CAMELOT FANTASIES

Moving on to my No. 2 song, folks. Exciting times are ahead, yes. They say it is one of greatest love ballads ever written and sang in history of music. And quite possibly ABBA's most gorgeous ballad of their career  featuring utterly beautiful vocal performances and stylish arrangements. This is in fact by far the fans' favourite. It is also one of critic favourites. They rate this song very high. This used to be my No. 1 song as well until I'd discovered something greater albeit not by a big margin but nonetheless.

From the Internet:

"The Winner Takes It All," a somber but compelling song that became one of ABBA's biggest worldwide successes. Partially inspired by the real-life divorce of members Ulvaeus and Agnetha Faltskog, "The Winner Takes It All" tells the story of a jilted woman, taking a sad, clear-eyed look back at a love affair now over, and casting doubt on her ex’s new relationship. The lyrics that weave the tale have a no-nonsense tone of dark emotion, a feel that is further enhanced by an almost gothic melody that constantly descends from high notes to low notes to enhance the finality of the words. ABBA's recording pushes it into the realm of the truly unforgettable thanks to a heartrending lead vocal from Faltskog and a sophisticated arrangement that builds from soft piano lines and background vocals to a grand operatic coda subtly driven by mid-tempo but insistent drum work. Like so many ABBA songs, the melody at first seems almost elementary and even repetitive, but it builds in cycles across four verses, climaxing in the third before returning to the initial air of melancholy resignation for the finale. This stylish production makes "The Winner Takes It All" one of the most stunning items in ABBA's catalog but the song itself is strong enough that any adult contemporary could have had (or could still have) a big hit with it. Swedish in its sensibilities to the last, the song conceals any sense of reproach in the matter-of-factness of the lyrics. Events speak for themselves, but they speak volumes.

Making of the song and some song facts:

- This searingly poignant 1980 number “The Winner Takes it All,” was written at the height of their success when, ironically, both couples had already come adrift.

- 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."

- For many people this song with its heartbroken lyrics, swelling crescendos and sudden lulls is the definitive Abba single. Benny Andersson explained to The Sunday Times June 21, 2009 how the catch in the throat music came to be written: "It's the simplest song," he said. "It has two phrases - that's it. And they just go round and round. Now it also has, around those two phrases, this counterpoint thing going on" - Andersson then played the descending theme that opens the song, runs beneath the chorus and, modulated, responds to the verse's vocal melody - "and without a doubt, without that, it would not have been a song. Music is not only melody; music is everything you hear, everything you put together. But without the core of a strong and preferably original melody, it doesn't matter what you dress it with, it has nothing to lean on." Andersson went on to say that for a long time, there were only the two phrases, the latter (the chorus) with each line following immediately after the one before. "And then one day," he went on to say as he played the song again, "we were out in the country, and I suddenly played the chorus like this, pausing each time for the phrase to gather itself, and all of a sudden it was a song. Björn and I played around with it for hours, just feeling that there was something in it that was talking to us. Then we recorded it, but still without the counterpoint, and it still was no good. It was only when, finally, I played this other part that it really made sense."

- 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."

- Fältskog has also repeatedly stated that though "The Winner Takes It All" is her favorite ABBA song and that it has an excellent set of lyrics, the story is not that of her and Ulvaeus: there were no winners in their divorce, especially as children were involved.

Reception:

"The Winner Takes It All" was yet another major success for ABBA. It hit #1 in Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, and South Africa. It reached the Top 5 in Austria, Finland, France, West Germany, Norway, Switzerland and Zimbabwe, as well as ABBA's native Sweden, while peaking in the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, Italy, Spain and the United States (where it became ABBA's fourth and final American Top 10 hit. The song spent 26 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, more than any other ABBA single). It was also the group's second Billboard AC #1 (after "Fernando").

No. 2 The Winner Takes It All

"Fate controlling our lives. There are cards and dice, winners and losers, judges and rules. Love is a gamble. Agnetha likes the way it rolls on with no beginning or ending.