Abba

Benny and Björn wrote songs for Josefin Nilsson , I think they made one album.
She was a wellknown artist in Sweden then working in a popular group and they had shows scheduled so she couldn´t say yes at once when Benny asked if she wanted to work with them.
There are some silly questions but here Benny says he was inspired from classical music,the reason ABBA split up was that Benny and Björn would work together with Tim Rice to make a musical
[video=youtube_share;NZFdP2CKdAo]http://youtu.be/NZFdP2CKdAo[/video]

He said one of his favorites ABBA-songs then was their last recorded song "the day before you came."
Björn and Benny wanted to do a musical, they were interested in a story
Agnetha is telling her story -but she´s not happy..
[video=youtube_share;1HnOFwqpLRQ]http://youtu.be/1HnOFwqpLRQ[/video]

Is she meeting her lover, is she going to be abused,murdered , did she commit murder?
Björn said the music is hinting at it..so what is it?

Interpretation[edit]Some interpret the song about "the ordinary life of a woman the day before the arrival of her lover".[2][22] Simon Frith in The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock says the song, his favourite from ABBA's catalogue, is about "the wonder of falling in love by flatly documenting how banal life was before love struck".[23] Christopher Patrick, author of ABBA: Let The Music Speak, says the "account of one ordinary woman's mundane and predictable daily existence" is made sobering as it becomes evident that she doesn't have the lover she yearns for.[3] Malcolm Womack in his article Thank You For the Music: Catherine Johnson's feminist revoicings in Mamma Mia! says the song illustrates a common ABBA theme, in which "the unremarkable woman [is] given purpose by a remarkable man...most often...through romance". He interprets the song as a female narrator listing the bland events throughout her day "until she is rescued from [it by a lover]".[24] However, others interpret the song as depicting the final events in a woman's life before her death. Tom Ewing of Pitchfork comments that the narrator describes the events "on the day before it is changed forever: By what, we never learn." He turns to journalist Taylor Parkes for the answer, whose 1995 essay on ABBA talks about "the spectral choirs of backing vocals suggest[ing] a murderer as much as a lover". He goes on to argue that this song epitomises ABBA's central theme, which is that "life is trivial and nothing happens, but the somethings that might happen are worse".[25] Tom Ewing of Pitchfork notes that the narrator is providing a "hesitant reconstruction" of the events leading up to she meets someone who "we assume is her lover". He comments on the banal details of the day (that come alive through Agnetha's singing technique), which are "contrasted by keening backing vocals of...dread", implying the "You" is in fact referring to a "killer, not partner".[26] Priya Elan of Pitchfork expands on this theory by suggesting that "the protagonist is a ghost, who is eerily detailing the minutiae of her daily life before her murderer – the “you” of the title – ended her life". He adds that despite the theory sounding "far-fetched", the "celestial harmonies" of Frida and Benny throughout the verses, and the harmony (which he suggests is actually shrieking) in the middle eight gives added weight to this interpretation. He adds that it makes the final line "a bit more chilling" due to its ambiguity.[27] Kulture explains that the song "depicts a woman['s] strenuous [and] repetitive daily life at the office and at home, the day before...she meets the man of her life". It then goes on to add that "there is something wrong", in that "instead of being a happy song about complete solitude", the song is driven forward "by an overwhelming sadness". It draws the conclusion that "when she met the man [her life] became even worse", for unspecified reasons that might include "fear, confinement, [or] beatings".[5] One Week II One Band also asks "Is it violent?", citing similarities with the 1960s song “Past, Present And Future” by The Shangri-Las, which has references to sexual abuse.[28]

There are many other possible interpretations. One of the main ones involves the protagonist retrospectively thinking back to the gloomy day before she met her lover who has since left her or even died (for example watching the coffin be lowered as she sings). This is supported by the music video showing a relationship blossoming and then falling apart, and in the final scene (which takes place in a theatre), Agnetha is wearing black and the other ABBA members look as though they are at a funeral. The narrator is only now reflecting on her life before she met her lover, and realising that she was just going through the motions in a worthless existence. She realises that her life changed for the better because of her love. She now sees the mundanity of the life she lived because she has to live that life again, only now knowing what she is missing and not able to live in blissful ignorance. The lyrics are therefore vague but in present tense ("I must have left the house at eight because I always do"), as she has to remember her previous routine, so she can pick it up again. The only time when she speaks with certainty is about the train leaving on time. In the music video, the lover is seen to be running after the train, because the narrator wishes she had been late and had therefore never met him. That is one of the few parts of the story that is essential to her current unhappiness, and is therefore the only concrete fact.[29][30] One Week II One Band says "The conceit of “The Day Before You Came” is simple and could be rather sweet – it’s about trying to remember what life was like before you met your lover. The lyrics reconstruct a typical day – tentatively, because life has changed so much now the singer can hardly remember the her that used to be." Though adds "Agnetha sounds bereaved – the world she’s left, and is singing about, is obviously beyond recovery, and there’s a longing in her voice sometimes as she recounts even the most banal details. And...in place of the chorus there’s a series of ghostly choral howls, wordless cries filled with sorrow." It further explains "it’s about loss: an utterly ordinary lifestyle which turns out to be something worth mourning." It also suggests that to the narrator, "love [is] a threat to [her] autonomy, as is, her life may have been mundane but at least if was her life."[28]

The narrator has also been interpreted as being a murderer, who is, the following day, recounting the events in order to form an alibi. She did it in the unaccounted for 2 hours between leaving work and arriving home - spoken about at the end of verse two. (She leaves her house at 8 and arrives at work at 9:15, yet she leaves work at 5 and arrives at home at 8). This part of the song is sung with much gusto and passion in order to convince the authorities, while the rest is sung with a feigned sadness. The theatre scene is placed in the music video as the narrator is merely performing, trying to entertain the three policemen/detectives, played by the other 3 band members, who are not convinced of her story. The song has a melancholy tone because deep down the narrator knows she will not get away with the murder. Frida's shrill operatic background vocals in the instrumental breaks symbolise the murder. They are performed twice - once in the place within the narrative where it actually takes place, and another time after the narrator has concluded her story, as she dwells on her murder. Her alibi is why is very direct and knowledgeable about the times in her story, and vague about everything else.

Another interpretation is that the entire song being a dream that the protagonist tries to recall after waking up – her tragic life being the "you" (supported by the vagueness of the lyrics). If the event the song is building up to is in fact her murder (and she is staring her murderer in the face whilst singing this song), the vague recollections may be due to her being drugged. She could also have a terminal illness, and be, after death, going through the final moments before her inevitable death. Another interpretation is that, throughout the song, the narrator has a sense of hope that her repetitive gloomy day will somehow get better, but singing from the perspective of the following day (which turned out exactly the same), she knows deep down this will not be the case. "She keeps living her office life in attendance of what should be coming but isn't. The guy in the train is a dream, in the end he does not materialize. That is why the song ends so sad, while continuing the theme of the song."[31][unreliable source?] The constant referring to "rain" throughout the song is seen by some to have a symbolic meaning, perhaps of crying. The man in the music video has been interpreted as being a dream of the narrator, which is why, as the train goes off into the distance, the song ends on a melancholy tone (the happy dream has come to an end). The entire song may be the narrator's life flashing before her eyes just before she dies.[32]

80s45s says that the "clockwork rhythm [of the] melancholic synthesizers and multi-tracked backing vocals" emulates the "relentless, yet comforting [sound] of the commuter train [as seen in the video clip]", and that the song is in fact about "the alienation of modern life". He says the narrator lives in "quiet desperation", something many can relate to, and recounts the tedium of her day-to-day life "as if to convince herself of her purpose in existing". He argues that "the song is about the day when her self-sufficiency ceases to sustain her [and when] succumbing to the pressure of loneliness, she trades her solitary stability...for love...[a] flimsy...defense against the emptiness of existence". 80s45s interprets the "powerful sense of finality [and the] baleful triumph [as the music swells in the outro]" as her being "resigned to the impossibility of returning to former comforts having once left them".[22]

While the entire song is leading up to something coming, and the narrator describes how mundane her life is before this event takes place, it is not explained what actually happens after the thing comes, something which remains a "pop mystery" like the "identity of the subject of Carly Simon's 'You're So Vain'". After being asked by The Times about this on March 26, 2010, Ulvaeus "smiled enigmatically" and said: "You've spotted it, haven't you? The music is hinting at it".[1][33
 
There is ABBA and there is Abba...
ABBA had to ask for permission to use the name because it was already occupied..
If you come to a store in Sweden and see tins of fishproducts and you can read the name Abba , it has nothing to do with the group ABBA.
http://www.abba.se/produkter/
It´s possible that ABBA members eat Abbas herrings..most swedes do.

Back to the collaboration between Björn,Benny and Josefin Nilsson.
This reminds me of the the day before you came,Benny said Sweden is a melancholy country

[video=youtube_share;4xFC9OUhEKM]http://youtu.be/4xFC9OUhEKM[/video]

I don´t know what Björn meant with the title Where the whales have ceased to sing, it makes me think of what happens to whales, orcas, dolphins in the wild and in captivity..and then I found another songs.
I´m not sure if Benny´s son is cowriter or if it´s writen only by his daughter in law, Nanne Grönwall.
Tissues might be needed ..
[video=youtube_share;6rqtzmLDRII]http://youtu.be/6rqtzmLDRII[/video]
 
Josefin was busy doing concerts with her group Ainbusk singers before she could work on a project with Björn and Benny.
I didn´t know it before but Benny actually made the music to 2 of their most popular songs, this time a woman wrote the lyrics ,Josefin´s sister Marie.

This one reminds me of little Susie, darkness was very dark...until one day
I met Lassie
[video=youtube_share;tcKFA9dl2hw]http://youtu.be/tcKFA9dl2hw[/video]

It was a day and I was four years old ,
I believed more in evil than good things .
I was four years old and there was terrible types in my room ,
black wallpaper cold trumpets blood pancakes and planets
and air buzzed kind, the darkness was very dark
and lonely and scared I was .
Does no one like me?
nobody likes me .
Then she came like a light from the darkness
she licked my cheek and said " with me you are safe and warm ,
I 'll warm your heart, I like you "
and her eyes sparkled love.

I met Lassie , I met Lassie and I saw that there was goodness ,
star of hope shone brightly around her furry tail.
I met Lassie , I met Lassie , she whispered to me his Vov ,
We went paw in the hand and my heart felt blessed .

If you are small and weak (the angels cry ) ,
and is beaten with blows ( when souls die )
no one understands but the heart is screaming , why?
if you are small and weak ( Oh , boy sobs )
every night every day ( including silent cases) .
of all evil you will be blue inside outside , why am I here ?

But horrors may turn
and dandelions light their buds to grow up at dawn.
When ghosts scares me she will scare them away
then she lumbers to us , me and you, with all her love .

I met Lassie , I met Lassie , darling , you 're like a rose
you kiss my sad tears with your gentle nose
I met Lassie , I met Lassie , she makes me so warm and happy
together we go paw in hand in life's walk

Love me for who I am
[video=youtube_share;4UNdqmkJ_aw]http://youtu.be/4UNdqmkJ_aw[/video]
 
The first time ABBA performed Dancing Queen was when there was concert for Swedens king and future queen before they married.
There was another concert for Swedens queen when she became 50.
ABBA didn´t make comeback but Frida sang it together with the Real Group.
The only instruments here are their voices..

[video=youtube_share;1_Q80F1fuQA]http://youtu.be/1_Q80F1fuQA[/video]
 
Here is a part of an early version of my love, my life.
The demo was called monsieur, monsieur.
Agnetha is in an interview in a radioprogramme and have to think for a while what song it is.
She said they didn´t like it and it was only "careless singing"
The wanted to change arrangemang,it was too high they had to lower it and they changed lyrics.

She said she prefered to work in the studio before performing the songs.
All of them in the studio could hear the song didn´t become what they wanted.
She said it was easy for them to get along and often thought the same thing about the music.

[video=youtube_share;wRohWkH0TII]http://youtu.be/wRohWkH0TII[/video]

the final result
[video=youtube_share;2dfUXpJd6F4]http://youtu.be/2dfUXpJd6F4[/video]

Björn said in a interview 1982 they didn´t have to compromise but Frida said sometimes as a singer you had to compromise,Björn and Benny could have ideas about the songs they wrote.

They said the most stupid question they got was "do you like music?"
Frida said she became full of laughter and had to leave but Benny said no ,you became angry.
Well, it was both Frida said.
 
Since I started this thread I´ve learned more about ABBA then I knew before.
I recently found there had been ABBA flashmobs

I prefer the original music but I enjoy it anyway
[video=youtube_share;nhxWY-P_hvo]http://youtu.be/nhxWY-P_hvo[/video]

[video=youtube_share;eDW0QlFFvvc]http://youtu.be/eDW0QlFFvvc[/video]

A song flashmob

[video=youtube_share;DDozWnxpJhQ]http://youtu.be/DDozWnxpJhQ[/video]
 
[video=youtube_share;0VlflS4tKvU]http://youtu.be/0VlflS4tKvU[/video]
from 6:13 you can her a sample from this
[video=youtube_share;qMDmR08fsgw]http://youtu.be/qMDmR08fsgw[/video]
It´s almost 50 years ago in the beginning of Bennys songwriting career
 
ABBA delay new music and BBC documentary

By Celebretainment Sep 18, 2018 The Southern Illinoisan
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ABBA's BBC TV documentary special will not air in December as their new song 'I Still Have Faith In You' isn't ready yet.

The Swedish pop superstars - Benny Andersson, Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Frida Lyngstad - teased the track along with 'Don't Shut Me Down', their first new music in 35 years made for their forthcoming avatar tour, in April, but songwriter Benny has now revealed they are delaying the festive programme until 2019 to complete the songs.

He told the Daily Star newspaper: "It was planned for the end of this year.

"But I think we are talking about the beginning of next year now.

"I am very proud of both songs. One is like a pop song from the Seventies. The other one is kind of timeless."

The broadcaster also confirmed that the show - which had a running title of 'Thank You For The Music' - is now going to air next year.

They said: "The ABBA TV special will be broadcast in 2019."

Bjorn previously teased that the new songs are "uplifting" and "timeless".

He said: "One of them is a pop tune, very danceable.

"The other is more timeless, more reflective, that is all I will say. It is Nordic sad, but happy at the same time.

"I think that exuberant quality of the two ladies [Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad] together singing, that makes the saddest song a bit uplifting. I think that is what happens and that [it] is very organic: [it] isn't calculated, [it] just happened that way."

The 'Dancing Queen' hitmakers got back together for their hologram tour, which sees the four members projected in avatar form.

Benny had hinted that a third song could be released once the tour is launched.

He said: "Yeah it is but don't tell anyone. If we do a third one, it won't be out until we go on the road."

However, he has cast doubt on the band releasing a full album of new material unless there is a "really good reason".

He said: "It's good to have a reason to do what you do and this avatar tour is a reason to come up with something.

"Doing another album is like doing 'Mamma Mia 3', what is the point unless there is a good reason, good script, good environment? It is such a joyful experience, so that is a reason to do it."

The group - who shot to fame after winning 'The Eurovision Song Contest' in 1974 - will be giving fans the chance to see their biggest hits and new songs performed on their digital tour by computer-generated 'Abbatars'.

The run of dates are being lined up for 2019 or the year after.
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A concert performed by avatars, is a very innovative and interesting idea. I look forward to seeing what that is like.
 
Since I started this thread I´ve learned more about ABBA then I knew before.
I recently found there had been ABBA flashmobs

I prefer the original music but I enjoy it anyway
[video=youtube_share;nhxWY-P_hvo]http://youtu.be/nhxWY-P_hvo[/video]

[video=youtube_share;eDW0QlFFvvc]http://youtu.be/eDW0QlFFvvc[/video]



Can I just say that I really, really miss flash mobs!? I wonder if we will ever see them happening again in the world?

I feel as though we are slowly being conditioned into social distancing now.
 
I think this is a good interview.
It would have been interesting to hear the thoughts of Agnetha and Frida too-Benny was in another interview together with Björn-but they have probably had enough of interviews and did what they liked best; to work in the studio
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I´ve read in comments that some think "Bumblebee" is a song for children but I think it´s a song for mankind.
"A world without him I dread to think what that would be And I imagine my distress It would be a new kind of loneliness"
I think this is a good video for the song
 
Saturday 6 April 2024 - 50th anniversary of ABBA’s ‘Waterloo’ winning the 19th Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton, England. At Waterloo Station, in London, this morning there was a choir singing the song.

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ABBA get a prestigious Swedish knighthood for their pop career that started at Eurovision​

Members of ABBA, the Swedish pop quartet that triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, have received one of the most prestigious knighthoods in Sweden
By JAN M. OLSEN Associated Press
May 31, 2024, 11:07 AM

"COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- The four members of the Swedish pop quartet ABBA, who triumphed at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with the peppy love song “Waterloo,” on Friday got one of the most prestigious knighthoods in Sweden from the Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf.

The Order of the Vasa was handed out for the first time in almost 50 years. Agnetha Faltskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad became “Commander of the First Class” of the order for "very outstanding efforts in Swedish and international music life.”

The Royal Order of Vasa, which is given in recognition of personal efforts for Sweden or for Swedish interests as well as the successful performance of public duties and assignments, was dormant until late 2022, when it was reactivated after regulations opened the Royal Orders to Swedish citizens again."



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