January 5, 201313 yr Cassandra prophesied the fall of Troy. No one believed her prophecies, and the Greeks went on to ransack the city in the Trojan War as recounted by Homer in The Iliad. "Cassandra" is in keeping with ABBA's theme of war with such songs as "Waterloo" and "Fernando." ABBA's Cassandra leaves on a ship at sunrise. It is raining, and her eyes are filled with pain. Trojan Cassandra was taken by the Greek hero Agamemnon as his mistress and murdered by Agamemnon's wife, Clytemnestra, afer arriving in Greece. There is a hint of predestination as we are told Cassandra was lost from the start. There are lots of shadows in ABBA's music, and here the future casts a shadow. Which one of the ABBA girls is Cassandra? It is probably both of them because both Benny and Bjorn went on to stable marriages with other women. There is a reference to Cassandra's father. Frida'a estranged father, Alfred Hasse, came into her life after ABBA got famous. She and her father stopped seeing each other when ABBA broke up. "Staying Alive" may be a nod to The Bee Gees' monster hit. "Dreams you would weave" conjures up Gary Wright's "Dream Weaver." "Sell our secrets" is interesting. The women in ABBA songs cherish their private lives. They guard secrets, and it is by these secrets, probably sexual, that they identify their innermost selves. 1 "They wouldn't know her little secrets" - Nina, Pretty Ballerina 2 "Secrets that my paradise can bring" - Tropical Loveland 3 "My secrets he learned" - Just Like That ABBA was the city (Stockholm) incarnate. If the city is dead, so is ABBA. Their last day has dawned. The final hour! Troy and ABBA fall together! "Cassandra" makes use of alliteration: Street, singing, shouting, staying, shame, start, suffer, sell, secrets, sorry, sleep, ship, sailing, sister, sunrise, sails, slack, stood. This is poetry! CASSANDRA [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2SQhnOxqiU]ABBA : Cassandra (TV- Germany '82) HQ-Widescreen - YouTube[/ame] Down in the street they're all singing and shouting Staying alive though the city is dead Hiding their shame behind hollow laughter While you are crying alone on your bed Pity Cassandra that no one believed you But then again you were lost from the start Now we must suffer and sell our secrets Bargain, playing smart, aching in our hearts Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood Now the last day is dawning Some of us wanted but none of us would Listen to words of warning But on the darkest of nights Nobody knew how to fight And we were caught in our sleep Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe You really had the power I only saw it as dreams you would weave Until the final hour So in the morning your ship will be sailing Now that your father and sister are gone There is no reason for you to linger You're grieving deeply but still moving on You know the future is casting a shadow No one else sees it but you know your fate Packing your bags, being slow and thorough Knowing, though you're late, that ship is sure to wait Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood Now the last day is dawning Some of us wanted but none of us would Listen to words of warning But on the darkest of nights Nobody knew how to fight And we were caught in our sleep Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe You really had the power I only saw it as dreams you would weave Until the final hour I watched the ship leaving the harbor at sunrise Sails almost slack in the cool morning rain She stood on deck, just a tiny figure Rigid and restrained, blue eyes filled with pain Sorry Cassandra I misunderstood Now the last day is dawning Some of us wanted but none of us could Listen to words of warning But on the darkest of nights Nobody knew how to fight And we were caught in our sleep Sorry Cassandra I didn't believe You really had the power I only saw it as dreams you would weave Until the final hour I'm sorry Cassandra I'm sorry Cassandra
January 7, 201313 yr Author Should I Laugh Or Cry - ABBA This is a wife rebelling against her husband, perhaps Frida rebelling against Benny. He drones on while she grows cold. This is one of those songs from the post-Visitors era. Maybe ABBA meant to do another album, maybe not. I am not even sure they knew. But those final songs had no top 40 candidates. They were cynical and pessimistic in a way that was foreign to early ABBA. "SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY" reeks with sarcasm. a peculiar hardness. It is a legitimate response to a woman's partner becoming tyrannical. He vents. She feels only contempt. She may have liked his small philosophy in "Our Last Summer" but not now. The song's title reminds me of the two masks representing the dramatic arts. One is laughing, one is crying. Frida is laughing but not with Benny. She is laughing at him. She makes much of his stature. Benny is standing on his toes as if to appear taller. He is high and mighty. Frida compares him to an inflated balloon, full of hot air, on its way to the moon. We find the moon in other ABBA songs: People Need Love, What About Livingstone, Tropical Loveland, SummerNight City, The Piper and Soldiers. This is a different moon. The couple are preparing for bed, and Benny is in his pajamas. Frida probably bought them as a birthday present. That the trousers are too short is another indication that Benny is trying to tower over her. His pajamas are his warm and safe cacoon. Love and marriage have become a lie. Frida is tired and indifferent. Her pain is gone. Benny is far away. Of course, both couples in ABBA divorced, and their divorces reflected the general breakdown of marriage in all industrial societies. The 10 years of ABBA invites comparison with that of The Beatles. Both groups began with exuberant love songs while a gradual cooling produced more solemn lyrics. SHOULD I LAUGH OR CRY [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_uiKm7wsmI]ABBA - Should I Laugh Or Cry - YouTube[/ame] He stands towering over me beside my bed Losing his head Tells me I must take him seriously Droning on the usual way He's such a clever guy And I wonder should I laugh or cry He's dressed in the striped pajamas that I bought Trousers too short Gives me of his small philosophy Carries on the way he does And me I get so tired And I wonder should I laugh or cry High and mighty his banner flies A fool's pride in his eyes Standing there on his toes to grow in size All I see is a big balloon Halfway up to the moon He's wrapped up in the warm and safe cocoon Of an eternal lie So should I laugh or cry Strange how dangerously indifferent I have grown Cold as a stone No more pain where there was pain before Far away he rambles on, I feel my throat go dry And I wonder should I laugh or cry High and mighty his banner flies A fool's pride in his eyes Standin' there on his toes to grow in size All I see is a big balloon Halfway up to the moon He's wrapped up in a warm and safe cocoon Of an eternal lie So should I laugh or cry
January 17, 201313 yr Author Just Like That - ABBA This is the girl in "The Day Before You Came." It is remarkable how they blend such clever lyrics into a smooth melody. Even with a lot of words and heavy rhyming, the recurring sounds never interfere with the emotion or idea of the song. Agnetha delivers her aching, yearning feeling, sharing her triumph and her disappointment. The women in ABBA's songs cherish their private lives. They guard secrets, and it is by these secrets, probably sexual, that they identify their innermost selves: 1 "They wouldn't know her little secrets" - "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" 2 "Secrets that my paradise can bring" - "Tropical Loveland" 3 "Suffer and sell our secrets" - "Cassandra" 4 "My secrets he learned" - "Just Like That" There is a desire to open up on one hand and a fear of doing so on the other. Who throws dust in people's eyes? The sandman! So Agnetha was asleep or hypnotized when this gigolo walked in as smug as a cat. Women love cats. No wonder she led him on! After all, he was handsome, and looks are everything. He had a nice smile. Even though Agnetha gave this womanizer a home, she knew it was an interlude. An affair! Her life was ultimately to assume its predestinated course. There were tears, and she often thinks about her rolling stone and wonders where he is. "Just Like That" is a great song and looms large with fans. Raphael Ravenscroft played the winding, twisting saxophone. JUST LIKE THAT [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEX1n9YWC90]ABBA - Just Like That (The Video) - YouTube[/ame] Until that day My life had been a river Following the same, pre-destinated course, Suddenly detouring so unexpectedly With uncompromising force. My strongholds broke down all too easily; I remember well, How it did embarrass me; I hung on to his every smile Marveled at his style Just like that... He walked into my house As smug as a cat He was handsome and smart Walked away with my heart Just like that... He found a temporary home in my flat Telling innocent lies Throwing dust in my eyes But I led him on, Knowing that someday soon he'd be gone Just like that... As though he only stopped awhile for a chat; But my secrets he learned Leaving no stone unturned And once again, the river's flowing slowly, Following its safe and uneventful course. Now the tears have dried, it's become a pleasant break, I recall without remorse. But now and then I wonder where he is And I will admit, he had something that I miss. I guess he was a rolling stone; The only one I've known. Just like that... He walked into my house As smug as a cat He was handsome and smart Walked away with my heart Just like that... He found a temporary home in my flat Telling innocent lies Throwing dust in my eyes But I led him on, Knowing that someday soon he'd be gone Just like that... As though he only stopped awhile for a chat; But my secrets he learned Leaving no stone unturned
January 18, 201313 yr Jim, can you do an interpretation of their song 'Lay all your love on me'? I love that song :}
January 23, 201313 yr Author Put On Your White Sombrero - ABBA Frida gives her macho Spaniard a tongue lashing. We have to wonder about whom she is singing. It must just be a song. Frida dresses her spurned vaquero. Not only does she put a white sombrero on him but dons him all in white and adds a red bandana. She puts him on a horse and sends him riding into the sunset to impress a meek senorita. She sees him as a cowboy, a caballero trying to live life as if it were an old movie. Frida is strong. She is a realist. "Put On Your White Sombrero" is the first ABBA song to embody a mean spirit. It belongs to the Super Trouper era but was deemed unworthy of that album. ABBA was peaking. There were fewer and fewer worlds to conquer. "In rhyme with his time" may be the worst line in the entire catalog. As an astronomer, I naturally think of the Sombrero Galaxy M104. PUT ON YOUR WHITE SOMBRERO [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wU6-vblQ_u0]ABBA "Put on Your White Sombrero" (New) - YouTube[/ame] Put on your white sombrero Saddle your horse my dear And ride off into the sunset You'd better go For there is no Place for you here Like an old fashoned hero You stand before me You think our life is a movie My world is real I live and feel And I can do, without you Put on your white sombrero Your red bandana too Think of this day as a showdown Goodbye my friend This is the end For me and you Now be a bold vaquero Don't show your feelings I'll cry while you're disappearing Into the night All dressed in white Unchained and free, without me Put on your white sombrero Like all the comboys do Go find a sweet senorita Somebody meek Who'll never speak Harshly to you You're such a caballero Proud, never bending I want someone who will take me Just as I am I need a man Who is in rhyme With his time You'll never take me Just as I am I need a man Who is in rhyme With his time
January 27, 201313 yr Author DreamWorld - ABBA She is upset because her man is unrealistic. She urges him to face reality. The background vocals drive the verses, contrasting with the rest of the song. There are all kinds of checks and balances in ABBA's music. Certain titles are jammed together to distract from what might appear as cliche: "DreamWorld," "SummerNight City," "AngelEyes." Titles are second to this classical approach to rock n' roll. After the movie in 1977, the group may have felt like stars. If so, their delusions of grandeur were short-lived. They sing, "We're not the stars of a Hollywood movie... I'm not so charming and you're not so groovy." Reality has a way of putting high expectations in perspective. The ladies are human, not angels in white. DREAMWORLD [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GeYs7cWxsHg]ABBA - Dream World - YouTube[/ame] We're not the stars of a hollywood movie So what's the use to pretend I'm not so charming and you're not so groovy You've gotta face it my friend Dream world You've been living in a dream world Trust me You just can't escape from reality Boy meets girl Doesn't mean they're in a dream world Here I am, there you are, we've gotta make it together And we've made, it so far, so it can only get better When you reach out And you say to me 'how I love you girl' When I hold you Baby can't you see It's a real dream world You had your hopes and your high expectations Somehow it doesn't seem right I'm getting fed up with your accusations I'm not your angel in white Dream world You've been living in a dream world Trust me You just can't escape from reality Boy meets girl Doesn't mean they're in a dream world Here I am, there you are, we gotta make it together And we've made, it so far, so it can only get better When you reach out And you say to me 'how I love you girl' When I hold you Baby can't you see It's a real dream world Dream world You've been living in a dream world Trust me You just can't escape from reality Boy meets girl Doesn't mean they're in a dream world Here I am, there you are, we gotta make it together And we've made, it so far, so it can only get better
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