Informații interesante: Abba

Video hit ABBA

Abba - One Of Us

"One of Us," which had the working titles "Number 1" and "Mio Amore", was one of the last songs recorded for ABBA's 1981 album The Visitors, and features a lead vocal by Agnetha Faltskog. It was one of a number of tracks that explored the darker territory of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's songwriting as the two men's divorces were beginning to influence their musical output. Indeed, the message of the song was about a woman trying to revive a dead relationship. Despite the somewhat depressing context and reservations by manager Stig Anderson, "One of Us" was released as the 1st single from The Visitors, coupled with the non-album track "Should I Laugh or Cry" Ulvaeus had favored releasing it as the 1st single from the new album and was vindicated when the majority of the record companies agreed with him. Indeed, it proved to be a wise move as it was ABBA's last No. 1 single. The decision to release this as a single was made so late that it wasn't available in Swedish shops until after the album "The Visitors" had been released.

In the United Kingdom, this single was issued in a different sleeve. The official sleeve depicted the album cover photo, and was used in most countries. Epic Records wanted a different image for the British release, and used separate photos of the group members together with a large ABBA logo. Agnetha and Frida appeared on the front cover, with Bjorn and Benny on the back. The photos were actually out-of-date, as Frida was depicted still with her frizzy perm, while Bjorn was beardless. A limited edition picture disc using very similar artwork was also issued, Epic Records again making up for their earlier poor presentation of ABBA singles up until mid-1979.

The B-side, "Should I Laugh or Cry", included a spoken count-in (in Swedish) from Benny. This count-in appeared on UK and South African releases, but not internationally. The master tapes supplied to Epic contained the error, but were not picked up in time, and so appeared on the single release. In the early 2000s, Epic's rights to ABBA's music in the UK had long since expired. However, they still owned all the UK master tapes for the singles. These were then returned to Polar Music (itself owned by Universal Music) in Stockholm, who later issued the error count-in version as a "rarity" in The Complete Studio Recordings boxed set, thereby making it available to a worldwide audience (and on CD for the first time). The count-in version has now also been released on The Visitors (Deluxe Edition) CD released on April 23, 2012.

The lyrics:

They passed me by, all of those great romances

You were, I felt, robbing me of my rightful chances

My picture clear, everything seemed so easy

And so I dealt you the blow

One of us had to go

Now it's different, I want you to know

One of us is crying

One of us is lying in her lonely bed

Staring at the ceiling

Wishing she was somewhere else instead

One of us is lonely

One of us is only waiting for a call

Sorry for herself, feeling stupid, feeling small

Wishing she had never left at all

I saw myself as a concealed attraction

I felt you kept me away from the heat and the action

Just like a child, stubborn and misconceiving

That's how I started the show

One of us had to go

Now I've changed and I want you to know

One of us is crying

One of us is lying in her lonely bed

Staring at the ceiling

Wishing she was somewhere else instead

One of us is lonely

One of us is only waiting for a call

Sorry for herself, feeling stupid, feeling small

Wishing she had never left at all, never left at all

Staring at the ceiling

Wishing she was somewhere else instead

One of us is lonely

One of us is only waiting for a call

Sorry for herself, feeling stupid, feeling small

Video hit ABBA

ABBA - Knowing Me, Knowing You

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a hit single recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA.

The song was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with the lead vocal sung by Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was recorded in 1976 at the Metronome studio in Stockholm and was released as a single in February 1977, becoming one of the group's most successful hits. The B-side was "Happy Hawaii", an arrangement of another ABBA song, "Why Did It Have to Be Me?", but with a different lead vocalist and lyrics. "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was one of the first ABBA songs to deal with the break-up of a relationship, though with an upbeat quality to the music. It predates the divorces of the ABBA members, as well as further break-up songs to come: "The Winner Takes It All", "One of Us" and "When All Is Said and Done".

Group member Benny Andersson named "Knowing Me, Knowing You" as one of ABBA's best recordings in a 2004 interview, along with "Dancing Queen", "The Winner Takes It All" and "When I Kissed the Teacher".

Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA came up with this song at a time when the relationships within the group were strained, and his lyric reflect that.

Said Ulvaeus: "I think I wrote 'Knowing Me Knowing You' before the divorce. In many ways, Agnetha and my divorce was an amicable one, we just grew apart and decided let's split up. Benny and Frida's was a little more difficult. It was not a happy time but still very creative."

"Conociéndome, Conociéndote" is the Spanish-language version of the song. It was included in the compilation Oro: Grandes Éxitos released in 1993.

Music video

The music video, (directed by Lasse Hallström) despicted the band against various colored backdrops singing while facing each other, turning away as a new line is sung. At the end of the video, the band's female members were seen walking away through thick snow.

The lyrics:

No more carefree laughter

Silence ever after

Walking through an empty house, tears in my eyes

Here is where the story ends, this is goodbye

Knowing me, knowing you

There is nothing we can do

Knowing me, knowing you

We just have to face it, this time we're through

Breaking up is never easy, I know

But I have to go

Knowing me, knowing you

It's the best I can do

Memories, good days, bad days

They'll be with me always

In these old familiar rooms children would play

Now there's only emptiness, nothing to say

Knowing me, knowing you

There is nothing we can do

Knowing me, knowing you

We just have to face it, this time we're through

Breaking up is never easy, I know

But I have to go

Knowing me, knowing you

It's the best I can do

Knowing me, knowing you

There is nothing we can do

Knowing me, knowing you

We just have to face it, this time we're through

Breaking up is never easy, I know

But I have to go

Knowing me, knowing you

It's the best I can do

Video hit ABBA

ABBA - The Winner Takes It All

ABBA member Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote this after separating from wife and fellow band member, Agnetha Fältskog.

It's about a divorce where one person doesn't want to separate and clings desperately to the marriage.

It put Agnetha in the strange spot of being asked to sing a breakup song written by her ex-husband.

Ulvaeus didn't intend it this way. He explained: "I sang a demo of it myself which a lot of people liked and said, you have to sing that. But I saw the sensible thing of course, it had to go to Agnetha. I remember coming to the studio with it and everyone said, Oh this is great, wonderful It was strange hearing her singing it. It was more like an actress doing something when she sang it, but deeply moving. Afterwards there were a few tears as well."

Bjorn has said that while he usually didn't use drugs or alcohol while writing, he had a bottle of brandy next to him while writing the lyrics for this song. It was very personal to him.

He told The London Times March 26, 2010: "Usually it's not a good idea to write when you're drunk, but it all came out on that one. By the time I wrote 'The gods may throw their dice' the bottle was empty."

Ulvaeus claimed that 90% of this song is fiction, which is why he didn't feel too bad about having his ex-wife sing it.

Said Ulvaeus: "I had this image of a man walking through an empty house with all the furniture removed for the last time as the symbol of divorce and just describing what I see."

The lyrics:

I don't wanna talk

About the things we've gone through

Though it's hurting me

Now it's history

I've played all my cards

And that's what you've done too

Nothing more to say

No more ace to play

The winner takes it all

The loser standing small

Beside the victory

That's her destiny

I was in your arms

Thinking I belonged there

I figured it made sense

Building me a fence

Building me a home

Thinking I'd be strong there

But I was a fool

Playing by the rules

The Gods may throw a dice

Their minds as cold as ice

And someone way down here

Loses someone dear

The winner takes it all

(Takes it all)

The loser has to fall

(Has to fall)

It's simple and it's plain

(Yes, it's plain)

Why should I complain?

(Why complain?)

But tell me does she kiss

Like I used to kiss you

Does it feel the same

When she calls your name

Somewhere deep inside

You must know I miss you

But what can I say

Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide

(Decide)

The likes of me abide

(Abide)

Spectators of the show

(of the Show)

Always staying low

(Staying low)

The game is on again

(All again)

A lover or a friend

(Or a friend)

A big thing or a small

(Big or small)

The winner takes it all

(Takes it all)

I don't wanna talk

If it makes you feel sad

And I understand

You've come to shake my hand

I apologize

If it makes you feel bad

Seeing me so tense

No self-confidence

But you see

The winner takes it all

Someone winner

Takes it all

And one loses

Has to fall

From a guide

From the side

Makes that feeling

Someone here

Takes it all

Has to fall

This is magic

Someone here

Video hit ABBA

Abba - Chiquitita

"Chiquitita" (a Spanish term of endearment for a woman meaning "little one") is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA.

It was released in January 1979 as the first single from the group's Voulez-Vous album.

Originally, the track "If It Wasn't for the Nights" was going to be the album's lead single, but after "Chiquitita" was completed those plans were abandoned, and it would remain an album track.

History

Many preliminary versions of "Chiquitita" exist. It had working titles of "Kålsupare", "3 Wise Guys", "Chiquitita Angelina" and "In The Arms of Rosalita".

A revised version, which had a sound that was influenced by the Peruvian song "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" performed by Simon and Garfunkel, was recorded in December 1978 and released as a single in January 1979.

With the success of the English version, ABBA also recorded "Chiquitita" in Spanish by phonetics, and it was one of the featured tracks on the Spanish-language release Gracias Por La Música.

Reception

"Chiquitita" proved to be one of ABBA's biggest hits.

It was featured in a 1979 UNICEF charity event, the Music for UNICEF Concert, broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly.

As a direct result of this event, ABBA donated half of all royalties from the song to UNICEF.

To this day, 50% of the proceeds from the song go to UNICEF in recognition of the "International Year of the Child" in 1979.

In Great Britain, "Chiquitita" debuted at #8 in the singles chart, making it the highest place début for any ABBA single release.

Music video

"Chiquitita" was one of the very few singles ABBA released without a custom-made video. Since then, on compilations of the group's videos, a contemporary TV performance of the song has been used.

This clip was taped by the BBC for the show ABBA in Switzerland, broadcast across Europe at Easter 1979.

ABBA is seen performing the song on a mountainside, with a snowman in the background. Throughout the clip, there was an obvious problem with the fan during filming, which affected Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad; her hair constantly flew in her face, and she was forced to keep moving it out of her eyes.

The lyrics:

Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong?

You're enchained by your own sorrow

In your eyes there is no hope for tomorrow

How I hate to see you like this

There is no way you can deny it

I can see that you're oh so sad, so quiet

Chiquitita, tell me the truth

I'm a shoulder you can cry on

Your best friend, I'm the one you must rely on

You were always sure of yourself

Now I see you've broken a feather

I hope we can patch it up together

Chiquitita, you and I know

How the heartaches come and they go

And the scars they're leaving

You'll be dancing once again and the pain will end

You will have no time for grieving

Chiquitita, you and I cry

And the sun is still in the sky and shining above you

Let me hear you sing once more like you did before

Sing a new song, Chiquitita

Try once more like you did before

Sing a new song, Chiquitita

So the walls came tumbling down

And your love's a blown out candle

All is gone and it seems too hard to handle

Chiquitita, tell me the truth

There is no way you can deny it

I see that you're oh so sad, so quiet

Chiquitita, you and I know

How the heartaches come and they go

And the scars they're leaving

You'll be dancing once again and the pain will end

You will have no time for grieving

Chiquitita, you and I cry

And the sun is still in the sky and shining above you

Let me hear you sing once more like you did before

Sing a new song, Chiquitita

Try once more like you did before

Sing a new song, Chiquitita

Try once more like you did before

Sing a new song, Chiquitita

Video hit ABBA

ABBA - The Day Before You Came

Aceasta melodie o dedic regizorului Ovidiu Lazar, creatorul spectacolului de teatru Negustorul de timp de Matei Visniec.
Dedic melodia pentru modul magistral in care ea a fost folosita de regizor in spectacolul sus mentionat.
The Day Before You Came is a song recorded and released by Swedish pop group ABBA, their second longest (behind Eagle) at almost 6:00 in length.

It was originally released in 1982 as both a single, and a track on the compilation album The Singles: The First Ten Years.

It was the final ABBA recording; however, it was not their final song to be released: the next single was "Under Attack", also featured on the album.

Björn Ulvaeus wrote the lyrics, which to some degree are influenced by his divorce from Agnetha Fältskog. He later said: "Even if 90% of the lyrics were fiction there are still feelings in songs like 'Winner Takes It All' and 'Day Before You Came' they have something from that time in them”.

Many years after the song was recorded, Michael Tretow, ABBA's longtime sound engineer, recalled Agnetha performing the lead with dimmed lights and said that the mood had become sad and everybody in the studio knew that 'this was the end'.

On this rumour, Stephen Emms of The Guardian continues the story by saying "finishing her vocals, our eroine was to remove her headphones and walk solemnly out into the daylight, never to return".

Benny said that in his opinion, "'The Day Before You Came' is the best lyric that Bjorn has written: it's a really good song, but not a good recording". He compared this to "Under Attack", recorded around the same time, which he described as "a wonderful recording, but not such a good song".

While reminiscing on the track at an interview for Mamma Mia! the musical, Björn said, "we thought it was a great song", but added that they also thought it would not work as it was so far removed from their previous material.

Frida said that there were "problems over how Agnetha would interpret it".

ABBA attempted many different ways of singing the song, eventually settling on a "haunted" style. In the version that got released, Agnetha sang as if she was hurt and vulnerable, rather than belting it out (which Bjorn implies she did in other takes).

Frida said the song was "a very different sound to what we had done before", and Björn added that they were "taking a chance". Frida said it was a "beautiful song".

In response to the interviewer commenting on their looking unhappy in the video clip, Frida said, "it was an unhappy time of our lives [as we were] on the verge of splitting up" and had started talking about the individual projects of each member. She adds that it was not an easy situation, arguably justifying the gloomy atmosphere as a parallel of their real lives as a part of ABBA.

Music video

The song was promoted by a music video clip filmed on 21 September 1982, and directed by the team of Kjell Sundvall and Kjell-Åke Andersson, breaking ABBA's eight-year directing relationship with Lasse Hallström.

The video featured Agnetha flirting with a stranger on a train, played by Swedish actor Jonas Bergström as Fältskog's love interest.

The bridge seen in the video clip is the Årstabron bridge, located in the southern part of the city. Within the context of the music video, the train on the bridge actually goes in wrong direction. In the clip, Agnetha waits at Tumba station for the train and ends up in the city. However, in reality the train seen on the bridge goes from the city to Tumba.

The parts of the video featuring all the members of ABBA were filmed at the China Theatre in Stockholm, nearby the Polar Music offices located in Berzelii Park.

There were several photo sessions done during filming at the theatre. One of them, known as "the green session", was taken in theatre's foyer.

Christopher Patrick, in ABBA: Let The Music Speak, says the final sequence in the music video, in which "the train [where the narrator meets her lover] shunts off into oblivion, leaving in its wake a bleak and deserted railway station", is a fitting metaphor for ABBA, having reached the end of their creative partnership.

The lyrics:

Must have left my house at eight, because I always do

My train, I'm certain, left the station just when it was due

I must have read the morning paper going into town

And having gotten through the editorial, no doubt I must have frowned

I must have made my desk around a quarter after nine

With letters to be read, and heaps of papers waiting to be signed

I must have gone to lunch at half past twelve or so

The usual place, the usual bunch

And still on top of this I'm pretty sure it must have rained

The day before you came

I must have lit my seventh cigarette at half past two

And at the time I never even noticed I was blue

I must have kept on dragging through the business of the day

Without really knowing anything, I hid a part of me away

At five I must have left, there's no exception to the rule

A matter of routine, I've done it ever since I finished school

The train back home again

Undoubtedly I must have read the evening paper then

Oh yes, I'm sure my life was well within it's usual frame

The day before you came

Must have opened my front door at eight o'clock or so

And stopped along the way to buy some chinese food to go

I'm sure I had my dinner watching something on tv

There's not, I think, a single episode of dallas that I didn't see

I must have gone to bed around a quarter after ten

I need a lot of sleep, and so I like to be in bed by then I must have read a while

The latest one by marilyn french or something in that style

It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim

The day before you came

And turning out the light

I must have yawned and cuddled up for yet another night

And rattling on the roof I must have heard the sound of rain

The day before you came

Video hit ABBA

ABBA - Eagle (1978)

Benny Anderson and Björn Ulvaeus wrote most of their songs with an eye on the singles charts, including this heavily produced orchestrated track, although it was not marketed as such in the US or UK. The album version runs to 5 minutes 51 seconds, and is the longest ABBA song ever released. There were various radio edits: in Japan, the 1978 single which was released on the Disco Mate label (backed by "Thank You For The Music") ran to 4 minutes 25 seconds and reached only #62 in the chart.

The Spanish release, on Carnaby, ran to 3 minutes 36 seconds, and failed to chart.

In Holland, it was released on Polydor, ran to 4 minutes 26 seconds, and reached #4.

The theme of the song is similar to that of "Paloma Blanca," "Skyline Pigeon" and countless other songs where birds feature in the title or the lyrics, though "Eagle" had a more specific inspiration. In Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of ABBA it is revealed as the book Jonathan Livingston Seagull, of which Björn said: "I was trying to capture the sense of freedom that I got from reading that book." (thanks, Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2). Although this song could not match the success of the majority of ABBA's hits, it managed to reach the Top 10 in Netherlands and West Germany and topped the charts in Belgium.

The lyrics:

They came flying from far away, now I'm under their spell

I love hearing the stories that they tell

They've seen places beyond my land and they've found new horizons

They speak strangely but I understand

And I dream I'm an eagle

And I dream I can spread my wings

Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky

I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze

High, high, what a feeling to fly

Over mountains and forests and seas

And to go anywhere that I please

As all good friends we talk all night, and we fly wing to wing

I have questions and they know everything

There's no limit to what I feel, we climb higher and higher

Am I dreaming or is it all real?

Is it true I'm an eagle?

Is it true I can spread my wings?

Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky (I'm an eagle)

I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze

High, high, what a feeling to fly (What a feeling)

Over mountains and forests and seas

And to go anywhere that I please

And I dream I'm an eagle

And I dream I can spread my wings

Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky (I'm an eagle)

I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze

High, high, what a feeling to fly (What a feeling)

Over mountains and forests and seas

Flying high, high, I'm a bird in the sky (I'm an eagle)

I'm an eagle that rides on the breeze

High, high, what a feeling to fly (What a feeling)

Over mountains and forests and seas

And to go anywhere that I please

Imnul oricarui inceput de an

ABBA - Happy New Year

"Happy New Year" is a popular song by Swedish pop group ABBA from their 1980 album “Super Trouper”. The lead vocals are by Agnetha Fältskog.

The song's working title was all the more festive and humorous; "Daddy Don't Get Drunk on Christmas Day".

Although recorded in 1980, the English-language song wasn't released as a single until 1999 and charted in Sweden (#4, The Netherlands (#8), and Germany (#75), to promote the CD re-release of many of ABBA's singles.

"Felicidad" was the Spanish language version of the song. The single charted in the top 5 in Argentina. The song was also included on the South American versions of the Super Trouper album. Released in 1980 in Argentina, the single's B-side was the album's title track, "Super Trouper".

"Felicidad" was first released on CD as part of the 1994 Polydor U.S. compilation Más ABBA Oro, and in 1999 on the expanded re-release of ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos.

In 2008, it was released again in several countries, and charted in Denmark (#25), Norway (#11), and Sweden (#4).

It re-entered the Sweden and Norway charts in 2009 at #5 in both charts and reached the Dutch Top 10 in 2011.

In December 2011 a silver glitter vinyl single limited to 500 pieces was released including the songs Happy New Year and The Way Old Friends Do. The edition was available from the official ABBA site and the ABBF fan site only. It was sold out within the day of announcing the release.

The lyrics are:

No more champagne

And the fireworks are through

Here we are, me and you

Feeling lost and feeling blue

It's the end of the party

And the morning seems so grey

So unlike yesterday

Now's the time for us to say...

Happy new year

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don't we might as well lay down and die

You and i

Sometimes I see

How the brave new world arrives

And I see how it thrives

In the ashes of our lives

Oh yes, man is a fool

And he thinks he'll be okay

Dragging on, feet of clay

Never knowing he's astray

Keeps on going anyway...

Happy new year

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don't we might as well lay down and die

You and i

Seems to me now

That the dreams we had before

Are all dead, nothing more

Than confetti on the floor

It's the end of a decade

In another ten years time

Who can say what we'll find

What lies waiting down the line

In the end of eighty-nine...

Happy new year

May we all have a vision now and then

Of a world where every neighbour is a friend

Happy new year

May we all have our hopes, our will to try

If we don't we might as well lay down and die

You and i

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Video hit ABBA

Video hit ABBA

ABBA - Knowing Me, Knowing You

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ABBA - The Winner Takes It All

Video hit ABBA

Abba - Chiquitita

Video hit ABBA

ABBA - The Day Before You Came

Video hit ABBA

ABBA - Eagle (1978)

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ABBA - Happy New Year

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