ABBA is a group that I really like, whether they sing in English or Spanish, so their tunes are incredible enough for a top ten songs article. My top ten songs by ABBA do include three Spanish tunes. Here’s my top ten ABBA songs in alphabetical order, with a Spanish one leading off.
Chiquitita (Spanish Version), originally from the 1980 Album Gracias Por La Música
One of ABBA’s most popular songs (probably on many folks’ personal top ten lists), this Spanish version is one that stands out for me for less than admirable reasons. I have quite a memory from my school days, and when I took Spanish in junior high, our teacher played this song a lot, to which one of my classmates would sing along with ABBA when they came to this:
Chiquitita, sabes muy bien (though my classmate would substitute “bien” for an expletive).
Everytime I hear Chiquitita in Spanish, I can’t get that kid’s perverted line out of my mind!
Eagle, originally from 1977’s ABBA: The Album
I just love the refrain sung by Agnetha and Frida, especially when they sing the words “high”:
“Flyin’ high, high
I’m a bird in the sky
I’m an eagle that rides on the breeze
high, high…”
If you watch the 1977 ABBA: The Movie, you’ll hear this song at the end of the movie, as the bungling disc jockey finally stumbles onto the group in a hotel elevator after pursuing them across Australia for an interview. The elevator closes and Eagle plays, taking listeners and viewers alike on an esoteric journey of the senses.
Estoy Soñando (Spanish Version of I Have A Dream), originally from the 1980 album Gracias Por La Música
I love singing to myself the first few lines of this personal top ten song by the super group, and even my classmate in Spanish wouldn’t pervert the Spanish version of one of ABBA’s English standards during our fun time in junior high Spanish when ABBA’s music would permeate our classroom:
Yo lo soñé
y el corazón
me habló de amor
con emoción
Whenever I hear this worldwide super group sing in Spanish, it makes me miss my good friends that I’ve made in Spain over the last several years.
I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, originally from the 1975 album ABBA
The beginning of this tune, which is about taking a chance on loving someone, reminds me of the 1950’s because of its cotton candy style that you’d hear a lot of in the early incarnations of rock ‘n’ roll with its snappy piano playing and car horn-like noises which sound like something you’d hear in a movie musical like Grease. I wonder how many people have had this Top 15 pop hit song on the playlist of songs for their weddings because of its title?
Knowing Me, Knowing You, originally from the 1976 album Arrival
I love the fast-pace emphatic stress on the lyrics through this ABBA song about the hard decision to break up with your lover:
Knowing me, knowing you
there is nothing we can do…
breaking up is never easy I know
but I have to go
This song was one of the songs that broke the Top 15 on the pop charts back in 1977.
Mamma Mia (Spanish Version), originally from the 1980 album Gracias Por La Música
Because of the smash hit Broadway musical of the same name, this could be the most recognizable ABBA song on planet earth. The song is okay to listen to in English, but when this fast-paced song is sung by the band in Spanish, it just makes me want to jump and down all over the place!
One of Us, originally from the 1981 album The Visitors
One of us is crying
one of us is lying
in her lonely bed…
one of us is lonely
one of us is only
waiting for a call
This ballad-like song about heartbreak by ABBA has a real sad yearning to it, and is one of the few songs on earth that remind of me of my travels in Europe despite its thematic content. In my opinion, One of Us is definitely of the group’s most “European-sounding” of songs, when so many of their works have this sense of a total global aura.
Our Last Summer, originally from the 1980 album Super Trouper
This sad personal top ten ABBA ballad about what strongly appears to be a fond remembrance of a past romance puts me back in the continent of Europe mentally because of its mention of the tourist attractions of Paris, France, including Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower.
Summer Night City, originally from the 1979 album ABBA Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
This song explodes right out of the speakers and keeps up with a serious disco beat. The love of being a night owl and many of the possible things to do during a summer evening are explored in this tune, in which the group sings that they don’t like being out during the daytime, just like vampires? This has been my favorite ABBA song of all time off and on, along with the next song (out of these top ten most memorable tunes).
Thank You For The Music, originally from the 1977’s ABBA: The Album
From that first long piano note all the way to the end, I can hear the spirit of thanksgiving in this personal top ten song from the group. Agnetha explains via her musical talents that it’s her ability to sing that makes her special over anything she else she’s done in life. It goes through my soul, too, because of its sheer honesty, and because of the power of their music in general. Yes, her ability to sing songs has made her and the rest of ABBA super rich and superbly unforgettable with their reported sale of well over 350 million music products worldwide!
Chart Sources Information used in this article:
Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (1996)
Joel Whitburn, Joel Whitburn’s Top Pop Albums: 1955-1996 (1996)
Reference:
- ABBA biography: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abba
