Moopy's Top 50 ABBA Songs - FULL RESULTS ON PAGE 14

37. Does Your Mother Know
Single from Voulez-Vous
Released: 1979
Score: 7.77

OK yes it's a big hit, but it has male vocals so I guess it doesn't count.

Does Your Mother Know originated when B&B revived a post-chorus from the previous axed Dream World (this would eventually get an official release in 1994 and so was eligible for this rate, coming in at #76), and applying it to a slightly honky-tonk creation with Bjorn on lead vocal. This earlier version was performed a few times and almost certainly would have come to be known as a stain on the otherwise spectacular Voulez-Vous album, sounding much more like earlier efforts like Why Did It Have To Be Me and Rock Me.

Thankfully, they seemed to be well aware that this wouldn't cut it, and amped up the disco to make it into the much beefier track we know today. Strangely, even though it's the only male-led ABBA song known by the masses, Bjorn has said on a number of occasions that he regrets singing it, and it would have been much better having one of the girls give it a go. The lyrics have certainly dated a fair bit, and might have stood up a bit better in the 21st century had they switched the gender, the potential of which was realised by Christine Baranski's stupidly camp performance in Mamma Mia!

Highest scores: @ZenGiraffe (10), @Penelope (9.5)
Lowest scores: @HerSereneHighnessAnniFrid (4), @dUb (5), @Kalabaliken (-100)

 
Never been a fave. I was never there for the male vocals and the lyrics are lucky they were about rejecting the lusty child. I don't care for it much as a song either and I'm not sure the girls could have saved it.
 
Ag said:
Never been a fave. I was never there for the male vocals and the lyrics are lucky they were about rejecting the lusty child. I don't care for it much as a song either and I'm not sure the girls could have saved it.
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the girls would have saved EVERYTHING
 
36. Me And I
Album track from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 7.79

Among ABBA's more left-field creations lyrically, Me And I actually originated with the title and Bjorn then working backwards to craft a song around it. He felt that "Me and I" fitted well where the hook should be, and it therefore served as a starting point for the lyrics around split personalities, Freud, Jekyll and Hyde and so on.

This is perhaps the most "Frida" song in their whole catalogue. Her vocal delivery, inspired by Eartha Kitt, is super fun and full of character, and it really is hard to imagine Agnetha singing (or being given a chance to sing) anything along these lines. Of course it's also hard to imagine Frida turning in a Slipping Through My Fingers, but as @HerSereneHighnessAnniFrid pointed out earlier, Agnetha's "everywoman" persona gave those songs a mass appeal, meaning that most of the little treats you have to delve a bit deeper to find tend to be delightful Frida performances like this.

Highest scores: @HerSereneHighnessAnniFrid (10), @Lockhart (10), @Tisch (10)
Lowest scores: @dmlaw (5), @dUb (5)

 
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Pingu said:
36. Me And I
Single from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 7.79

Among ABBA's more left-field creations lyrically, Me And I actually originated with the title and Bjorn then working backwards to craft a song around it. He felt that "Me and I" fitted well where the hook should be, and it therefore served as a starting point for the lyrics around split personalities, Freud, Jekyll and Hyde and so on.

This is perhaps the most "Frida" song in their whole catalogue. Her vocal delivery, inspired by Eartha Kitt, is super fun and full of character, and it really is hard to imagine Agnetha singing (or being given a chance to sing) anything along these lines. Of course it's also hard to imagine Frida turning in a Slipping Through My Fingers, but as @HerSereneHighnessAnniFrid pointed out earlier, Agnetha's "everywoman" persona gave those songs a mass appeal, meaning that most of the little treats you have to delve a bit deeper to find tend to be delightful Frida performances like this.

Highest scores: @HerSereneHighnessAnniFrid (10), @Lockhart (10), @Tisch (10)
Lowest scores: @dmlaw (5), @dUb (5)

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That's a very pleasant surprise
 
Taking a short break from the Top 50 (well it'll probably end up being slightly longer than a short break as we've just ordered a pizza), but first I'll tell you what the lowest place song to receive at least one 10 was. It ended up at number 79 and got 10s from two posters. Any guesses?
 
Madison said:
Intermezzo No. 1?

Also, what kind of pizza?
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Got it in one.

Intermezzo No 1 got a big range of votes, but sadly for @Madison and @ZenGiraffe who each gave it a 10, the average skewed too low for it ever to be in contention, finishing up at #79. I can understand why it's divisive, but I love this little curio in their collection. Their other (almost) instrumental track, Arrival, didn't make the cut either, faring slightly better at #67.



And Mighty Meaty from Domino's.
 
Pingu said:
Got it in one.

Intermezzo No 1 got a big range of votes, but sadly for @Madison and @ZenGiraffe who each gave it a 10, the average skewed too low for it ever to be in contention, finishing up at #79. I can understand why it's divisive, but I love this little curio in their collection. Their other (almost) instrumental track didn't make the cut either, faring slightly better at #67.



And Mighty Meaty from Domino's.
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How dare ANYONE accuse me of having no taste
 
AGHAST at Arrival only finishing 67th but I suppose I should've probably found the room to give it a 10 if I really cared that much.
 
That’s Me has always resonated as those basic-bitch dating lyrics pretty much sums up dating me :disco:

Not worried with DYMK being out, one of the weaker of the big singles, or any of the singles to be honest.
 
35. The Piper
Album track from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 7.84

It was nice to see Me And I's appearance in the Top 50 come as a pleasant surprise to some, but I have to say this is one that I really wasn't expecting. Other than the 5s listed below, The Piper got a pretty respectable crop of scores including one 11, which isn't bad for a song I had assumed to be one of their absolute obscurest.

It's a track that could easily have slotted into The Visitors, with its lyrics dealing with dictators and the fear another Hitler could come along showing where Bjorn's songwriting tendencies were heading. Benny was also branching out with his composition as well, with brooding minor chord verses, Medieval instrumentation, upbeat folky choruses and even a Latin chant thrown in, all tied together in typical ABBA hooky fashion. Still, the signs were there that the two Bs would soon tire of the standard pop song format.

Highest scores: @Suomi (11)
Lowest scores: @Hak (5), @dUb (5)

 
Pingu said:
35. The Piper
Album track from Super Trouper
Released: 1980
Score: 7.84

It was nice to see Me And I's appearance in the Top 50 come as a pleasant surprise to some, but I have to say this is one that I really wasn't expecting. Other than the 5s listed below, The Piper got a pretty respectable crop of scores including one 11, which isn't bad for a song I had assumed to be one of their absolute obscurest.

It's a track that could easily have slotted into The Visitors, with its lyrics dealing with dictators and the fear another Hitler could come along showing where Bjorn's songwriting tendencies were heading. Benny was also branching out with his composition as well, with brooding minor chord verses, Medieval instrumentation, upbeat folky choruses and even a Latin chant thrown in, all tied together in typical ABBA hooky fashion. Still, the signs were there that the two Bs would soon tire of the standard pop song format.

Highest scores: @Suomi (11)
Lowest scores: @Hak (5), @dUb (5)

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this is one of those Abba Songs where I LOVE the verses and don’t like the chorus. This starts off dark and brooding and mysterious and just when I want to sink into a dramatically tragic chorus in minor it turns into Riverdance.. not that that’s problematic per se .. they could have just warned me
 
34. Should I Laugh Or Cry
B-side to One Of Us
Released: 1981
Score: 7.88

If ABBA were renowned for their selection of break-up songs, some of their songs that are less known but equally deserving of plaudits are those that capture the mood of a relationship that is dying or all but dead. I've already talked about Bjorn's talent for relatable lyrics about the specifics of a relationship, but my god, you'll scarcely find a portrayal of a relationship more tragic than the stony silence over breakfast described in One Man, One Woman (sadly not present on this list, finishing at #57).

Here we have a different relationship, but once again oh so relatable, as the newly-divorced Frida sings from the point of view of somebody living with a partner they can barely stand to be around any more, let alone have any love or respect left for. While One Man, One Woman gave the sense that the relationship was nearing an end, the impression you get from this one is that the protagonist is resigned to living out the rest of her days with this person, growing more and more detached. It works even better with its cold 80s synth-led production, and it says a lot about the quality on offer on The Visitors that this was left off the album.

Highest scores: @Suomi (10), @Lockhart (10), @Penelope (10), @lolly (10)
Lowest scores: @ZenGiraffe (2), @Devil (5)

 
lvtz said:
this is one of those Abba Songs where I LOVE the verses and don’t like the chorus. This starts off dark and brooding and mysterious and just when I want to sink into a dramatically tragic chorus in minor it turns into Riverdance.. not that that’s problematic per se .. they could have just warned me
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This is exactly why I love it. The chorus sounds like the people have been brainwashed as cheerfully inane robots with no agency or judgment. It’s literally how brain-dead populism works!
 
Pingu said:
34. Should I Laugh Or Cry
B-side to One Of Us
Released: 1981
Score: 7.88

If ABBA were renowned for their selection of break-up songs, some of their songs that are less known but equally deserving of plaudits are those that capture the mood of a relationship that is dying or all but dead. I've already talked about Bjorn's talent for relatable lyrics about the specifics of a relationship, but my god, you'll scarcely find a portrayal of a relationship more tragic than the stony silence over breakfast described in One Man, One Woman (sadly not present on this list, finishing at #57).

Here we have a different relationship, but once again oh so relatable, as the newly-divorced Frida sings from the point of view of somebody living with a partner they can barely stand to be around any more, let alone have any love or respect left for. While One Man, One Woman gave the sense that the relationship was nearing an end, the impression you get from this one is that the protagonist is resigned to living out the rest of her days with this person, growing more and more detached. It works even better with its cold 80s synth-led production, and it says a lot about the quality on offer on The Visitors that this was left off the album.

Highest scores: @Suomi (10), @Lockhart (10), @Penelope (10), @lolly (10)
Lowest scores: @ZenGiraffe (2), @Devil (5)

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Love this beauty.
 
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