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Thread: ABBA — 40 years younger again

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    Australia Avalon Member Tigger's Avatar
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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by RunningDeer (here)
    Chiquitita

    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
    But 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
    But 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
    Do you know, I’ve followed this thread with great interest. The ultimate ABBA song has always been, for me, Chiquitita. The melody, the LYRICS, and the harmony! Every time I listen to this one, I get a lump in my throat and a staccato outburst of emotion. If there ever was a song to describe the human condition today, this song has to be the one I would select.

    When Bill started this thread, I immediately scrambled into my DJ library and looked for ABBA songs. I hadn’t played them in years, and that’s a shameful thing, because I used to DJ in some of Sydney’s biggest clubs back in the 1980’s / 90’s. Shameful, because I never played ABBA records since I retired from the club circuit in 1999. Shame on me.

    For most of this week, I’ve played this song over and over. LOUD (I have no neighbours within earshot so it doesn’t matter). But every time I’ve done so, it brings up feelings of sheer joy and hope. I can’t quite explain it, and I guess it’s not really explainable. But it IS my favourite ABBA song, and I stand by it

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  3. Link to Post #82
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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by Tigger (here)
    Quote Posted by RunningDeer (here)
    Chiquitita
    https://youtube.com/watch?v=p4QqMKe3rwY
    For most of this week, I’ve played this song over and over. LOUD (I have no neighbours within earshot so it doesn’t matter). But every time I’ve done so, it brings up feelings of sheer joy and hope. I can’t quite explain it, and I guess it’s not really explainable. But it IS my favourite ABBA song, and I stand by it
    Yes! The intricacy of the composition is inspired — as is the unlikely but perfect piano crescendo at the end, which few if any other songwriters would have ever thought to put in there. (Maybe McCartney, but I doubt it.) It's close to being a discord, and if one heard it on its own one might think it can't possibly fit. But it absolutely does.

    For me, it's a most beautiful poem of unconditional kindness and support sung to someone who's going through a hard time and can't find a way out. The closing crescendo is the strongest message of hope and energy. The theme is simple, but the song is complex and multi-layered, as so many of them are... another piece of near-genius that may need to be heard several times before it all sinks in.

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by Bill Ryan (here)
    Yes! The intricacy of the composition is inspired — as is the unlikely but perfect piano crescendo at the end, which few if any other songwriters would have ever thought to put in there.

    The closing crescendo is THE most beautiful part of the song!
    Last edited by Tigger; 17th September 2021 at 17:16. Reason: I didn’t quote Bill’s reply properly

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    O man! After not visiting this forum for a few days I chose, just before going to bed, already far too late, to just ‘take a quick look’ and how delightful to find this topic. I have been reading with a smile on my face. And am now wide awake! I was so delighted by all this enthousiasm for Abba that I didn’t even think about Thanking every single post. I hereby declare a Thank You to every post!

    I never pictured you to be a closet Abba fan, Bill! I fullheartedly (is that a real word?) agree Abba’s music is timeless, and geniously put together. The melodies, the arrangements, the lyrics and the voices reveal these people are very warmhearted and sensitive, and authentic.

    I think the reason many of the younger people, like the girl in the reaction video, became so emotional, is because the pop music industry nowadays is so void of soul. For years, long before the covid situation hit, pop music was (and still is to this day) on a very low spiritual frequency, with young singers who somehow all collectively chose to articulate words in a distorted fashion, like ‘Ayyy Fouyyynd Maay lOyyve foyy you’, which suggests a state of dissociation. It is so noticeably odd and strange that all these new singers started to pronounce the words in the exact same manner, as if they don’t have unique identities anymore, and as if they are little infants who just learned to speak. Add to that the vocals and articulation which are more placed in the back of the mouth and in the throat instead of in front, especially with female singers and a cold electronic arrangement, and you have all the ingredients for music that is subliminally shouting the words ‘distance’, ‘cold’, ‘depression’, ‘dissociation’, ‘emotionlessness’.

    And then suddenly there is Abba! With warm, sincere, soulful melodies and lyrics and the voice of an experienced wise woman (I say woman with an ‘a’, because Frida’s is the first voice you hear), articulating the words in front of her mouth, with careful enunciation mixed with an authentic Swedish accent revealing all of her natural voice, including all little imperfections in between, sounding vulnerable, sincere, friendly and powerful at the same time. All this joy and soulfulness in the music, I can imagine this girl had an overload, because this doesn’t exist anymore! And the question is why? I tried to ask that question in the second episode of the podcast I made, called The Mainstream Is Dead.

    Yes, we do live in the darkest of times. But the light is still there. And it is shining powerfully!

    There is a lot of music from the past that we have that can evoke a similar reaction as Abba’s songs can. Here I give an example of such a song that is vibrationally very comparable to Abba’s music.

    This is a song by Natalie Cole called Starting Over Again. The music is composed and arranged by Michael Masser. He had a unique sound, his best songs are just brilliantly put together. I can hear he was musically very very talented. Just like Abba, this music has been called cheesy, but nothing is further from the truth, it’s just very good, I remember reading in the comments on Youtube this one comment by a young girl (parafrasing) “they don’t make songs like this anymore, why is it that music prior to when I was born, was so much more ‘real’ and touching?” This signature sound (from Masser) is instantly recognizable, and you’ll notice right away he was the man behind a few of Whitney Houston power ballads in the ‘80’s. He was also the composer of Do You Know Where You’re Going To.

    If you listen to all the subtleties, you’ll find this is so much more than just a love song (notice a little bit after 3:00 .. typically Michael Masser! Goosebumps!

    Now this, along with Abba, is music that truly heals:



    And 2 of his best Whitney Houston ballads: (talking about enunciation and character in a voice by the way…Whitney…❤️)






    And my favourite Abba song? I think by the above examples you can now guess, right? 😉

    Last edited by BoR; 19th September 2021 at 03:36.

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by BoR (here)
    O man! After not visiting this forum for a few days I chose, just before going to bed, already far too late, to just ‘take a quick look’ and how delightful to find this topic. I have been reading with a smile on my face. And am now wide awake! I was so delighted by all this enthousiasm for Abba that I didn’t even think about Thanking every single post. I hereby declare a Thank You to every post!

    I never pictured you to be a closet Abba fan, Bill! I fullheartedly (is that a real word?) agree Abba’s music is timeless, and geniously put together. The melodies, the arrangements, the lyrics and the voices reveal these people are very warmhearted and sensitive, and authentic.

    I think the reason many of the younger people, like the girl in the reaction video, became so emotional, is because the pop music industry nowadays is so void of soul. For years, long before the covid situation hit, pop music was (and still is to this day) on a very low spiritual frequency, with young singers who somehow all collectively chose to articulate words in a distorted fashion, like ‘Ayyy Fouyyynd Maay lOyyve foyy you’, which suggests a state of dissociation. It is so noticeably odd and strange that all these new singers started to pronounce the words in the exact same manner, as if they don’t have unique identities anymore, and as if they are little infants who just learned to speak. Add to that the vocals and articulation which are more placed in the back of the mouth and in the throat instead of in front, especially with female singers and a cold electronic arrangement, and you have all the ingredients for music that is subliminally shouting the words ‘distance’, ‘cold’, ‘depression’, ‘dissociation’, ‘emotionlessness’.

    And then suddenly there is Abba! With warm, sincere, soulful melodies and lyrics and the voice of an experienced wise woman (I say woman with an ‘a’, because Frida’s is the first voice you hear), articulating the words in front of her mouth, with careful enunciation mixed with an authentic Swedish accent revealing all of her natural voice, including all little imperfections in between, sounding vulnerable, sincere, friendly and powerful at the same time. All this joy and soulfulness in the music, I can imagine this girl had an overload, because this doesn’t exist anymore! And the question is why? I tried to ask that question in the second episode of the podcast I made, called The Mainstream Is Dead.

    Yes, we do live in the darkest of times. But the light is still there. And it is shining powerfully!
    Yes to everything you wrote in your long and interesting post. My own opening post (to my surprise!) has had 78 thanks. There are clearly MANY members here who appreciate their music. For me, that's delightful to see.

    And it's way more than just 'pop' music. The compositions are often intricate, surprising, multi-layered and ingenious, many of them near-unique in the genre. I enjoy all kinds of other music, too — from Hendrix and Zeppelin to Enya! — but for anyone with a musical ear it's hard not to admire what they produced almost every time. And for them to do all that AGAIN, 40 years later, all now aged 71-76, is just astonishing.

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Ah!! Bill, you mentioned Enya, one of my all time favorites - very soothing to my soul. I haven't reacted to Abba as much as some have, and it might be because I listen to them while quilting - along with Crosby Stills and Nash, Secret Garden, Neil Diamond, and Willie Nelson, to mention a few. But I never get tired of any of them. It's been so fun to see people's response to Abba. Yay!

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Enya is indeed magical too! I totally agree it is not just pop music, it’s Music. Period! They are compositions, not just melodies and lyrics. And indeed all the characteristics you mentioned Bill. I find that people who love ABBA often have broad tastes, which underlines what you said about a musical ear. (And I know that people who don’t like ABBA at all would strongly disagree on this one too 😁. We do have to admit we’re a little bit biased, right? Ehmm… no, we won’t 😆 😊 )

    Neil Diamond is also one of my many favorites, Wondering. And he also happened to have recorded a song by Michael Masser, who I mentioned in my post, by the way! (First You Have To Say You Love Me)

    My musical taste is also very diverse, if I open up the Spotify page of mixes called Made For You, I see a Pop mix, a Soul mix, a Classical Music mix, a Country mix, a Rock mix and a Jazz mix and they all contain loads of songs/musical pieces that I love. And there are genres missing too.

    And I would argue ABBA has a piece of every genre (sometimes hidden) in their music. That is one reason why it speaks to so many people! So do I want more new ABBA songs? Yes, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do! ….and that’s another favorite of mine!
    Last edited by BoR; 19th September 2021 at 19:53.

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Just my personal opinion but I think there is magic in the air. I have always loved ABBA and played their wonderful timeless music since first seeing them win the European Song Contest so many years ago I can’t remember. They are bringing to the world something truly magical that is missing today. Music with melody and joy, to make our hearts sing and rejoice with them! What an amazing contribution they are making to lift so many people out of the present doldrums and give us all reason to be Dancing Queens

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by RunningDeer (here)
    Fernando

    [Verse 1]
    Can you hear the drums, Fernando?
    I remember, long ago, another starry night like this
    In the firelight, Fernando
    You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar
    I could hear the distant drums and sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar

    [Verse 2]
    They were closer now, Fernando
    Every hour, every minute seemed to last eternally
    I was so afraid, Fernando
    We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die
    And I'm not ashamed to say the roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry

    [Chorus]
    There was something in the air that night
    The stars were bright, Fernando
    They were shining there for you and me
    For liberty, Fernando

    Though we never thought that we could lose
    There's no regret
    If I had to do the same again
    I would, my friend, Fernando
    If I had to do the same again
    I would, my friend, Fernando

    [Verse 3]
    Now we're old and grey, Fernando
    Since many years I haven't seen a rifle in your hand
    Can you hear the drums, Fernando?
    Do you still recall the fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande?
    I can see it in your eyes, how proud you were to fight for freedom in this land

    [Chorus]
    There was something in the air that night
    The stars were bright, Fernando
    They were shining there for you and me
    For liberty, Fernando

    Though I never thought that we could lose
    There's no regret
    If I had to do the same again
    I would, my friend, Fernando

    There was something in the air that night
    The stars were bright, Fernando
    They were shining there for you and me
    For liberty, Fernando

    Though I never thought that we could lose
    There's no regret
    If I had to do the same again
    I would, my friend, Fernando
    Yes, if I had to do the same again
    I would, my friend, Fernando

    [Outro]
    If I had to do the same again
    I would, my friend, Fernando
    What synchronicity! I just started reading this thread this afternoon. Thank you for posting this Abba song among all the other beautiful songs.
    This morning I woke up with this song Fernando playing in my head and I started singing it and wondering why this song came to me today.
    I haven’t heard it play since long ago neither did I know it was an ABBA song. To me it was a song of when I experienced happy times when my parents and most of my older family members were still alive and we celebrated holidays like Christmas together and you took things for granted and the future looked bright and rosy... I’ve been feeling homesick and a little hopeless because of the world situation nowadays.
    Thank you All for this thread, for all the beautiful, uplifting Abba songs including this one. Thank you, Thank you, Great timing❤️💕💐

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Ravenlocke, you're a synchronicity for me.

    I played Fernando this morning and it's been running in my head all day.

    Quote Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
    What synchronicity! I just started reading this thread this afternoon. Thank you for posting this Abba song among all the other beautiful songs.
    This morning I woke up with this song Fernando playing in my head and I started singing it and wondering why this song came to me today.
    I haven’t heard it play since long ago neither did I know it was an ABBA song. To me it was a song of when I experienced happy times when my parents and most of my older family members were still alive and we celebrated holidays like Christmas together and you took things for granted and the future looked bright and rosy... I’ve been feeling homesick and a little hopeless because of the world situation nowadays.
    Thank you All for this thread, for all the beautiful, uplifting Abba songs including this one. Thank you, Thank you, Great timing❤️💕💐

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by RunningDeer (here)
    Ravenlocke, you're a synchronicity for me.

    I played Fernando this morning and it's been running in my head all day.

    Quote Posted by Ravenlocke (here)
    What synchronicity! I just started reading this thread this afternoon. Thank you for posting this Abba song among all the other beautiful songs.
    This morning I woke up with this song Fernando playing in my head and I started singing it and wondering why this song came to me today.
    I haven’t heard it play since long ago neither did I know it was an ABBA song. To me it was a song of when I experienced happy times when my parents and most of my older family members were still alive and we celebrated holidays like Christmas together and you took things for granted and the future looked bright and rosy... I’ve been feeling homesick and a little hopeless because of the world situation nowadays.
    Thank you All for this thread, for all the beautiful, uplifting Abba songs including this one. Thank you, Thank you, Great timing❤️💕💐
    You made my day too, Running Deer! Hugs back and thank you❤️

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    I think that the song that sparked this thread, or at least first appeared on this thread, will most definitely become a soundtrack for a movie that needs inspiration for the audience.. Or it will be used to evoke feelings of what we all feel when we want positive reinforcement in our later years, and situations change...

    It will perhaps be used to go "back in time" (just as it was in the video) to when things were more carefree, fun and simpler. It will definitely be an inspirational song evoking the positive and negative, and how things have changed throughout the years, and that is something we can all relate to. And I think that in itself is what everyone is reacting to when they hear it now... and because Avalon is a site where people are passionate for positive change and understanding stemming essentially from pure love, well it touched us all immensely...

    Especially here when we are all seeking the positive in life, and what it throws at us... What we have been through, what we have conquered, what we still face....

    And we are doing it all together... A BEAUTIFUL SONG IN EVERY WAY!!! And a beautiful theme song for humanity facing adversity... And a beautiful theme song for this site... Thank You for sharing Bill!
    Last edited by Denise/Dizi; 21st September 2021 at 01:00.

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    And did you know, ABBA was the FIRST musical group to play on Mars?

    Just joking, but i couldn’t resist:

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Music is the universal language and tincture for the soul.

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    Smile Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    I have a memory

    When we had " roliga timmen" in school, the girls sang into "hopprepshandaget" good luck to translate that ;==)

    To me Abba was and is connected to happiness ,I remember watching them win with Watherloo watching 1974

    a

    on a square box TV ,/but in colour when I was 5 years old.

    My grandma said she remembered Agneta as a child in the community Jönköping.

    Thanks for puting this thread up Bill !
    Last edited by Rawhide68; 25th September 2021 at 20:36.

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    UK Avalon Member Le Chat's Avatar
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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Oh, and for the record, the UK gave Sweden no points for Waterloo at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    A lovely recent radio interview with Agnetha (with English subtitles). She also mentions the reaction videos, and what the worldwide response to the songs means to her:


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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by BoR (here)
    A lovely recent radio interview with Agnetha (with English subtitles). She also mentions the reaction videos, and what the worldwide response to the songs means to her:

    OMG, that was just so very delightful.

    Here's what astonishes me. I've never heard any of them do an interview in Swedish before. Yet the songs (in English!) aren't only perfectly sung every time, but the lyrics (in English!) are so often ingenious, rich and creative.

    Can you imagine the Beatles, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, or Michael Jackson, writing and singing in perfect Swedish?? It kind of boggles the mind.

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote OMG, that was just so very delightful.

    Here's what astonishes me. I've never heard any of them do an interview in Swedish before. Yet the songs (in English!) aren't only perfectly sung every time, but the lyrics (in English!) are so often ingenious, rich and creative.

    Can you imagine the Beatles, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, or Michael Jackson, writing and singing in perfect Swedish?? It kind of boggles the mind.
    You can make the argument that Sweden, Denmark and The Netherlands are practically bilingual, with English as a second language. Sweden is at number 1 though when it comes to the amount of people who speak English very well. Although…that used to be the case, I guess, because everyone born in the ‘80s and later now speaks much better English and with less of an accent than their parents in The Netherlands and I am pretty sure that’s the case in Denmark too.

    I imagine it is the same in Sweden, but here all movies and television series from the US, GB, Australia and Canada are shown in their original language with subtitles underneath, so from a very young age you are inundated with English everyday, not only by film and television, but also by the great amount of pop music in the English language.

    That doesn’t make it any less impressive though. Their lyrics often easily beat the average English pop song written by native English speakers. (I am obviously not referring to the artists you mentioned Bill) You can also hear they put much effort in their pronunciation, to make the English sound as pure as possible. Accentless English you might say, although that’s how it sounds to my Dutch ears, a native English speaker might notice a slight Swedish accent now and then. (I am talking about young ABBA, clearly the years away from the spotlight made their accents more noticeable now, though I do prefer how they sound now as it reveals more of their personalities, it feels even more authentic to me now).

    Back to the lyrics: when I hear the words from both new songs, there is a depth in them that is hard to describe. It is speaking directly to the soul. For example: “Do I have it in me? I believe it is in them.” I cannot describe with my intellect what these two sentences do to me on a deeper level. It says so much more than it seems to mean on the surface. And don’t get me started on “I'm like a dream within a dream that's been decoded.”…

    And they get their full meaning because of the interpretation of Agnetha and Frida. I am really looking forward to hear the full album.

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    Default Re: ABBA — 40 years younger again

    Quote Posted by BoR (here)
    Back to the lyrics: when I hear the words from both new songs, there is a depth in them that is hard to describe. It is speaking directly to the soul. For example: “Do I have it in me? I believe it is in there.” I cannot describe with my intellect what these two sentences do to me on a deeper level. It says so much more than it seems to mean on the surface. And don’t get me started on “I'm like a dream within a dream that's been decoded.”…
    Last edited by Bill Ryan; 28th September 2021 at 17:08. Reason: fixed quote formatting

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