man, also written by Bjorn and Benny and featuring Agnetha on backing vocals.

The Billy G-son version of the song is a lot faster in tempo, whereas the ABBA version that was recorded in 1973, is slower and presumably more in the style of R&B.  The lyrics to both versions of the song are generally the same, at least in the verses, however the bridge of the Billy G-son song is entirely different.  "Girl, you made me feel so good, you know you did.  It takes a fool like me to act the way I did.  I just can't realise you don't love me anymore-more.  It made me feel so bad when you walked out that door."

The structure of the ABBA song is a little different.   While the Billy G-son version is Verse, Bridge, Verse, Verse, ABBA's is Verse, Verse, Bridge, Verse.  Of course I'm biased so I prefer ABBA's version, but I personally think the structure of ABBA's version just makes more sense.   (Also in case you are all wondering, unlike what it says on Genius, Agnetha and Frida are not singing the backing vocals on the Billy G-son version.  That is not Agnetha and Frida, okay?)

Yes, I Saw It In The Mirror, ABBA's version, is a lot slower and almost "boring", however the real highlight to the song is Agnetha and Frida's backing vocals.  They may sound super simple, but for pretty much the only time in ABBA history that Agnetha and Frida's vocals are put on separate channels.  (The only other time Agnetha and Frida's vocals are somewhat on separate channels is a good 40+ years later in Little Things.)  So when you import the song into Audacity, for example, and split the stereo track into two, you'll have Agnetha's vocals playing on one speaker, and Frida's on the other.  When you listen to each track individually, you can hear Agnetha and Frida's distinct vocals, yet when you merge them back together again, their blended vocals have that third voice quality that just sounds absolutely magical.  And for just that reason alone, I Saw It In The Mirror will always among my top favorite ABBA songs.

Song Analysis - Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough)

 Love sure isn't easy, but it's definitely hard enough!  

Today's song is a bit of a playful one, featuring some back and forth vocals between Bjorn and Benny, and Agnetha and Frida. This song is basically about a love that's sort of gone stale.  Bjorn and Benny start of the song with "Do you remember the first time and all of your sweet, sweet talk ain’t heard it a lot since then, love," in a way accusing the main character of the song's partner of being the one to let the relationship get boring, only for the partner to refute his claim by responding, "now look at that guy! he’s making me cry! He leaves every morning and he hardly says goodbye," indicating that he too has allowed the relationship to sort of crumble.  But then all four members sing, "but if I would have to choose I wouldn’t let you go.  Just give it some more time and you will see our love will grow, darling, I know."

I think the chorus of the song perfectly describes what it means to be in love.  "We gotta have patience, love isn’t just a sensation some of the time it gets rough.  Love isn’t easy but it sure is hard enough."  Even if things start to get boring, there's still room to grow and get over this rough patch.  Love will always prevail. 

In a way, this is a theme that is explored in a later ABBA song, from a good 4 years later - One Man, One Woman.  With lines such as "No smiles, not a single word at the breakfast table, though I would have liked to begin.  So much that I wanna say, but I feel unable.  You leave and slam the door like you've done many times before, and I cry and I feel so helpless" and in the third verse, "You smile and I realise that we need a shake-up.  Our love is a precious thing worth the pain and the suffering, and it's never too late for changing, "One Man, One Woman is almost like Love Isn't Easy (But It Sure Is Hard Enough) but with a bit of a grown up, more mature version.  Like, Love Isn't Easy has this young, innocence to it, with a playful touch to the song.  

Both songs still have a very important meaning, that if you want a relationship to last, both partners need to put in the work to reignite things, because love is a very precious thing that requires patience. 

I've always really loved Love Isn't Easy, especially because I can still recall the first time I ever heard the song.  Back in 2011 or so, my ways of discovering new ABBA songs were very limited.  I grew up in a household that originally despised YouTube, so the only way to listen to new ABBA songs were CDs, or the 30 second samples on Amazon.  Luckily, I had access to the library, and though their ABBA selection was extremely limited, I was able to get my hands on The Definitive Collection.  Listening to the first CD for the first time was extremely thrilling.  All I had really heard in full from ABBA until that point were the songs from ABBA Gold, the only CD my family owned, and those songs are ABBA's most popular tracks, a lot of them being from what I consider ABBA's peak, from 1975-1980.  By that point in ABBA's history, they'd already established a sound for themselves, which in their earlier songs that I've been talking about these last couple of weeks, they were still sort of discovering. 

Of course I fell in love with each and every song from the Definitive Collection, but when I first heard that guitar intro to Track 4, followed by Bjorn and Benny's vocals which for some reason sound really sweet and soft in this song, I realized that there is even more to ABBA then I had thought.  Yes, People Need Love and He Is Your Brother also have Bjorn and Benny singing on them, but there was something about Love Isn't Easy that just stood out to me.  And still when I listen to this song, I remember my initial thoughts hearing this song and it's always amazing to me.

Judging by pictures of ABBA's 1973 performances, I'm sure Love Isn't Easy was performed live, but of all those performances, we only have one video from when ABBA were in Denmark.  Judging by the photos of their live performances, they would put on a bit of a playful act, and thankfully this single video performance also captures that playfulness.  It's an extremely lovely performance and I'm so grateful we have an early performance like this available to watch.

Song Analysis - Disillusion

 Disillusion is one of only two songs in ABBA's entire song catalog to have music written by Agnetha.  Having been a popular solo artist throughout Scandinavia, Agnetha had already written several songs that went on to become chart topping successes.  She was quite the songwriter, composing both original music and text by herself or often writing new lyrics to existing tunes, or even collaborating with other writers.  She proved herself to be quite a good songwriter, often writing songs that had to do with sadness and despair, breakups and heartache.  So it was no surprise that Bjorn and Benny would ask her to contribute something for Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha, and Frida's debut album.

Disillusion was originally written in Swedish for Agnetha's next solo album, Elva Kvinnor I Ett Hus, though that album wouldn't be completed until two years later.  With Bjorn writing the lyrics, Disillusion is an Agnetha Faltskog classic, about someone who's still getting over a breakup.  "Wishing, hoping, chasing shadows. Did I see your face somewhere in the crowd? Thinking, wondering, what you’re doing, I can’t stop myself from crying out loud.They say my wound will heal and only leave a scar but then, they never shared our love."  The end of this relationship has clearly left the main character in deep despair, as they're still coming to terms with the end of the relationship.  

The song features just Agnetha on lead vocals, one of the few ABBA songs to just feature one of the As.  Agnetha carries the song perfectly, with the pain of the song's meaning quite visible in her voice.  Agnetha has always been an amazing storyteller in her songs, always perfectly conveying the emotions portrayed in the lyrics into her voice.  Honestly, this song is, dare I say, one of ABBA's saddest songs.  There's no resolution, nothing to look forward to.  Just disillusion.  

With Swedish lyrics by Agnetha's friend Bosse Carlgren, the song was released on Agnetha's next solo album, now with the title  Mina ögon.  The Swedish version also tells the story of a relationship coming to an end, with the first verse being (roughly translated via Google Translate) "My eyes, blue with joy, who got to see you smile with happiness, my friend.  My eyes, gray with anger as you kissed blue and soft again," only for the next verse to be "My eyes, as I ask, when I wonder if I dreamed you existed.  My eyes, which I torment every time I see your picture somewhere."  And then the chorus is "Do you remember my eyes where you saw how strong you were And how I burned, how the fire burned? My eyes fill with frozen fire like tears, My eyes fill with frozen fire that resembles tears." 

Both versions of the song are absolutely heartbreaking and hauntingly beautiful.  

Also, if you'd like to take a closer look at some of Agnetha's compositions, I have a compilation on YouTube.

Song Analysis - Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother

 Me and Bobby and Bobby's Brother tells the tale of a girl, now a grown up, reminiscing about the days of her childhood, specifically when she would hang out with two boys, Bobby and his brother, her best friends.  The three of them would always play together, even though she was a girl and they were boys.  The difference in gender didn't mean anything to them, and they had no problem including her in their "boy" activities.  She has nothing but good feelings from those good old days, with happy memories of climbing the apple tree and going out to see football games together.  And even if she didn't enjoy football games, for her, just the fact that she was included made whole thing special.

Frida sings the lead vocals on this song, and she adds such a beautiful, warm feeling to the song with her vocals.  Bjorn and Benny mostly sing the backing vocals, but I'm sure Agnetha's in there as well.  (If you remember back in the days, I made an animation about Me And Bobby And Bobby's Brother where, due to the lack of Agnetha's appearance in the song, I made it all about how Agnetha wants to join in on Frida playing the main character in the song, and Bjorn and Benny playing as Bobby and Bobby's Brother, but they exclude her.  So it was only fitting that Agnetha's character is named Suzy based off of Suzy-Hang-Around, but I digress.)  

"Please take me back to that place where I’ve got all my memories, those were my happiest days" is such a relatable line to me. I am a very nostalgic person, always thinking about the days of my childhood with fond memories.  Even when I first listened to this song back in 2010/2011 when I was still a kid, this song made me think back to when I was even younger.  Even if you didn't have a Bobby and a Bobby's brother that you'd hang out with, I think the song can still be relatable to anyone.  It's amazing how a song from a good 51 years ago still manage to capture nostalgic and sentimental feelings so well. 

Song Analysis - Ring Ring

 I just need to preface this post by saying that Ring Ring, specifically the 1974 remix version, was my budgie Skyler's favorite song.  The moment that song played, just hearing the intro, he was singing his little budgie heart out, with pin eyes and fluffed feathers, and lots of headbobs.  He could listen to the song over and over and over again, and never get tired of it.  There were times that he was stressed even, and just hearing that song calmed him down.  So for that reason, on top of my existing love for the song, Ring Ring will always be a top favorite for me.

In January of 1973, ABBA began working on the song that would go on to be the title of the first ever album together, Ring, Ring.  Originally written and recorded in Swedish, Ring, Ring (Bara Du Slog En Signal) is about someone waiting and waiting for the phone to ring.  In the first chorus there is the line roughly translated into English via Google Translate, "You don't call and say "Lovely" now like you did," which already tells us a bit about the context.  The person isn't just waiting for any specific person, it's someone who used to call all the time, tell sweet nothings to the main character, but now they've just gone radio silent.  But why?  Who knows.  "Ring ring! If only you called. Ring ring! The silence is so total Ring ring! Dispel that worry like a moth." is what the chorus roughly translates to. 

Then, we have the English version, which is so far the only English language ABBA song to feature lyrics by someone other than ABBA and Stig.  "It was a bit of a gimmick, to have someone as well known as [Neil] Sedaka writing.  We thought that might just create an interest in the song," Bjorn says in an interview in 1977.  The English version of the song tells pretty much the same story as the Swedish one.  Our main character is yet again sitting by the phone, waiting for their special someone to call them.  From the second verse of the song, "You were here and now you're gone.  Hey did I do something wrong?  I just can't believe that I could be so badly mistaken.  Was it me or was it you?  Tell me, are we really through?  Won't you hear me cry and you will know that my heart is breaking" indicates that they had a really bad fight which lead to a breakup of sorts, maybe caused by some misunderstanding.

In February of 1973, ABBA had the opportunity to submit a song to the Melodifestivalen - Sweden's contest to decide the song to enter in the Eurovision Song Contest.  ABBA entered Ring Ring, with a live performance.  Sadly the video of this performance is nowhere to be found, but we do have the audio.  Unfortunately, ABBA only placed third, however the song ended up becoming a big hit throughout Scandinavia and Europe.  With that success, ABBA went on to record Ring, Ring in two more languages in July of that year- German and Spanish.

Instead of being about someone waiting for the phone to ring, the German version seems to be about someone waiting for the person on the other end to pick up the phone!  With the first verse roughly translating to "I'm all alone at home. Nobody can stand something like that. Your jealousy is stupid and silly and stupid.Baby, don't take it too far.You keep arguing. Can you tell me, you, why, why and why only?" seems to indicate that this is again due to some big fight.  The person whom the main character really, really, really wants to answer the phone is refusing to talk to her because he's jealous.  And then in the chorus we see the line, "Finally answer the phone, Finally say: "Come on, I'll be waiting" Oh-oh, ring, ring, 140703 Oh-oh, ring, ring, otherwise it's over and over."  

And then the Spanish version of the song is pretty much an exact translation of the English version, with lines like "It is the sad and gray night. I don't feel very happy. And my love, what do I do? I am here waiting" and the chorus, " Ring Ring! Call me finally, please. Ring Ring! It is the most beautiful song. Ring Ring! I keep it with emotion."  

The German version of the song was released as a single in Germany, but the Spanish one never got released until 1994, when it appeared on a compilation of ABBA's Spanish-language hits.

Not only are there four different language versions of Ring Ring, there are also two other remixes done in 1974.  In fact, the US Remix 1974 version was put onto the English language release of the Waterloo album, replacing the Swedish version of Waterloo the song.  The 1974 remixes of the song slow down everything in the song, from the instruments to the vocals, pitching them down a bit.  And then there was some added saxophone and guitar added to the track.  

 All prior versions of Ring Ring were sped up to make the song more fast paced, but in my opinion, while still sounding absolutely amazing and really capturing that ABBA sound, it makes Agnetha and Frida, and even Bjorn and Benny who sing in the second half of the chorus, sound a little chipmunk-y.  The 1974 version makes them sound a lot more natural, and while I like both original and remixed speeds, the remix definitely sounds a little bit more pleasing to my ears.  (And clearly to my budgie Skyler's ears, because he did not perk up to the 1973 versions like he did the 1974 versions, lol.)

Anyways, throughout ABBA's career, up to 1976, they performed Ring Ring on multiple occasions, not just on TV but I'm sure on their early tours from 1973 as well.  While we may not have all of their performances, you can see a good portion of them here in a compilation I made in 2022.

 

Oof, this post was long hahaha. But honestly, I really enjoyed comparing and understanding the lyrics on all the different versions of the songs, and I love that there's such a variety of different versions of this song. I don't think there are any ABBA songs that have this many versions!

Song Analysis - I Am Just A Girl

Not the kind of woman men would like to meet....  

I Am Just A Girl tells that tale of an ordinary, not special, Miss. Nobody who has no luck finding love... until she does.  

The song shows the progression of how the title character starts out thinking that she's nothing special (in fact she's a bit of a bore, haha jk).  Nothing stands out about her at all, men wouldn't want to meet her, no one ever notices her.  "It's an evil world, that has only made me a girl."  

But then, one day, she meets a guy and he smiles and whispers "I Love You."  No longer is she just a girl, now she can see that she was "meant to be your girl."  

It's honestly a super cute song, about trying to find  love and then ultimately finding the right one.

To my ears, it sounds like just Agnetha singing lead, with the other three members singing in unison in the background, until the bridge?  solo passage? sang by just Agnetha.  When I was younger, it always cracked me up that you can hear Bjorn and/or Benny singing "I am just a girl" alongside the ladies.  (Kind of like the way Senorita by Shawn Mendes and Camilla Cabello cracks me up because Shawn Mendes sings "I love it when you call me Senorita" or the male backing vocalist in Love Story by Taylor Swift sings "You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess."  It's just funny to me.)

Prior to this song being recorded by ABBA, the song was released by Swedish artist Jarl Kulle, as Jag är blott en man, which translates to "I am just a man."  Bjorn, Benny, and Stig had contributed two songs sang by Jarl Kulle as part of the soundtrack for a film, Ture Sventon.  The song is played on the same backing track that ABBA later used, and the song allegedly features some very familiar backing vocalists 🤔🤔🤔, though upon researching it more by looking at the listing for the Jarl Kulle single on discogs, the choir and orchestra is credited to S-O Walldoffs Kör & Orkester*, which I think discredits the idea that it is Agnetha and Frida singing backing vocals. 

The Swedish lyrics are similar to the English ones, though instead of being about a man desperately wanting to find love, it's more about a man who feels ordinary compared to other males, who feels weak and unexceptional.  "I'm just a man, one of many others, weak to my nature, ordinary frail man."  And the solo passage sang by the choir roughly translates to "Man, a poor creature, has something special.  In a fragile boat on the turbulent river of life, you lean on the woman who feels sorry for you, yes, almost as much as yourself."  

Of course I prefer ABBA's version because I am an ABBA fan and I love and worship everything ABBA does (with the exception of Mamma Mia the Musical/Movie).  But also, lyrically it's just better, and with Agnetha singing lead, it gives the song an extra layer of sweetness.  A lot of people really dislike I Am Just A Girl, but I find it to be really sweet and cute, and shows how ABBA can effortlessly sing in a variety of different styles and always sound good doing it. 

Song Analysis - She's My Kind Of Girl

I wanted to go back in time a little bit and take us to November, 1969, when Bjorn and Benny began working on this song, She's My Kind Of Girl.

She's My Kind Of Girl is an interesting song when it comes to whether it counts as an ABBA song or not.  The song was originally released as a single by Bjorn and Benny in 1970, as an original Bjorn and Benny composition featuring only Bjorn and Benny on lead vocals.  The song doesn't feature Agnetha and Frida on backing vocals at all, making this a purely Bjorn and Benny solo track.  

When the English version of Ring Ring was released as a single, in February, 1973, She's My Kind Of Girl was included as the B-side.  However, when Ring Ring the album was released in Scandinavia, the song was not included in the album.  Yet, with the International version of the album, the Swedish version of Ring Ring was removed from the track listing and replaced with She's My Kind Of Girl.  

So, whether the song was originally released as an ABBA song or not, it's now an ABBA song.  I like the song.  It's a very simple song, about how this one particular girl makes the main character feel so special to be in love with her, and how he's afraid of how he'll feel if he ever loses this special girl.  I like Bjorn and Benny's vocal harmonies and "ooooh"s in the instrumental break between the last two choruses.  This also appears to be the first instance in an ABBA song where Bjorn and Benny use the word blue to represent feeling sad, as they would continue on to do throughout ABBA's discography.  

Similar to how ABBA revamped Rock'n Roll Band, originally a Bjorn and Benny song, by adding more instruments and backing vocals from Agnetha and Frida, I'm surprised they didn't give that same treatment to She's My Kind Of Girl when including it as an ABBA song.  Maybe the song doesn't need added harmonies from the ladies, and don't get me wrong I love it as it is, but I think it would have been cool to add Agnetha and Frida to it.  Either way, the song is great and super sweet and simple.  A nice little song about being in love. :)

Song Analysis - Another Town, Another Train

ABBA's Ring Ring album showcases a variety of different songs with different themes and styles.  Songs about loving and caring for each other, songs about finding love, songs about dancing to the rock'n roll band.  There's no real consistent theme to any of the songs on the album.  Some may find it discombobulating.  I find it to be really nice, like ABBA's showcasing that they're fully capable of making music in any style.

Another Town, Another Train is a song about a character who either fears commitment or just has no time or interest in a long standing, serious relationship.  From the first verse of the song, you learn so much about this character and that he already made it clear from the start that he can't stay long.  "But I told you somewhere down the line, you would have to find me gone, I just have to move along."

I love how the theme of the song is established very early on, and Bjorn's lead vocals are really good.  Then Agnetha and Frida join him in the chorus and the result is just magical.  I also like how in the left channel of the track, Benny's piano is highlighted.  

I've always found ABBA's songs to have a timeless quality to them.  A lot of their songs that were written at least 50 years ago can still be applicable today.  However, dare I say, using the word "groovy" in the song really dates the song quite a bit, and I kinda wish a different, more timeless word was used.  Regardless, this song is still really good.

ABBA also recorded this song in German, as the B-side to the German version of Ring Ring.  Interestingly enough, while the English version of the song has the main character being the one to break off the relationship in preference to always moving on, the German version, "Wer im Wartesaal der Liebe steht", which roughly translates to "Whoever stands in the waiting room of love" is about the main character kind of questioning why the relationship has come to an end, with evidence that it's the main characters partner who has broken off the relationship.  With lines roughly translating to, "Has it really come to an end now?  Can that really be possible?"  "Was all this just an illusion and now you're letting me alone?" and "Was that already the end of the line, without me being aware of it?" and "I've done all I could, now it depends on other things." 

It's actually really heartbreaking and sad, how the main character had no idea the relationship would end like this.  Part of me wonders if this song is written from the perspective of the partner who the main character of Another Town, Another Train left behind.

Very, very fascinating, and both versions of the song are very, very good.

Song Analysis - Nina, Pretty Ballerina

 I think this song is one of the earliest songs to really display that familiar sound that people often recognize when it comes to ABBA's songs.  Contrary to popular belief, despite the fact that Frida's vocals seem more prominent in the verses, it's actually both Agnetha and Frida singing together in unison, and the result is a blended voice, or the "third voice" as it's often referred to in ABBA circles.

Recorded in October of 1972, this song has Agnetha and Frida singing together on lead vocals, some awesome harmonies in the chorus recorded by all four members, and some epic piano playing from Benny that has been sped up to sound extra fast. ABBA, or more like Michael B. Tretow, were known to be really experimental in the recording studio, always utilizing the newest techniques and newly available technologies to try out and mess around with and the result was always good.  Lyrics wise, this song is very ABBA, as well.  There's a character, a very simple but specific setting that sets the tone of the whole song.  Really, this song just has everything that would become ABBA's signature sound.

I've mentioned before on this blog that this song is really the predecessor to Dancing Queen, a song that wouldn't be conceived until 4 years later.  With lyrics like "Nina, pretty ballerina, now she is the queen of the dancing floor" and "'Cause I know she's got a little secret Friday evening she turns out to be..." which sound very similar to lines like "You are the dancing queen, Young and sweet, Only seventeen" and "Friday night and the lights are low, Looking out for a place to go."  In all honestly, I don't think Nina, Pretty Ballerina is the Dancing Queen, as the Dancing Queen is only seventeen, whereas Nina, Pretty Ballerina seems to work a busy 9-5 office job and goes out dancing Friday evenings I'd assume as a break from the busy work week.  

Also, the line "But she knows the fun would go away if she would play it every day" is literally me, haha.  Like, this is why I don't make a job out of my hobbies, because then all the enjoyment and fun would be lost.

I need to mention, I've always really loved the little "bing"s sang in the background of the second half of each verse, presumably sang by Agnetha.  They're just really cute.

Anyway, this is a very good song.  Very ABBA-esque.  And very, very cheerful.

Song Analysis - Rock'n Roll Band

Rock'n Roll Band is the first ABBA song officially intended to be on Bjorn, Benny, Agentha, and Frida's first album together, however this song wasn't originally released as an ABBA song. 

Released in November in 1972 as a b-side, Bjorn and Benny first began recording this song in August.  This first version of the song is similar enough to ABBA's version, which was released in March, 1973, with a few differences.  When comparing the two, there are less instruments in the Bjorn and Benny version, Agnetha and Frida don't appear in the song at all, and there is an extra line in between each verse and chorus; "Rock 'n' roll music makes me dizzy" and "Rock'n' roll music makes you happy".

Bjorn and Benny's version still has quite a rocky feel, and is really good on it's own.  But I think it's safe to say that when the song was converted into an ABBA song, it was elevated to a whole new level.  The electric guitar alone, I'd presume played by Janne Schaffer, really adds so much to the intro.  And then Agnetha and Frida's backing vocals, from the "She was" and "Oh yeah"s in the verses, and their harmonies in the chorus really emphasize that early ABBA sound.  

Bjorn has always been extremely good at crafting a setting in his lyrics, and just the first line of the first verse alone helps you to picture the scene.  "Sitting in the darkest corner in the candlelight I saw her face, she was looking so sad and lonely," sets the tone and mood of the song so perfectly, like I can already imagine what it looks like, and where the main character of the song is.

While both versions of these songs are great in their own ways, the LIVE recording from ABBA's 1975 our is absolutely out of this world.

The studio version of the song is sang by Bjorn and Benny on lead vocals, however Frida takes the lead on the live version.  While we only have one bootleg recording of this song from ABBA's concert in Eskilstuna, Frida's energy level is still captured well and she really makes the song her own.  For the live version, Bjorn and Benny made some changes to the lyrics to be from a female perspective rather than a male, however I still can't really decipher what Frida sings.  Regardless, this live version is really epic, and proves how amazing a singer Frida is.

All three known versions of this song are amazing in their own right and deserve a good listen. :)

Song Analysis - Åh, vilka tider

 Okay so I guess I'm just going in the order that ABBA's songs were recorded in the studio rather than order they were released, and that's okay.

Åh, vilka tider is a pretty unusual ABBA song seeing as it's the only official ABBA song in only Swedish, with no English version.   The song was originally recorded June 1972 and the released as the B-side to Ring Ring Bara Du Slog En Signal in February 1973.  Oddly enough, the song hasn't really been released anywhere else in subsequent compilation albums, only in like a handful.  It's almost like the song is excluded as an ABBA song, even though it is.

The song features all four ABBA members on vocals, though Agnetha and Frida are only in the chorus.  The song is very similar to a lot songs from Bjorn and Benny's short-lived solo career, like "Tänk Om Jorden Vore Ung" and "På Bröllop", sound-wise.   

Very on theme with ABBA's songs from this time, the song is about a perfect world almost, where "No one was angry and no one was gloomy each was a brother and a sister" (rough translation of "Ingen var sur och ingen var dyster var och en var en bror och en syster" courtesy of Google Translate.)   Really a beautiful message, and again something that I wish people of today's world could learn from, with lines like "Dreamed a dream I remember and I feel water became wine and enemies became friends"  

As I mentioned, Agnetha and Frida are only singing along in the chorus with Bjorn and Benny, who also sing the verses together, but when the four of them are singing along you just get hit with that magical ABBA sound with all four of their voices blending together.  It's a very early version of that ABBA sound, but you can still recognize it.

I realize I don't listen to this song as much as I do the rest of ABBA's songs, but just looking through the lyrics and understanding what the song is about adds a whole new level of appreciation.  A very good, sweet, and beautiful song. :)

Song Analysis - Santa Rosa

 I'd give anything to be back home in Santa Rosa.... 

Santa Rosa was the b-side to ABBA's second single, He is Your Brother.  Recording for this song began on March  21st, 1972, nearly a week before the recording of People Need Love.  

Throughout ABBA's discography, they have many songs that mention the names of cities, towns, states, countries even, and Santa Rosa is no exception. The song itself is about someone longing to be back home presumably in the town they grew up in, to see their childhood home and friends.  The lead singer clearly feels a sense of regret and mistake for leaving their hometown. 

Surprisingly, this song features only Bjorn and Benny on vocals, with Agnetha and Frida nowhere in sight.  That's always had me wondering if Santa Rosa was originally recorded to be a Bjorn and Benny track as part of their solo career, but that's just a thought.

Although Agnetha and Frida don't appear in the studio recording, we do have a recording from when Bjorn, Benny, Agnetha, and Frida took part in the World Popular Song Festival in Japan, November 1972.  Agnetha and Frida add some of that ABBA magic with their beautiful backing vocals, and Agnetha even sings one verse on her own.

 

I've always had quite a fondness for this song, even making an LEGO animation to it for Bjorn's birthday in I think it was 2013 or 2014.  And that live recording just makes the song even more amazing to me.  So yeah, I really like this song. :'D

Song Analysis - He Is Your Brother

 Okay so I'm not entirely sure what order I am going in when it comes to talking about ABBA songs, but I decided today to talk a bit about ABBA's next single after People Need Love.  Released in November, 1972,  He Is Your Brother is another song that talks about people's love and need for each other, though this time rather than being more of a romantic love, like in People Need Love, ABBA sing about love in the form of compassion and empathy towards your brethren - an absolutely beautiful concept that really should be so ingrained in our psyches.

 The first verse is sang by Bjorn and Benny, and the second verse is sang by Agnetha and Frida.  Unlike in People Need Love, it's not a back and forth, but still very similar in the way it's structured in my opinion. Completely different sound musically though.

I actually really like the songs that feature all four ABBA members prominently.  As ABBA's career progressed Bjorn and Benny hardly sang lead vocals anymore, and were reduced to just adding background harmonies.  I love their harmonies but I also love Bjorn and Benny led songs a ton as well.  So for that reason I really enjoy a lot of the earlier ABBA songs, like He Is Your Brother.

As the meaning of He Is Your Brother is quite timeless and important, it's not wonder that ABBA would include it in their live concerts (Presumably during their late-1974 tour, definitely during their concert in Eskilstuna, 1975, and throughout the 1979 tour), and He Is Your Brother even makes an appearance, its last one at that, during the 1979 Unicef concert.

The studio version of the song is super sweet and beautiful as it is, but the live performance of the song as shown in ABBA the Movie really amps up the energy.  There are so many incredible high and long notes held by Agnetha and Frida, really demonstrating their vocal strength and ability.  Especially during the outro.

 All in all, an absolutely beautiful song with such an important meaning, and some incredible energy to it as well.

 (I realize now that I've ended all three of my posts with "all in all."  Perhaps I need to discover new ways to write endings to my posts lol.)