Can there be such a thing as a new ABBA?

I've been an ABBA fan for the last 14 years, which is well over half my life.  I have listened to ABBA pretty much every single day.  I didn't discover ABBA through Mamma Mia!, my knowledge of ABBA isn't limited to ABBA Gold.  I've been obsessed with ABBA and I know every single one of their songs by heart.  To quote the guy in "ABBA in Concert", I live, I breath, I ABBA.  So I think that makes me a pretty qualified to know what I'm talking about when it comes to ABBA.

When someone mentions ABBA, I don't think ABBA can simply be defined as one thing.  They're not just some band from the 70s/80s.  They're not stereotypical pop and disco from that era.  They're not just two guys and two girls.  They're not just a blonde and a brunette/redhead.   They're not tacky satin and sequin-y costumes.  And they're not just the tracklist to ABBA Gold.  They're not just two couples from Sweden.

Musically, ABBA is that perfect blend of Agnetha and Frida's voices.  With Agnetha being a Soprano and Frida a Mezzo-Soprano, their voices are each so distinct yet they blend together so perfectly and in such perfect harmony.  ABBA is the layers and layers upon layers of harmonies and also layers of the same instruments recorded multiple times, over and over again to get that fuller "wall of sound" effect. 

ABBA's songs are sometimes made up of happy lyrics set to sad music.  Some songs are just plain happy, other songs are just plain sad.  ABBA have numerous songs that cover various themes like divorce, young love, mature love, philosophical subjects, and so much more.  

As an ABBA fan, I know ABBA as all of those things, and all of those combined is what makes ABBA.  If you take out any of those elements, it just doesn't sound like ABBA.

...

So there is this British Indie Pop band that I've been seeing around called The Last Dinner Party.  I haven't really listened to them, but interestingly, I've seen them described in a couple of places as the "New ABBA" and this kinda baffles me.  Around a year ago someone in a forum shared a link to their song Nothing Matters and mentioned that they felt the song had ABBA vibes.  I listened to it, I didn't hear it, I never thought about it again.  Then again more recently, I watched a video where in it, the person described Chappell Roan as the 'New Kate Bush" and The Last Dinner Part as the "New ABBA."  And I was very confused by that statement.

Ever since Kate Bush's song "Running Up That Hill" was featured in I think it was season 4 of Stranger Things, people who hadn't hard of Kate Bush were suddenly introduced to Kate Bush, and people who had heard of her before but not really into her were suddenly re-introduced to Kate Bush.  I've heard a few Kate Bush songs prior to the release of Stranger Things, specifically Wow as featured in ABBA in Switzerland, and her song Wuthering Heights, as well as a few other songs of hers that were suggested to me on YouTube, and if I had to describe her music in one word, I would use the word Eclectic.  She has a very unique vocal style, a very distinct look, but also, none of her songs sound the same and Running Up That Hill is just a sample of what she has to offer.

Chappell Roan has been rising in popularity, and she is definitely a very interesting listen!  I don't really listen to her songs as a lot of them are too sexually explicit for my taste, but she's got some very good songs and she too has a very unique style!  She sings in a variety of different styles, many different themes, a very unique vocal style, and her songs also don't all sound the same.  If I had to compare any of her songs to Kate Bush, it would probably just be the way she sings the chorus of her song Good Luck, Babe!  Other Chappell Roan hits like Pinky Pony Club and Hot To Go don't sound at all like Kate Bush...  So, why do people compare Chappell Roan, the artist on a whole, to Kate Bush, when like only parts of one song resemble that of Kate Bush, particularly only that one Kate Bush song that has gained recent popularity?  It's almost like people heard one Kate Bush song, associated that one song with her, ignored everything else about her, and then assume that anyone who sings similarly to Kate Bush is obviously now the "New Kate Bush" when there's nothing else that is comparable.

Then we have The Last Dinner Party and ABBA.  Much like how people associate Kate Bush with only Running Up That Hill and not any of her other hits or songs, here in the US at least, ABBA is often synonymous with Bubble-gum Pop songs like Dancing Queen, Take A Chance On Me, and honestly, the entire tracklist of ABBA Gold.  The average person doesn't typically know anything more than ABBA Gold, or perhaps some of the songs that were not on ABBA Gold but were featured in the Mamma Mia! films.  So, when people start calling The Last Dinner Party the NEW ABBA, they're probably just thinking about ABBA Gold. 

In an article by Hard Of Hearing Magazine written by Lloyd Bolton, the critic wrote, "Indeed, who since ABBA has had the guts to aspire to sounding like ABBA?" and of the song Portrait Of A Dead Girl, "worthy of ‘ABBA Gold,’ relates a more contemporary sentiment, and as the strings win our hearts, the “over and over again” of the chorus propels the song through the pop stratosphere."  

And like, I don't know what the critic means???    Portrait Of A Dead Girl is definitely more ballad-y and honestly more Fleetwood Mack ballad-y than any of ABBA's ballads.  Considering ABBA Gold doesn't really feature many ABBA ballads at all (there's The Winner Takes It All, One Of Us, Fernando, and Chiqutita, but also many of those songs I wouldn't even consider ballads), where would would that song fit into ABBA Gold?  Where????  

Vocally, I don't even hear any similarities either.  ABBA songs often feature one A singing lead and the other singing in harmony, and then they have so many backing vocals as well, but it never sounds like "gang-vocals" our shouty vocals.  It sounds orchestral almost, like Agnetha and Frida's voices are just another musical instrument.  Of the three The Last Dinner Party Songs that I listened to that are often compared to ABBA ("Nothing Matters", "Portrait Of A Dead Girl," and "Sinner") I do not hear anything that remotely resembles ABBA. 

If anything, perhaps you could say it matches more with the dark and mature, synth-laden sound of some of the tracks on ABBA's the Visitors album, but according to the music critic, they are only focusing on ABBA Gold, and none of the songs that I'm thinking of (The Visitors (Crackin' Up) and I Let The Music Speak) feature on ABBA Gold.  And again, most people don't usually know of those "deep-cut" ABBA songs because they're not on ABBA Gold or in Mamma Mia!.  

I feel like the music critics that compare The Last Dinner Party to ABBA don't really know who or what ABBA is.  Just because a band has a lot of synthesizers reminisce of the 70s synthesizers and female vocals doens't immediately mean they sound like ABBA.  ABBA's not the only 1970s band or band with synthesizers in a lot of their songs, and people tend to forget that ABBA is not just two female vocaists but rather two male and two female.  So just because a band has synths and female vocals doesn't mean they're ABBA, you know?  That's like saying "omg Sabrina Carpenter is a blonde, singer/songwriter who can play the guitar!  Obviously she's the new Taylor Swift!" when their music sounds nothing alike, you know?

Now, I just wanted to point out that neither The Last Dinner Party or Chappell Roan (from what I can find) have compared themselves to ABBA or Kate Bush.  If they were inspired by them, that's awesome - it's always amazing when a band or a singer are seen as inspirational and for sure they have inspired many modern artists form after their time.  I don't have a problem with that.  I think my real issue is music critics who find it important to tie an up and coming artist' success to an older band/artist, and then have the nerve to call them the "new" version of said band/artist.  Especially where these new artists and bands are not trying to be the new version of anything, they're just trying to be themselves.  

And also, I know music critics are probably only tying the sound of Chappell Roan and The Last Dinner Party's music to ABBA and Kate Bush's music, but personality and the story behind each artist tie a lot into their music as well, and none of their stories are comparable either.  Each band/artist as their own unique story which plays into how their music is, and you can't have ABBA's sound without the members of the band and their unique situation.  

In conclusion, you can't claim a band is the "new ABBA" when you don't fully know ABBA, and especially not when a band isn't trying to be ABBA in anyway.  As I wrote in my introduction to this blog post, ABBA can be defined my many things and are their band in their own right, with a variety of different songs and styles and sound, and there cannot be a "New ABBA" without any of the elements that originally made ABBA.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day haha.  

And of course, no hate towards The Last Dinner Party or Chappell Roan!  Keep doing what you're doing and stay true to yourselves and unique!

Song Analysis - The Piper

 In early February, 1980, Bjorn and Benny began working on a demo initially titled Ten Tin Soliders.  It wasn't long before the song was changed to Sherwood, and then Äntligen krig, and then finally, The Piper, which they officially began recording in April.  

Musically, the Piper is unlike any prior ABBA songs.  It has an extremely medieval feel, with flutes and drums, but with the modern touch of Benny's keyboard and synths.  The song features both Agnetha and Frida on joint vocals, singing in unison much like some of their earlier songs where their voices are almost indistinguishable.  Although a COMPLETELY different style of song, it kinda reminds me how in Honey Honey, it almost doesn't sound like two separate voices, just one single voice.

Bjorn has said this song is inspired by the book The Stand by Stephen King.  I don't know what that book is about, but I'm guessing it has something to do with some sort of leader or dictator of sorts, seducing the people to follow his lead.  The song is almost cult-like, with dark and creepy lyrics.

The song begins by telling how people come from all over, the hills, the valleys, the plains, traveling through snow and rain, just to hear the Piper play his music.  And whenever he plays, basically everyone just mindlessly follows.  In the chorus, it compares the blind and mindless following of the Pipers' words to following his music, having been summoned by the tune that the piper plays.  And so the people, his congregation, all dance beneath the moon for him.  They basically do whatever it is they tell him to do.

The third verse, "He gave them a dream he seduced everybody in the land, the fire in his eyes and the fear was a weapon in his hand.  So they let him play, play their minds away," kinda reminds me of people who use their power to instill fear in the people, and makes me think of a lot of Doomsday fearmongers who were trying to convince everyone the world was gonna end in 2012 because everyone is a sinner, etc.  

Honestly, this song is so creepy, and awful, and it's amazing how Bjorn managed to capture that in a song.  Where a lot of ABBA's music tends to sound very feel-good and happy (even when the lyrics themselves are the complete opposite), this song is just entirely dark and moody and scary.  Also the way Agnetha and Frida chant the Latin phrase "Sub luna saltamus" after each chorus, which means "dance under the moon" is also sooooo creepy.

Although Andante, Andante is of completely different context, similar to the Piper, it uses music as a euphemism.  In Andante, Andante, music is used to describe intimacy, whereas the Piper uses it to describe mind-control almost, using music to guide and control you.  Interestingly, the concept of letting music guide you also shows up a year later on the song I Let The Music Speak.  There's no correlation between the song, but very interesting nonetheless.

This song is creepy and dark, but it is honestly such a well-crafted song.  Often times I like to just sit and write with an ABBA album playing from start-to-finish loudly in my headphones, and this song  just sounds so good.  Although there aren't as many harmonies as prior ABBA songs, I think it fits the song perfectly and the created such a beautiful soundscape for this song.  A very, very good song.

Song Analysis - Andante, Andante

 On February 4th, 1980, ABBA began recording a demo track titled Hold Me Close, another new track from Bjorn and Benny's songwriting trip to the Bahamas.  The song eventually would become Andante, Andante, which ABBA didn't start recording until after they got back from the Japan leg of their World Tour.  On April 9th, recording commenced.  

Already from the initial demo title Hold Me Close, we can tell that the song was always meant to be the tender and romantic song that it is.  Andante, Andante is a very sensual track, possibly more so than any ABBA song prior.  Yet, the song has this sweetness to it that it doesn't seem "dirty" in any way, shape or form.  As someone who has always been rather uncomfortable with songs that are about this very close union between people, special time if you will, this song doesn't bother me.  I've always found it to be quite beautiful and only mildly uncomfortable for me personally haha. 

Without using many sensual words aside from touch, the uses music and song as a euphemism for said special time, and the word Andante as usually used to describe a song played at a moderately slow tempo.  The metaphor works really well, and I find it to be really cool how the song does not use very explicit language at all, yet the theme and setting of the song is very much there.

Frida takes the lead vocals on this song, singing each verse alone, with the other three members only joining in during the chorus.  I love how all their vocals come in with full force, unleashing the power of ABBA harmonies.  I know I said in my last post that in my personal opinion, ABBA seem to have entered their lazy era with the Super Trouper album harmony-wise, but there are of course exceptions, this track being one of them.  Perhaps you could say there aren't as many stacked harmonies on this track, but I think it works really well on this track.  

The way Agnetha and Frida sing the line "play me time and time again," just sounds sooo good.  While their voices aren't blending together in their usual ABBA-metallic-vocal-sound and their voices are almost more individual, like you can explicitly hear who is singing which harmony, it still sounds fantastic.

Bjorn and Benny even join in on some backing vocals throughout the chorus (with the ladies, but like the guys can be heard prominently), which are, "I am you music, yes I am your song.  I'm your music and I am your song.  Play me again 'cause you're making me strong.  You make me sing and you make me Andante, Andante."

Frida's vocals are so rich on this track, so perfect and powerful, one of my favorite Frida vocals ever is after the musical interlude??? when Frida sings the line "Oh please don't let me dooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooown" and omg she just sounds so good on this song.  This line in particular just sounds so effortless and powerful at the same time.  Frida's is just amazing.

Musically speaking as well, the instruments are all perfect for this song, with the beautiful intro I believe played on guitar by Lasse Wellander, accompanied by Benny's soft piano and synthesizer throughout the song.  I once isolated just Benny's piano from this song and it is just so beautiful I kinda wish it was even more prominent in the song.  In an alternate mix of the song that was included on the ABBA the Singles 40-disc box set in 2014, you can hear some really lovely accordion in there as well.

Andante, Andante was first released on the Super Trouper album, but in Spanish-speaking territories, a Spanish version of the track that was recorded in October of that year was included instead.  With this track being recorded several months since the original version was recorded, Frida sings it slightly different.  It would say her vocals were softer in the English one, and in the Spanish one more harsh.  Also Bjorn and Benny did not re-record their backing vocals in Spanish, so as beautiful as this version of the song is, there's a bit of that empty sound from the lack of the boys actually recording their vocals.  Like one of the many reasons why ABBA's sound is so good is from the blend of the boys' voices mixed in with the ladies, and without it it's just so empty haha.  Frida's vocals on that last line of the song when she sings "andante andante hay tanto que perder" are still superb.  Like she always sounds amazing singing that line.

Regardless, the Spanish lyrics are generally the same.  Here they are roughly translated with Google Translate so they may not be perfect haha.

Verse 1: Slowly, please.  gently like a breeze.  give me love, no rush. come to me, andante andante, feel like you were born like this.  

Verse 2: Your caresses, avidity.  velvet at night, warmth.  you please me, you know well. andante andante, without pris, you too  ((what does this mean Google Translate????)))

Chorus: I am your life, your song. I know I am all yours without condition. I am your song, your pleasure.  Andante andante, slowly in your love, andante andante, there is so much to lose.

Verse 3:  when you look, there is for you sensations that shake all in me.  silent, love me, andante andante, I will live a dream.

ABBA never performed this song live publicly, but when ABBA were rehearsing their performance for their Dick Cavett Meets ABBA TV Special in early 1981, it seems they were planning to include Andante, Andante, and even have the backing vocals written out by Bjorn, but much to our disappointment, either they never performed it at all or decided during rehearsals that the song wouldn't fit.  So they removed it and replaced it with a different Frida-led song, Me and I.  As much as I'm disappointed that they never sang it live and I know Frida would have done a fantastic job, all of them would have, I can't say I'm made that they replaced it with Me and I because omg Frida's live performance of that song is so good and one of my favorite Frida live vocals.  :)

So while ABBA never performed this song after this, fast forward 36 years later, in 2016, Frida was presented with the opportunity to rerecord the track as a duet with Cuban-American Jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval.  Frida sang the Spanish version of the song, and although she doesn't do that long note at the end of the song, she sang this song so perfectly.  Even though her voice had clearly aged, you can tell it's the same vocalist and she still sounded so powerful.  Of course without Agnetha and the boys' adding that fuller ABBA sound, it doesn't compare to the original English version of the song, but that's not to put down Frida's 2016 version as it still sounds so good on its own independent track.  Also, while Frida recorded her vocals in 2016, the song didn't come out until 2018 in case there was any confusion.

Now, I rarely if ever acknowledge the versions of ABBA songs that were butchered sang in the Mamma Mia films, but I remember when the soundtrack for the 2nd film came out and I was slightly interested in the fact that they included some "lesser known" ABBA songs on the tracklist, and briefly listened to like a minute of each track and it was torture, but anyways, I mentioned how this song when sang by ABBA and Frida doesn't sound dirty at all and is instead quite beautiful.  I think a lot of that has to do with Frida's vocal performance in particular, and I remember listening to Lily James' rendition of the song and thinking, "why does the song sounds so dirty???" like idk I know it's a very sensual song, but she made it sound too sensual dirtier than the song originally sounded, you know?  So yeah.  

Anyways, I love Andante, Andante and it's definitely among my top favorite ABBA songs. :')

Song Analysis - Elaine

November 15th 1979 marked the final date of the Europe portion of ABBA's world tour, before embarking on the next leg in Japan in March.  But of course ABBA didn't use that entire time to rest.  Rather, beginning in January, Agnetha and Frida began recording ABBA's Spanish album, and Bjorn and Benny used that opportunity to take a songwriting trip to the Barbados.

One of the first songs to come out of this trip was a track originally titled Elaine Elaine Elaine, but ultimately it would get shortened to just one Elaine.  Recorded in February, 1980, this track is honestly such a stark contrast from all of the songs from the Super Trouper session, and perhaps that's one of the reasons why it never ended up making it on the album and instead remained a B-side.

The song itself is quite odd as well.  A lot of ABBA songs tell a story that is pretty easy to figure out. You have just enough context that you can fill in the blanks and easily come up with an interpretation that matches up with the song.  Elaine, however, is confusing.  The song is about a woman named Elaine, who seems to feel stuck or trapped by something that she knows is ultimately coming for her.  No matter what, this thing, whatever it is, will happen no matter how hard she tries to fight it off.  She screams, she swears, she tries to breakaway, but it all means nothing.  A mysterious "they" is going to get to her anyway.  

The final line "they have your mind they’ll take your soul" kinda makes me thing of like mind control in some way, or many even addiction to something.  Maybe this song is a warning to how addicted everyone is going to be to mobile phones in the future..?  Lol jk.  Or maybe this song is about an Alien invasion and the aliens are coming.  Perhaps the song is about someone trying to break free of some type of rut that everyone else is stuck in, but they're all resistant to change and try to drag her down with them.  Maybe Elaine is a prophet of some sort or a time traveler, and she tries to warn the people that this thing is happening, but ultimately no one listens to her.

Honestly, especially with the first verse being, "You hate, you scream, you swear, and still you never reach ’em.  You curse, you try to scare, but you can never teach ’em," kinda remind me of the Greek myth of Cassandra, which ABBA did end up writing a song about later in 1982.  Cassandra tried to warn the people of Troy about all types of dangers, but she was dismissed and ignored and mistreated.  Kind of giving the same vibes of ABBA's Elaine. 

Ultimately I guess we'll never know who or what the song is about, especially as Bjorn and Benny have pretty much said nothing about it, but also that's the beauty of music.  Especially where none of ABBA's songs unless otherwise stated are personal retellings of anything and are at most inspired by real life, they truly are up for anyone to interpret.  

Both Agnetha and Frida sing in unison on this track, but not in harmony except maybe on the line "and the street is narrow."  There also aren't as many layers of harmony and backing vocals in this song either.  Dare I say, this is the start of ABBA's "lazy" era.  That's not to say they didn't add any more harmony to songs, as there are so many stunning harmonies in Super Trouper and Put On Your White Sombrero, it's just when you compare songs from the whole Super Trouper album to songs from the Voulez-Vous album, there is quite a stark contrast in the amount of harmonies and backing vocals present.  However, in a way, it's like ABBA were reverting to their music style from before the Arrival album.  I guess you could say from Arrival to Voulez-Vous, ABBA were taking their craft extra seriously.  They took their time perfecting their craft, whereas on prior albums they were more rushed for time or were just starting out.  This is kinda why I personally think that ABBA's Voulez-Vous album was honestly their peak vocal-wise.  (and of course this is not to say I dislike the tracks from Super Trouper or The Visitors or even Voyage.  I love them all.  I'm just pointing out differences.)

The music for Elaine is quite groovy as well, with most of the instruments being played on Benny's synthesizer.  It's fun, but the music certainly contrasts the dark undertones of the lyrics!

(Also in case anyone is wondering why my posts have been lacking as of late - as you all know, I am a creative person and I use my hands a lot for art - drawing, sewing,writing, carrying around my crazy heavy zoom lens that I use for photographing animals, etc, and my wrist is currently suffering from all of that combined with the fact that I am really bad at letting my hands rest.... and typing aggravates my wrist........  So yeah. :)  Here's hoping I can force myself to stop aggravating it because this is no fun lol.)

Song Analysis - The Way Old Friends Do

ABBA have always written songs about a good number of different themes.  Some are happy, some are sad, some just plain old depressing, and then sometimes we get just plain, good old feel-good songs.  The Way Old Friends Do is a song about what friendship means.  Much like I'm Still Alive, the song is about experiencing through hard times, but most importantly, getting through it.  

The Way Old Friends Do was written as a new number to be performed during ABBA's 1979/80 tour, and was performed every night during the encore.  Agnetha, Frida, Bjorn, and Benny would stand together at the front of the stage and sing this song accompanied by Benny's accordion, and considering the song is about friendship and old friends, I think that was a perfect way to show that all four ABBA members were all still good friends even if they had fights and "words of violence."  Especially as at this time, Bjorn and Agnetha were going through their divorce and so many people were concerned that their split would mean the end of ABBA, but here ABBA were, reassuring their fans that they were al going to be okay.  

The song is extremely short, with just the verse and chorus repeated twice.  Although usually that can be indicator that the song was rushed or incomplete as can be heard in many of ABBA's Undeleted tracks, I think it worked perfectly in this song.

The first line of the song, "You and I can share the silence. finding comfort together, the way old friends do," Frida sings alone, then Agnetha sings the next line, "and after fights and words of violence, we make up with each other, the way old friends do."  Then Bjorn and Benny join Agnetha and Frida in the chorus, singing, "Times of joy and times of sorrow, we will always see it through.  Oh I don’t care what comes tomorrow.  We can face it together, the way old friends do."  Then they repeat the entire song again, this time with all four singing and in the chorus, they're joined by their backing vocalists, adding a beautiful sense of unity and harmony.  

Of the three new songs that were introduced to the audience as part of the tour, I'm Still Alive, Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, and The Way Old Friends Do, only the latter most song was included on ABBA's forthcoming album, Super Trouper.  However, they didn't record it all over again in the studio.  Realizing that the song had a specific atmosphere and sound that couldn't be reproduced in the studio, ABBA chose to include a live recording of the song, most likely recorded sometime during their six nights at Wembley Arena in November, 1979.  I'm curious which night they took the recording from, especially considering this live version has quite a different quality to it when compared to other official recordings we have from Wembley.  When you compare it to the the recording of ABBA performing the song that was first included in the TV documentary Words and Music and the version of the track recorded on the last night of ABBA's Wembley stay included on ABBA's Live At Wembley album, there's a specific clarity to the version ultimately included on Super Trouper that the other versions just do not have.  Plus, I noticed that the backing vocalists are significantly decreased in volume and almost sound like it''s ABBA themselves overdubbed and not their actual backing vocalists from the tour...  

his is merely speculation on my part, so I don't know for sure, but if they did overdub their live vocals, it's not like it's not an ABBA thing to do, as ABBA pretty much overdubbed all the live vocals included in ABBA the Movie because they just didn't like how they sounded live or the sound quality of those live recordings. Regardless, the recording of The Way Old Friends Do as featured on Super Trouper is one of my absolute favorite recordings.  I love hearing all four members singing together, and hearing them sing together about their close bond and friendship is extremely heartwarming.

Interestingly, the whole concept of "joy and sorrow" and knowing that they'll be able to get through everything as old friends was revisited a good 39 years later when Bjorn wrote the lyrics to I Still Have Faith In You.  With lines such us "The joy and the sorrow, we have a story, and it survived.  And we need one another, like fighters in a ring .  We’re in this together, passion and courage is everything," there is no doubt that this song is also about the ABBA members long standing friendship with each other.  Despite everything that happened with the band, the divorces, the bands' split, they always had and will have each other, the way old friends do.   

Although the last time ABBA performed this song as a group was on the final date of the 1979/80 tour, Agnetha and Frida did perform this song together at Bjorn and Benny's 50th anniversary party in 2016, and what a lovely performance it was.  Despite the fact that they hadn't performed together in so long, this impromptu performance was so beautiful and is probably what reminded ABBA that the could still sing together, which ultimately resulted in the recordings of I Still Have Faith In You and Don't Shut Me Down, which ultimately lead to the release of a whole new album in 2021.   If that's not the definition of true, old friends, I don't know what is. :')

Song Analysis - I'm Still Alive

 As part of ABBA's 1979/80 tour, ABBA would present the audience with a couple new tracks that had been written specifically to be included in the tour.  Those songs were The Way Old Friends Do as part of the encore, and I'm Still Alive.  However, unlike The Way Old Friends Do, I'm Still Alive was written by Agnetha, making it her second ever written contribution to ABBA's discography.  Similar to her first contribution Disillusion in 1973, the music was composed by Agnetha and the lyrics were written by Bjorn.  

After performing Intermezzo No.1, Benny would introduce I'm Still Alive as written by Agnetha "the little blonde girl", and Agnetha would go on to perform the song at the piano along with the rest of ABBA's band and the backing vocalists.  However, seeing as the other ABBA members don't sing the song with her, I've wondered if this song really is an ABBA song or not?  Similar to Tomas Ledin's performance of Not Bad At All during the same tour, is Agnetha just performing one of her own songs during the tour but the song itself is hers and not an actual ABBA song?  I personally classify it as an ABBA song, hence why I'm writing about it today. 

I'm Still Alive is a very classic Agnetha Faltskog song.  A slower ballad with themes of heartbreak and loneliness.  The song is about someone going through a pretty bad breakup, with lots of crying and being alone, and one point even thinking they were dying, yet, despite all of that, they affirm that they're still here, they're still alive, and not only that, they have emerged a stronger person.  Life will go on, even at it's slow pace, and eventually the painful memories will fade away.  In a way, this song is like the total opposite of Disillusion.  In that song, Agnetha sings about how all she is after this painful breakup is disillusioned, and that's all she is, but in I'm Still Alive, she feels like a winner because now she's stronger than ever and will not let the events of her heartbreak keep her down. And now, the next time something like this happens, she'll know how to deal with it and knows that no matter what, she will be okay.

One thing I find to be fascinating is the mention of winner and loser, a theme that would show up one year later in ABBA's The Winner Takes It All, a song that was inspired by but not the actual story of Agnetha and Bjorn's breakup, and then also the title I'm Still Alive, as that line would also show up in the bridge of  Super Trouper (So I’ll be there when you arrive.  The sight of you will prove to me I’m still alive and when you take me in your arms and hold me tight, I know it’s gonna mean so much tonight ) a song that Bjorn wrote inspired by his then-girlfriend Lena while on tour.

Neither Agnetha nor ABBA ever recorded this song officially in the studio, and it wasn't until 2014 that we were blessed with an official release of this song on ABBA's Live At Wembley Arena album.  Up until then, all we had were bootleg audios from various concerts, and some visual bootleg footage as well, but nothing in high quality. And what a treat it was to hear it in pristine, high quality.  Even in the bootleg audios, you can hear that Agnetha delivered a beautiful and emotional performance, capturing the essence of the song in vocals perfectly.  

However, in 1981, Agnetha and her friend Ingela "Pling" Forsman were chosen to submit a song in that year's Melodifestivalen, and they wrote the song Men natten är vår which was performed by Kicki Moberg.  On the B-side of the single, Kicki performed a Swedish version of I'm Still Alive, titled Här Är Mitt Liv.

The Swedish lyrics are: 

Man tappar tron ibland, om vad man vill och kan
När alla vägar delar sej och ingen leder fram
Men det finns ändå drömmar kvar att kämpa för
En del ska försvinna, men mycket finns att finna

Och här at mitt liv, jag lever och finns till
Nu är det upp till mej, att forma det som jag vill
Ja här är mitt liv, en gåva som jag har fått
Jag ska stå för ord och handling
Tro på framtid och förvandling
Här är mitt liv

Du vet att det är svårt, att altid vara stark
Att kunna gå sin egen väg och stå på säker mark
När alla ljusa rum som fanns i glädjens hus
Det mörka och slutna och tillhör det förflutna

Men här at mitt liv, jag lever och finns till
Nu är det upp till mej, att forma det som jag vill
Ja här är mitt liv, en gåva som jag har fått
Jag ska stå för ord och handling
Tro på framtid och förvandling
Här är mitt liv

Ja här at mitt liv, jag lever och finns till
Nu är det upp till mej, att forma det som jag vill
Ja här är mitt liv, en gåva som jag har fått
Jag ska stå för ord och handling
Tro på framtid och förvandling
Här är mitt liv

Här...

which translates into English:

You sometimes lose faith in what you want and can do
When all roads divide and no one leads
But there are still dreams left to fight for
Some will disappear, but there is much to be found

And here at my life, I live and exist
Now it's up to me to shape it as I want
Yes, this is my life, a gift that I have been given
I will stand for word and deed
Faith in the future and transformation
Here is my life

You know it's hard to always be strong
To be able to go your own way and stand on safe ground
When all the bright rooms that were in the house of joy
The dark and closed and belongs to the past

But here at my life, I live and exist
Now it's up to me to shape it as I want
Yes, this is my life, a gift that I have been given
I will stand for word and deed
Faith in the future and transformation
Here is my life

Yes here is my life, I live and exist
Now it's up to me to shape it as I want
Yes, this is my life, a gift that I have been given
I will stand for word and deed
Faith in the future and transformation
Here is my life

Here...

So that's a brief little look and history into I'm Still Alive.  Kicki Moberg performed the song really well and honestly extremely similar to Agnetha's live performance, and definitely gives us a good feel for what I'm Still Alive could have sounded like if it had ever been recorded in the studio.  And of course, Agnetha performed the song beautifully as well.   

For funsies, I once I decided to take the live vocals of Agnetha sinigng I'm Still Alive and put them over the studio backing track of Har At Mitt Liv and I think it turned out decent lol.