Elaine (song)

"Elaine"
"Elaine" cover
Song by ABBA from the album Super Trouper
Released	July 21, 1980
Format	B-side
Genre	Pop
Length	3:44
Label	Polar Music
Writer(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus

"Elaine" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was used as the B-side to the 1980 single "The Winner Takes It All". It was not included on any of their original albums but was later included as a bonus track on the 2001 reissue of Super Trouper.

Synopsis

The song is about a "devil-may-care path in pursuit of love".^[1]

Composition

The intro of Elaine

ABBA: Let the Music Speak describes "Elaine" as a "bold and brazen up-tempo number", adding that it has a "wealth of treated synth effects". The pace remains the same throughout the song, and the intro has a "melodic riff that is squeezed and contorted over a series of suspended chords". This is followed by a "whistlable refrain".^[1] At the end of the second verse, the synths mimic the girls' voices.^[2]

Analysis

The song has a degree of programmatic irony, as the "extrevert nature" of the refrain juxtaposes "Agnetha and Frida's decisive and cutting unison stabs".^[1]

Critical reception

Abba - Uncensored on the Record says the song is "OK, in a rather frantic way", and adds that it "paled in comparison" to the song it was paired with in the single "The Winner Takes It All", widely regarded as the best song ABBA ever recorded.^[3]

References

1. Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. pp. 63–4. ISBN 9780646496764.
2. Tesch, Christopher Patrick ; editor: Matthew (2008). ABBA : let the music speak : an armchair guide to the musical soundscape of the Swedish supergroup (1st ed.). Fairfield Gardens, Qld.: Christopher J N Patrick. p. 128. ISBN 9780646496764.
3. Tobler, John (2012-01-04). "Abba - Uncensored on the Record". ISBN 9781908538239.