An Eternal Masterpiece - ABBA's "The Day Before You Came" (1982) | History & Review
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- Опубликовано: 5 июл 2024
- On 20 August 1982, ABBA recorded "The Day Before You Came". It was their final song for 35 years. In a way, it will always be that swan song, which ended those first ten years. It captured ABBA’s artistic and personal lives at that specific point in time in an uncanny, haunting and mysterious way. What is it, that draws us to this unique song? Let’s explore its origins, story, and meaning.
0:00 Intro
0:39 Haunting origins
1:35 Developing a masterpiece
4:34 "No exception to the rule" - Crafting the lyrics
7:45 A tale of tension - Variations & twists
11:04 Atmosphere in the studio
11:59 ABBA’s secret hero - Celebrating Michael B. Tretow
14:26 The ultimate blending - Concluding a legacy
16:39 Outro
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Written, narrated, recorded & edited by Bobby’s Brother.
Bobby's Brother on Instagram: / bobbysbrother72
#abba #visitors #1982 
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this song grows on you and hits you harder as you grow up... And Benny's piano version is just sublime.
Not only ABBA's best song, but one of music's greatest masterpieces - of any genre. It's my favourite song of theirs and one I can listen to over and over and over... 40 years ago, it didn't sound like anything else out there and it is just as fresh and innovative today.
Abbas sound is so distinctive
My favorite song .❤
@@SylvieFolsi
I concur, a beautiful & haunting song 🎼
My favourite ABBA song of all time. I've never understood why it wasn't a huge worldwide hit. I remember buying the single, I kept playing it over and over, being amazed at the music. I have often wondered if ABBA had not stopped making records at that time what more music masterpieces Benny could have written for the group. "The day before you came" and the track "The visitors" were musically very advanced at the time. 40 years on it still sounds as fresh as ever..
Perhaps the monotonous aspect of it doesn't appeal? It's not one of my favorites ABBA songs for that reason. I just get bored with it.
Exactly. How incredible could that middle-age ABBA have been. Such a huge disappointment it did not happen. But then you don't know what you haven't heard and haven't experienced so we can all live with that I guess...
Two possible reasons why this was not a smash hit at the time of its release that I can think of. New artists and new styles were popping all over the music scene in the early 80’s, pushing Abba aside. Abba was not an exciting sensation anymore. It’s popularity was declining fast. Also, TDBYC is just too sophisticated, too mature to appeal to the biggest consumer of pop, a very young crowd with limited experience of grueling adult life routines
@@debs4672 True.Agree with your option.Just a clarification.Having lived real time this era very vividly,i can say that Abba's signs of declining popularity were visible just about the very last year they were still together before they unofficially disbanded.From very late '81 and some time after The Visitors lp release but particularly around the time of the '82 'Head over heals' single which despite being a good song was a wrong choice.It's b side The Visitors would have faired far better cause it was more close to the soundscape of those times.Neverthless their late '82 double collection that followed, hit again No1 in UK but times had changed and the new '80s acts brought drastically and in a 'highway speed',new air and vibes in music.Undoubtfully,in whaterver concerns the '80s,all big bands that followed (even Duran Duran), didn't obtain Abba's phenomenal and stabled worldwide album/singles record sales and neither such insistent longlasting success despite changing the culture of the decade.Their big moments were too seldom compared to Abba's.As for the soloists the only tremendous exception was Madonna and M.Jackson.
@@christianoazzuro6711BTW 'The Visitors' album was also succesful in the UK peaked at No1 on its first week of release and stayed top for 3 weeks though 'Super Trouper' album had stayed at the top for 9 weeks.In the other big European market, Germany,it was bigger and topped for 5 weeks and was a million seller as well as their previous ST album there.Also Abba had same year one more very succesful collection album there 'A WIE ABBA'(May 1981)that was also No1 for another 5 weeks and a longlasting residency in the German charts.
This song, the music, the lyrics it's so... undescribable and so underrated. The B side, Casandra is another masterpiece ✨️ 👌
My absolute favourite Abba song - it's a masterpiece - it just grows on you - by the time the second verse starts - the emotion kicks in - it still gives me goosebumps
It's a hauntingly beautiful masterpiece that as always been with me since the day it was releasted back in 82.
Ode to freedom is another breathtakingly beautiful masterpiece from them.
This is definitely the most haunting of anything ABBA ever did and the ambiguity in it’s meaning is part of it’s magnetism. So very rare is it to see the meaning of lyrics change without changing a single word, but instead, by adding the music. I’m a classically trained musician and music teacher, and I do consider this one of the great songs of all time, no matter what the style.
one of ABBA's absolute best - with wistful and visually descriptive lyrics that compliment a haunting melody, Agnetha's subdued vocal is an integral instrument in its own right to emphasise an almost helpless situation of the character; while Frida's muted, echoing soprano creates a backdrop of frustrated resignation. THANKS Bobby's B - your analysis is very intriguing. 🙌🏻👏🏻🖐🏻
I would have liked to hear FRIDA also sing this.I still feel it should have been a Frida version too same way her voice did it fine on haunting songs such as LAAPTMR or even COMFORT ME,though as she recently said A was a better storyteller..
@@christianoazzuro6711No, this is a pure Agnetha song. Frida could not have done it better.
@ Hey ! hi there.Well i would have deffinately said exactly your very same words about Abba's demo on 'Just like that" esp. the 'na-na-na' version with A on the lead.An absolute magic!I melt.But i was always curious on a Frida version on TDBYC even though my point wasn't really to acclaim that Frida would have done it better.No competition.I love them both.After all in Abba we have 2 choices.Anyone can choose if he wants to.Btw don't shoot me down but i still can't 'understand" this important and so significant song.I always felt that something was missing and again.I feel something 'cold" while listening as if i'm alone and kinda stripped in somewhere.I was wondering if it could feel 'warmer' with Frida's lead.But that's just a personal peception.So it's subjective and u may ignore it. And of course i'm so,so very very proud about this song's acknowledgement.So happy and proud.Strange thing is that some of my friends that are non-Abba fans some even prog rockers really adore this song more than any other Abba song.Possibly together with 'Eagle" and 'The Visitors" as their runners up.Thanks for replying. 😊
THIS SONG IS TRULY A MASTERPIECE FROM ABBA....I LOVE THIS SONG VERY MUCH...I PLAY IT ALMOST EVERY DAY...THIS GROUP WAS EXTRA ORDINARY GREAT....WE LOVE ABBA
This song is so special to me, it's hauntingly beautiful. I remember vividly when it came out. It sounded so different than anything ABBA made before and I loved it. I was disappointed that it didn't do so well on the charts as usual. It was not what people expected from ABBA and way ahead of its time. What a track to close the first chapter.
I heard this song the first time when I was 13 years old (1997). I remember that I did not like it at all since I was exploring ABBA discography and I was very interested on the catchy melodies they did in the 70s. Then as I was maturing I started to appreciating it more and more, currently I would say it's my favorite ABBA song!
I just commented and now I read your comment. Same here!
BB THANKYOU ,this intricate analysis of ABBAs last song together for 35 years with facts and hidden meanings and sophisticated melody and lyrics FINALLY allows me to be TOTALLY immersed in the brilliance of Agnetha Bjorn Benny and Annifrid along with the magic of Michael B Tretow.So this haunting mystical song was the ascension of ABBA into the mists of time to descend again 39 years later with the same mystical spiritual effect to all the world and adoring fans ,how surreal,how phenomenal,HOW ABBA,thankyou for all these productions you create,you enhance our lives and enhance our relationship with ABBA ,you are truly a BROTHER,the best brother any one could wish for.
It’s probably one of the most thought-provoking, arresting, haunting pop songs ever made.
I first listened to TDBYC on the “More ABBA Gold” CD, and…it almost felt a bit out of place for me, considering all the things I knew and loved about ABBA early on. I really didn’t get it, and it wasn’t until I reached adulthood when everything finally clicked for me.
I know that Björn especially has second thoughts about his original request for Agnetha’s delivery but I feel it suits the mystery that lies beneath the entire song. It’s so unsettling throughout, like, you can feel something is about to happen…but it never gets resolved. It opens itself to multiple interpretations, and I think that is exactly what Björn wanted. I guess that was his (and Benny’s) way of pushing the boundaries of what a pop song could do.
In its own synth way, it’s quite the masterpiece…and even stripped down, it’s achingly beautiful and sad. I especially loved the way Benny interpreted it on his “Piano” album. The melancholy just drips from it.
It’s hard to believe that this song was made just 40 years ago when it sounds so timeless and atmospheric, like it could ride all fads and musical trends. That’s the spirit of ABBA. It’s just timeless.
what a band....
this timeline has nothing like that, not even remotely close, it has some residue of the other one... it has older version of tears for fears but generally speaking... right here is the absolute best of the human species right there those 4 along side a number of others of that timeline
What is the story? I've read somewhere that the songs undertone is the womans passing..
An absolute masterpiece. It is timeless, so haunting and lyrically brilliant. I love Agnetha’s vocal delivery and Friday’s operatic line is sublime. Perfection.
Personal Favourite ABBA Song
Extraordinary analysis! Your huge amount of work and passion is unbelievable! This video almost brought tears in my eyes. The Day Before You Came was always one of my favorite songs. I consider it a masterpiece, very meaningful and complex in it's simplicity. And my thoughts about this songs are the same as you described. I was always astonished by how could describe so well the life in our days. The life of ordinary people, the routine, same things repeated everyday... Waiting that someday, somebody will come in our life and change it. So real and so deep!... First time when I heard The Day Before You Came, I was in communist Romania. We hadn't much access to the European music. But, because it was ABBA, a famous group, we heard it on the radio. And on TV few times. Anyway, somehow, some people managed to bring the song in Romania, on tapes. I remember, those years, we used huge tape players made in Russia, or in communist countries. But it was like crazy... everybody wanted to listen, or to have this "last" ABBA hit on tape (or on cassette) ...
THIS TRACK IS TO ME, THE MOST UNAPPRECIATED ABBA SONG EVER. AGNETHA SINGS THIS, IN A WAY SHE'S NEVER SUNG BEFORE. THE VOCAL, LYRICS, AND THE MUSICAL ARRANGEMENT IS SOOOO HAUNTING 🤩🤩🤩🤩
Haunting is the word for it all! It's impeccable!
Amazing song, and every time I travel to Stockholm - the train passes the bridge in the video - and I lived by the station where Agnetha waits for her morning train - just as I did then.
Fantastic production, Scandinavian melancholic, genuine and realistic lyrics that I can relate to, and feel they also could be about me.
"Dallas" wasn't just thrown in btw - with 2 channels available - the whole of Sweden watched Dallas on TV then. Björn really did the right choice by listing a normal, monotone day in a person's life.
And an amazing production with a synthesiser and melody that sounds as modern today as then.
I've heard Benny later claimed he'd later would have changed the realistic way Agnetha sung it in the released recording and would have preferred it was replaced by a more flowing and usual style. However, I adore the recorded vocals.
I, think Frida suggested the operatic back choir?
For me. A masterpiece! It was "forgotten" for long - but apparently have at last regained its place as one of their greatest feats.
Thank you ABBA (Now release Just like that)🇸🇪
The first time I ever heard this song, much to my shame was on the Abba Gold 2 album. I had never heard anything like it. A truly underrated masterpiece and my favourite Abba song of all time.
Same!
absolutely epic.i had just given birth to my first child. i was 19 yrs old and still in hospital. i was holding baby and it came on the radio.at first, i thought oh nooo this cannot be my ABBA they sound so sad and flat. as the years went by i really listened to the melancholy and realised what it was about. now i am 59 almost 60 and truly get this song. it is a masterpiece. i am going to voyage next week and was so lucky to see them and shake their hands stagefront in 79 here in england. this is a full circle for me as well as the song. thanks for an amazing piece of work again. debbie
There are so many songs claiming to be one of the greatest songs ever written, but "The Day Before You Came" is actually one of the Greatest songs ever written without the need to claim it. The complexity of what at first seem like a simple monotonous melody as it opens up with such emotional and expressive storytelling. This song is very special in so many ways, even for ABBA. Absolute classic.
Agnetha at the top of her game ..as is abba in their last song recording
My mother always play this song the day before I arrive from overseas to see mum...its my top 3 that I love...xxxx
When the song was released, I was just 13 and in the 7th grade. From the beginning, I was captivated by the melody and the way Agnetha interpreted the story with her crystal clear voice. There were no walkmen back then, so the song was playing on continuous loop in my head on the way home from school.
When ABBA made their legendary last appearance on German television three months later at the Show-Express in Saarbrücken, performing The Day Before You Came, Cassandra and Under Attack, I only found out from the radio that same day that they would be performing very close to where I lived. SR1 played ABBA songs over and over again throughout the afternoon and their performance was, of course, THE topic. I remember that there was even a short radio interview with Benny in which, contrary to his usual habits, he commented on the incipient upheavals in the Soviet Union.
When the performance was broadcast on ZDF in the evening, our whole family sat spellbound in front of the television - the cassette recorder recorded the sound and no one was allowed to speak a word :)
Man, Agnetha looked so stunningly good in her knitted jumper and with her new short hairstyle! All four of them looked so grown up and relaxed by now.
It wasn't until 40 years later, in July 2022, that a dream I had given up on for decades came true - I got to see ABBA VOYAGE in London. And it was abbasolutely fantastic!
I d heard this song in 1983 during my freshman year in my university
It was very catchy , never forget that
Now , it is the one the best song for me
İt is a masterpiece
Strangely enough, I was one of the very few ABBA fans that had never been introduced to this song before the rumors of ABBA's return to making their last album surfaced. While looking for new music, I stumbled across "The Day Before You Came" on a RUclips video. I was immediately mesmerized by the haunting melody of it and by the video itself since I am a rail enthusiast. As with most of ABBA's later music, I felt then and still do, that it is all a finely woven tapestry of how their own lives were progressing, the joy, the sadness, the love and the anguish of lost love and of day-to-day existence. Much of these parallel my own life as I see myself also in their music. Bless them for all they have given.
My favourite ABBA song, music video, and TV performance.
Also my favourite song.
Another great summary of a song that is, to me, their best.
I heard it 1st being played on radio, Kenny Everett, a big fan of theirs (he had ABBA do cameos on his TV Show). What he said about it as it played out basically summed up the subsequent feeling about it (at that time), I recall him saying something like “what the hell is she going on about?”. This kind of made me angry as I had never heard ABBA do something like this song. The Winner Takes It All, was sad, but in a more “romantic” way, if romance can include hurt at the end of a relationship, but TDBYC was different. I thought to myself “Good Lord, what’s happening in Stockholm!”. At that stage we hadn’t heard Cassandra or Under Attack/You Owe Me One, we knew about I Am The City & Just Like That, as they’d been mentioned in the ABBA magazine summer 1982, but this came out of some dark area that hadn’t been tackled before.
I bought 2 copies of it, one to play, 1 to keep pristine. It entered the chart but in a horrific low place, peaked a couple of weeks at 32, I was truly disappointed with the chart placing, back then, singles sold millions of copies, this came nowhere close. It got relegated to B-Side for the Spanish release of Under Attack. That also hurt.
It is to date, their longest single and I’m glad it didn’t get “Eagled” and mutilated. It wasn’t until a few years later that we found out that it was recorded last as it appears on The Singles second to last. I saw the video get played at the Late Late Breakfast Show, Nov 6 1982, my first of three occasions I was lucky enough to have them just metres away from me.
I love the song, I hope one day, maybe a “Stranger Things” thing could happen to give it its true place, number 1.
Thanks for this. I’ve always loved this song. Sad haunting and very moving. An ABBA masterpiece.
ABBA meets Ennio Morricone. Cinematic, Haunting and Beautiful. A Scandinavian Once Upon A Time In The West.
I remember when I heard The Day Before You Came for the first time. I was 15 years old. As a Saudi Arabian kid who just started learning English when I was 9 (thanks to being an ABBA fan since then), I didn’t fully understand what the lyrics were saying, but I could feel what the song was about. It made my cry nevertheless. It is by far the most profound work of ABBA. The group Blancmange did a cover of the song not long after ABBA released it and I remember how terrible it sounded. It was sacrilegious!
This song is for me a masterpiece and the best of ABBA. The interprétation of Agnetha is exceptionnal whe can see the pain in her voice and the sadness in her face.❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thanks so much for this. The Day Before You Came isn't just my favourite ABBA song, it's #1 on my personal list of all-time favourites - no matter the artist. The song is hauntingly beautiful, and can be interpreted so many different ways. Once again, Benny & Bjorn managed to create a song drenched with melancholy - yet strangely uplifting at the same time. It manages to celebrate life, even with its monotony. Agnetha's voice is exquisite - it could cut glass. And Frida's accompanying melody is so mournful - it carries you away on a whisper. The song is also, so much of its time. They could never have made this in their early years, or at the height of their success. It is as relevant to their marital status and their star dimming in the early 80's as the sound and synth suggests. Wonderful. Thanks again. A great reminder of their brilliance.
I remember hearing this on "ABBA The Singles " and I had the feeling that the song had such a finality to it that it made me think that this is the end of ABBA.
All time favourit song, as you said a masterpiece. Sad, depressive.
Best wishes to Michael Tretow :-)
Omgosh... what a fabulous background story to one of my favorites. Thank you for sharing all the details behind the scenes and it's meanings. Here I was thinking I was the only one who appreciated this song, and come to find there's this whole complex history and tons of others who love it as much as I do. Thank you Bobby's Brother! A truly masterful video.
Absolute Masterpiece...
What I like the most in this song is that the sadness, the melancholy is totally taken out of the lyrics. The words sound almost detached, neutral, there's no poor me, there's no boohoo, no cheesy longing, no regrets. Not a single reference to what that love was or could have been. All the immeasurable sadness is in the music, and even there done with the simplest of means, except for the arrangement that pierces your soul in very deep places. When I hear the instrumental outro I simply feel cold (like literally shivering sometimes), emptied, drained and yet very emotional. A masterpiece indeed!.
From the first time I heard it in October 1982 it was my absolute favorite ABBA song. It’s so unusual and special!
Thanks for the review BB. It was a song I didn’t fully appreciate at the time, but now it’s one of my favourites. I can see why at the time it didn’t set the charts alight, it wasn’t the cheerful commercial type of song we were used to but the mature direction Benny & Bjorn were heading. A modern masterpiece I now fully appreciate, with much speculation about the songs meaning. Thanks for the thought provoking video BB.
Amazing study of the song, Bobby's Brother. As you said, it's a masterpiece in the history of music. I remember when I first listened to it on the radio: it was not the kind of song that was popular at the time, and I thought that it was not going to succeed. Maybe it was too mature and serious and we were too young. But anyway it was awesome. I love it. And everytime I play it at home, I get emotional, sad and nostalgic, it lasts for the whole day. Frida's final operatic voice mixed with Benny synthesizers stay with me for hours making me feel blue but happy of being an ABBA fan.
I was quite literally BLOWN AWAY by my first listen to TDBYC. "I'm certain" I got goosebumps all up & down my arms and neck, because I still do, to this day, when I listen to this song. The first time? It was a visceral reaction, and it was amazing. I worshipped the song, bought the single, the double vinyl LP to have it in every form that I could find. I talked it up to everyone who would listen (worked in a music store)... then another thing happened, unlike any other ABBA release - Blancmange covered it!!! And they did so in a most amazing, faithful way. Blancmange were a force to be reckoned with, so many great early 80's dance hits... and they clearly worshipped this song as I did. Thier version was crazy good, and it cemented my loyalty to it, my love of it, and makes me sure when I call it a "masterpiece". It is. To this day, it gives me chills. I never saw the original ABBA video until many, many years later (not that long ago, maybe 5 years?) but finally did so because of youtube. But gee whiz, it's perfection. I wish it could be released again today, song, video, the whole package, because it's still perfect. And so human. THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC!!!!!!!!
It's so eerie that I just randomly picked this song today to test out the audio quality of Amazon Music. I was going to just listen to the first verse, but I ended up listening to all 6 minutes yet again. I was just marveling at how it is one of the most unusual pop songs ever recorded. It really has no chorus. It is mostly in a minor key with no peaks and valleys; the song just slowly builds and reaches crescendo near the end. It is utterly joyless. And on the surface, there isn't much of a story here - just a woman taking the train to go to her office job and then going home. That is the genius of Bjorn's lyrics - the way he can magnify one's sense of loss by shining a light on the mundanity of life, which was actually just merely existing. It is like a still life painting put to song. There is no melodrama, blame or bitterness conveyed by the protagonist. It is even more devastating than that; she has basically flatlined emotionally and has checked out of her own existence.
Well said
Oh goodness, where to begin? "The Day Before You Came" has been so important to me. It came at a pivotal time in my life where I had recently turned 13 and there were things occuring in my life that gave me reason to feel very sad. When I put this 7" single on the turntable... Oh boy, I got chills down my spine and I felt immediately that something here was so important. In the following months I played it over & over & over, trying to decipher and understand it's deeper meaning, writing out it's lyrics (reading them once was not enough 🤔). All the daily routine, listed in such a way that was only half-conscious ("must have"), until the chilling line arrives "... the day before you came". That day must have been the wake up call, where nothing can stay the same as it once was. While I've read many evaluations of the songs meaning over the years, most conclude that it is a sad story, that the "you" is no longer there, but I find no suggestion of that in the lyrics (I think that interpretation might come from the song's music video). Everything in the song's lyrics comes from a place BEFORE "you" came along. What occurs after that life-changing moment is left wide open. To me this song is extremely comforting, and it actually instilled in me the feeling that I must live life to the full. Sure, we all experience routine, but I felt that I must be aware, observant and not take life & people for granted 🙏🥰💗
(Edit) I didn't explain why the song was so important, but I think that should stay private. Suffice to say, having recently turned 53, I look back at my life and think "wow, I've done things that the shy 13yo me would never have thought possible and I survived it all" Life is beautiful 🙏💗 Thanks ABBA for my wake up call 🥰
A masterpiece of songwriting. It is now over 40 years old and it remains absolutely timeless. Given the completeness of the composition it is hard to believe that they effectively created it in the studio from a half formed idea to use up spare studio time they had booked. Definitely my favourite Abba song although The Winner Takes It All, another quite contemplative and slightly sad song, runs it a close second.
I love this song. I put this masterpiece at the second place my favourite songs of Abba 🤩
Wow. 40 years to The Day. You are so good! Hard to believe a lot of us lived to mark this anniversary, of all years. It truly has come Full Circle with this milestone as well as their gift of Voyage. Now, as I look at its album cover, it occurs to me that this is Bon Voyage. There is a reason this is all happening. Thank you for your honoring of Mr. Tretow. He indeed had huge contributions that we die hard fans knew all along. Thank you for another excellent video!
I was only 3 months old when this song came out and grew up listening to ABBA songs from my dad's collection. But this song wasn't part of it.
Thanks to youtube I discovered it 10 years back. Has been my favorite Abba song ever since.
Thanks for your thoughts. I allways say I have no favorite -- but it's this song. It was like discovering a whole new ABBA. That Show Express performance by Agnetha is my favorite by her too. When Benny came out with it on Piano it re enforced it even more. Why contenue with Pop when you can create songs like this. More about Michael B. Tretow would be a great video.
Very nice and informative analysis, thank you. What’s so intriguing about the lyrics for me, is how they say something very profound by describing absolutely mundane, routine events. The sorrow drips from Agnetha’s vocal like rain. The absolute counterpoint to their early, sunny songs.
The day before you came, is the best song from Abba. When i hear it, the first time i was totaly blow away, i buy the singel here in Holland where i live.
That song is so great, but every time i played it, i got tears in my eyes, en in my hart, because i feel every time verry sad when i play it. Its best emotional song ever. Thats why its the best ever. Greetings from a big Abba fan.
Happy Anniversary to an absolute masterpiece of pop music!!! I heard a comment about it in an ABBA documentary, stating: "The melody sticks the knife in and the lyric really rips it out". That's exactly how I feel everytime I decide to listen to it. I say "decide", because for me, this is one of the hardest songs ever to listen to, I really have to be in the right mood and mindset to do it. The matter-of-fact monotony in the lyrics and music, set against the climax in each verse that all of these mondane things happened "the day before you came", the devastating realization that the woman now has to go back to that life, after getting a taste of what fulfillment can feel like... It's just so, so sad, I can't put it into words! For me personally, the most heartbreaking line is "It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim the day before you came".
I always thought the steady rhythm in the drums could also be a reflection of the train's pace. At one point, I watched an interview with Benny on the song in which he said that he told Agnetha on the day of recording: "You know, this is an ordinary girl, living an ordinary life in an ordinary city somewhere. Maybe you should act that - don't sing as good as you can." This delivery and Frida's haunting opera vocals in my opinion make the whole thing complete in its infinite sadness. I would LOVE for you to do a video, focusing on the music video! It only adds to the sadness, and I think it's a masterpiece as well! See you next time, hejdå!
I rate this song very highly. It makes you think all the way through it and I always feel disappointed when it ends. So, I play it again haha! It was a mystery to me why it only got to #32 in the UK charts, one of the three worst performing singles for them at that time. Even as a 17 year old I knew it was genius artistry. I feel indebted to you BB that you have put the spotlight on this wonderful artistry.
My wife and I were married in October 1982. This truly wonderful song reminds us of that time in our lives, and we’re celebrating 40 years’ marriage this year.
I heard this for the first time years after release and it was one of the first ABBA songs I heard and it made me fall in love with ABBA! Thanks bobby for reminding me of the small things this song brings to people
Not any more. When ITV did The Nation’s Favourite Abba song, it was number 3. The Winner Takes It All was number 1, then Dancing Queen.
Not any more. When ITV did The Nation’s Favourite Abba song, it was number 3. The Winner Takes It All was number 1, then Dancing Queen.
@@colinbaker3916 what?
@@abbafan1024 ruclips.net/video/ysiOJEbcXU4/видео.html
my dear young friend
My apologies for not having written any comments in your last videos
(especially I will try to leave it to you, although late, as gratitude for your great task)
but rest assured that I have seen and enjoyed them all, it is fascinating the love, professionalism and historical rigor that you put into all of them since your first videos with the ABBA Journey album by album a year and months ago
I am a retired music academic and used to lecture on the history and appreciation of music, music theory, music composition, music analysis and music aesthetics. Over 30 years of lecturing, I have been repeatedly asked for my opinion regarding "the best pop song ever written". As subjective as the answer always is, I can only name five songs that deserve the number 1 spot together. And in no particular order, they are:
"She" and "La Boehme" by Charles Aznavour
"Ne me quitte pas" by Jacques Brel (aka if you go away)
"The Rose" by Amanda McBroom
And, of course, "The day before you came" by ABBA.
I constantly challenged my music composition students to try to match this absolute masterpiece's simplicity and story-telling quality. None could do it.
An absolutely superb feature, thank you. This song is unquestionably one of the greatest achievements in pop writing, performance and recording. Timeless.
Hey Bobby's Brother what a fantastic dissection of a truly fantastic song 🎵 by ABBA beautifully sung by Agnetha..I always thought this song was overlooked as it was at the end of ABBA 's dominance in the music 🎶 world 🌎 😕 personally I think its sublime 👌 its a masterpiece 👌 to think it was,all written & composed in such a short span of time!!! Keep up the great work & thanks again for educating us all Bobby's Brother 👍
Undoubtedly so unique and outstanding ethereal haunting vocals from Agnetha 😍 so melancholic it has a deep sadness and yet a certain happiness all in the same context all at the same time 😇 This is what makes ABBA specifically unique , I also love Fridas operatic and theatrical addition to this artistic song 🎵 Thankyou BB for your in-depth analysts points of view 👍
Hey BB!!!! 🎉
I’m looking forward to you acknowledging the wonderful and amazing First Anniversary of our ABBA gift 💝 to us!!!!!
In Australia 🇦🇺 we have already lived this amazing day but I know you and the Northern Hemisphere are just waking up to this important and significant milestone! ❤
A very haunting melody. One of my favorites.
My favourite ABBA song of all
This has always been one of my favourite songs from the first time I heard it. Simple but complex. Two solo pieces in one. Hauntingly sad, the end of a chapter. Still as incredible today as then.
'It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim'.....this to me is the most harrowing line in the song, the hard truth without any qualification. How many of us are living lives without aim? Maybe most of us? What should this aim be? Haunting stuff.
The question about the meaning of life hidden inside a subdued offering by the purveyors of guilty pleasure
This is my favorite ABBA song.
One of the best ABBA songs, and surely the only one without a chorus - very uncharacterfully ABBA…
I’ve always felt that Frida’s soprano was a chorus, albeit with no lyrics. But it’s definitely set apart from ABBA’s other songs. I absolutely loved this track, even as a kid. Still my favourite track to this day.
I certainly remember 1982 and this ABBA song. Yes it was haunting and so intriguing that I had these two mixed feelings at the time; a foreboding this is the finale of ABBA's reign But then also feeling fascinated and eager for their possible next album , excited for a new creative direction they might take in writing, composing, and recording. I really liked the cinematic music video of this song. Happy Birthday to Michael B. Tretow ! warmest wishes to a sound recording engineer genius.
That song, along with the entire album is transcending. Melody and poetry, It’s eternal art. When I play from beginning to end as I work late at night, the connotative melancholy resonates and I feel a sense of loss. Partly associated with knowing that was the end of Abba, and in 1982 I was personally in an emo stage of life.
This is really one of my top five Abba songs ever. I love everything about it, the composition, melody, the backing track with Frida's vocals, Agnetha's haunting delivery of the lead vocals, the atmosphere of the song itself... Every Abba song is a masterpiece in it's own way but TDBYC is somehow one step higher
Thank God for RUclips we get to see these classic songs , ABBA, Elvis and others. They are my favs Elvis n ABBA.❤❤. This song reminds me of four of them n their divorces.
yes it's definitely masterpiece 😍 👌 💜 🙌 thanks for sharing 👍
I actually do remember hearing this song for the first time when I was 14 years old. Growing up on the US-Canada border in Bufflalo NY, we had full access to several Canadian television networks. In fact, I was able to see the "ABBA in Switzerland" special a few years before because it was broadcast on Canadian TV. I remember seeing a segment of the video (the final instrumental + Frida's wordless final vocal having been cut off at the end). I remember being amazed at the cinematic quality of the video, which was pretty unusual in 1982, as well as how different the song was from anything else ABBA had previously done. I also remember scouring the "TV Guide" to see if the show would be repeated so I could see/hear it again, and I quite literally held up my 80s "boom box" to the TV to record the song onto a blank cassette so I could continue listening to the song that fall, until "The Singles - the First Ten Years" record album was released in the shops, and I finally was able to hear the full version of the track. I'm with Ludvig - TDBYC and The Winner Takes it All are indeed my favorite tracks (with Lay All Your Love on Me close behind in third place...)
I first heard this fantastic on ABBA The Singles from 1982. Such a great analysis of this hauntingly beautiful song. Also a beautiful tribute to Michael B. Tretow, I found it to be a masterpiece of a song, right away. Something of an eerie atmosphore, sophisticated, clearly demonstrating their musical development at that time, the precursor to Chess.
You analyzed this song beautifully. This is one of my favorites💖
Brilliant! brilliant, so your analysis as the song!
Its a fantastic masterpiece
A masterpiece of composition by Benny, writing by Bjorn, and singing by the women. If not my favorite ABBA song, then definitely in the top five. But it is far and away the best ever ABBA video!!
Now I comment on the specifics about the song and your video
when I saw your previous video and you were talking about an anniversary, I didn't even imagine it was this one
I guess I must have it as denied, because it is an ABBA song that gives me very mixed feelings
is that, in my more rigid 'mental structure' (must be because of my 64 years)
"The day before you came"
I have it as the song 'minus ABBA' along with 'Like an angel passing through my room'
I imagine that it is that air of sadness and loneliness that I perceive that takes me away from other ABBA songs
That's why I consider it a good and interesting song (6 to 7pts), but for me it doesn't grow to the level of a masterpiece that if I recognize "The winner takes it all" (another song of more sadness and loneliness, but resolved musically in other way that I like most)
And among all ABBA singles is the one I like
(it must be my problem, because the British fans voted it as the third best ABBA song)
now, even with these observations from me, your video is beautifully moving, and makes me at least better able to understand the song as a whole
and although musically 'I don't like it' (in fact, I like Benny much better playing it alone on the piano), all your passionate and enriching words make me appreciate more
"The day before you came"
and yes, I think that apparent simplicity, monotony and ambiguity in "The day before you came", is a very 'naked' song in my opinion, with a very lonely Agnetha remains as a soloist
I compare it with "The winner takes it all", also with Agnetha singing alone (with a different energy and intensity), and even with a repetitive melody, but with another more superb production
I still understand that they are different songs and that each one asks for different things, I only explain why I like one much more than the other
what I do think is that both the official video (a masterpiece in itself, even showing the four distant ABBAs, with Agnetha as an actress) and the performance in Germany (witty that initial solo appearance of Agnetha, looking like a storyteller) it gives me more credit for the song than listening to it alone without an image
well, a new ABBA anniversary is coming, and it is the last one, that of the unforgettable September 2 of the previous year, which was the day that the world enjoyed the return of ABBA
and the most important
that we, its fans, saw (many live and the vast majority on web platforms) between that day and the last May 26, that ABBA had the recognition they deserved, and the recovery of their image of friendship, unity and harmony that healed the difficult moments they experienced at the end of 1982
and I hope that all ABBA fans are united in this special celebration of the gift of life that the 'Fabs Four from Sweden' gave us
PS: thanks for your great words to the great Michael Tretow, esential to create the iconic 'ABBA sound' from the earliest years in "Ring Ring'"
Happy birthday to Him! GOD bless his life
I fell in love with this song the very first time I heard it…it speaks about a simple life and love!
Hi BB, I just found this video in your back catalog. I remember this so vividly. I was at work and it was allowed to play the radio quietly in our little work area. I was 18. I was such a huge Abba fan and all the talk was they would break up but we all hoped they would find some way to work things out. When I heard this song sitting at my desk I knew there would be no more Abba and I was very sad. I might have even shed a tear.
Your research and insights utterly amaze me. I know exactly where I was when I heard that ABBA were no longer together and it broke my young heart. I did not know the full story behind the writing and recording of the song, but I did know that it was left “unfinished” in terms of additional tracks and layers of sound. The simplicity, as you rightly point out, is what sets this apart from so much of their catalog. And never gets old. Well done to them and you too!
How did they capture the sound of a train so perfectly...this is simply a work of genius....I remember being shocked when dallas was mentioned ,as it was rumoured at that time that agnetha was offered a part in this hugely successful soap opera....she would have given Victoria principle and pricilla presley a run for their money in the beauty dept....
Yes i remember that about Agnetha wanted for a part in Dallas too!It was written that's the reason why Dallas was also mentioned in the song's lyrics.
@@christianoazzuro6711 not exactly, it was a rumor coming from the fact that one of the director of many episodes was swedish, all the rest is pure creation of tabloids.
Been rumors the ladies of that show didn't want Agnetha to be hired. Agnetha was a World wide star and would have changed the STAR power of the women in the show.
I knew that this was going to be my favorite Abba song the moment Agnetha finished the second line… it still is after 40 years
I was 17 years old in 1979 when I was first introduced to ABBA. It was "The Album" and the first song instantly became my favourite: "Eagle, "followed by "Take a Chance on Me" and "Move On." When Super Trouper came out I fell in love with "The Winner Takes It All," "Our Last Summer" and the "Piper." Living in Kodiak Alaska in the early 2000s, where eagles are plentiful, along with mountains and forests and seas, my love for "Eagle" was boosted.
But when "The Day Before You Came" came out, it immediately rivalled my love for "Eagle" and now, I think it is my favourite. It is, as Benny says, haunting. I love how the end of each line has a short note - the word is almost clipped, it's not held at all: do, due, town, frowned, nine, signed … rule, school. aim, came. That to me is part of what makes it haunting - sad. Agnetha's performance, both in the music video and on stage reinforce the the mood as well. She is so serious looking on stage. In the music video seeing her waiting for the train on a rainy day, maybe early Spring or late Autumn when the sun is late coming up in Sweden, sets a tone. She and the gentleman on the train visually connect and a relationship forms. But in the end, we see her driving home alone in the pouring rain, and then it goes to her and Frida and Björn and Benny. It is all just … masterfully haunting, sad, and so … real.
The lyrics are inspired by the Marilyn French novel The bleeding heart. That's why we see Agnetha with that man on the train in the video. It was very clever to use that story. Maybe you must check of out.
Thank you for highlighting my favorit song.
My all time favourite ABBA song !
I remember when I first heard the song back in 1982, I was lying in bed and listening to music being played on the radio when all of a suddenly this song started without any introduction by the DJ. Within seconds, I was awed, I kept telling myself this is so ABBA, and I started wishing it to be and when the song ended and DJ said this is the brand new single by ABBA, I was over the moon. Even today I find the song so fresh and so much better than any other song. It's definitely a song I still listen to at least once a week.
Fabulous description of the this beautiful song. My favorite Abba's song too.
BB first of all thank you for this important and beautiful comment about our beloved ABBA and this Masterpiece ! When I first listened to it , it took me by surprise. This haunting Melody the dark and sad like lyrics. The Beautiful Agnetha with her Angelic voice sounds so much in distress that it pulls you in with her. Yes, this is definitely a true favorite of mine and many more fans.
I'm getting ready to play it now.. Thank you BB for your brilliant analysis about the creation of this Gem. Also a great shout out to another Master, Micheal B Tretow. Happy Birthday Mike!!
Bobby's Brother - that is a great description of The Day Before You Came. It's also one of my favourite Abba songs. I remember listening to it driving back home in north west England, one Sunday evening late in 1982. It was getting dark. The north west region was suffering massively from the economic recession and the US airforce supposedly had nuclear weapons at the Burtonwood Airbase. This all added to the melancholic feel of the song.
I think your analysis of the song's lyrics is absolutely right. I only understood this a couple of year's ago when I read a comment by Bjorn. The whole song is written in the past tense. The protagonist is singing about a time when she didn't realise she is unhappy, but by now she does realise that she was unhappy then. And the reason she realises that is that the great relationship she had is over and she now knows what she lost. As you said, when you realise that, that is the saddest aspect of the whole song.
Pop noire par excellence !
An absolute masterpiece and the soundtrack of my youth
I don´t remember the first time I heard this song but I do remember how fool I was with...and i´m, 40 years later. I still recall moments, conversations and theories I had starting 80´s about its music, lyrics and video, when I was just an ordinary teenager and at the time I never even noticed I was blue, It's funny, but I had no sense of living without aim, toorooroo, tooroorooroo...
I do love that toorooroo, toorooroo!
This is easily one of my top favorite songs of all time. The mood, the atmosphere, and the intrigue all captivate me in a way few songs ever have.
Everything about that song enthralls and moves me, including the accent she sings with and the accompanying non lyrical vocal performance.
As soon as I hear the first captivating notes of that song, I thrill at the immersing emotional experience.
ABBA... THANK YOU FOR THE MUSIC.
When i heard this song for the first time in my life i was just a teenager listening to European charts synths and electronic music,
I remember that i was actually trigged by it that is so different from other AbbA songs and actually like it, and the synths mood in it, i loved it.
In my youth AbbA was oldies band if you understand. I even got hold of latest Visitors Album just to see what was this about.
Also i do remember everyone was already talking than about the Band about to split, papers, people radio shows,
and that Visitors album most likely is there's last one. So when i heard that song i was sad for them even that i was in different style of music,
cos i did remember them from my childhood times. Till today I'm listening this song from time to time and watching video clip that mini Movie masterpiece.
reminds me when i was younger much younger then😉😉😊😊😉😉thanks for your complete song tear down, very interesting review. 💖💖
I didn't understand the song as a young guy ,found it beautyfull but weird .... now hearing this back ...it is a masterpiece . Abba is so talented genius and completely underestimated!
I` ve loved this song ever since the first time I heard it. It`s melancholy feeling hits right to the core of my Finnish soul. Like you said, it is a true masterpiece. But so is this analysis you`ve made of it. Thank you so much for taking the time and doing justice to this amazing song. And the way you draw the link between this and Niina, pretty ballerina.. Wow. Never crossed my mind, but as you said, I was like... wow! It is so true. Absolutely fantastic analysis and information about the production of this amazing masterpiece. If I had to pick one song as my all time favorite songs, it would be The day before you came. Like you said, the melody line, the lyrics, the vocals of those two amazing singers and Mr. Tretow putting it all together.. Fantastic piece of art. Thank you.
My favorite Abba song hands down. It understands so many hidden emotions within each of us lost in the routine of life, and gives subtle hints of what happiness really is if you find it.
A truly remarkable song, it can never be replicated nor can it be reproduced.
Thank you BB, brilliant analysis of this absolute masterpiece. It is my favourite song by Abba of all time. I first heard this song on Radio 1 in the UK, it was premiered during new release Friday slot, I remember hearing Dj Mike Smith and Janice Long, saying the is the brand new song by Abba, The Day Before You Came, as soon as I heard those first haunting melody, I had goosebumps,, I did not want it to end. First thing Monday morning I went to my local Woolworths to purchase my copy, there it was sitting on the shelve, really liked the picture sleeve too.
When I got home I think I must have played it over again several times, just loved the way Agnetha sang the words, and Frida's oprahatic haunting vocals were amazing. Like many other Abba fans I was stunned it only reached no 32 in the charts, it made me question was this the end of Abba, even then!
when Abba appeared on The Late Late Breakfast Show on that cold November evening, where the video for TDBYC was first shown, i was just in awe, Agnetha looked amazing as did Frida with her cool new haircut, the video was actually cut short, then that awful interview by Noel Edmunds, plus the atmosphere felt very cold between all four members of Abba.
The last song they ever recorded for 40 years, until Abba returned last year with Voyage and now they are riding high in the album charts with Gold, as they continue to delight Abba fans from all over the world with Voyage in London, I hope they will perform The Day Before You Came when I go and see the show again in the autumn 🍂 Happy 40 years The Day Before You Came 🥰
Agreed. My favourite ABBA song and possibly a favourite of all time regardless. The music, the lyrics and the vocals combine to create a human expression, a longing, a sadness, a void and something that can’t be put into words (paradoxically) but the combination manages to express it. It creates a feeling in me like no other song I know. Your analysis and appreciation of this wonderful work adds even more interest, thank you.