En ledig dag ( en, A Day Off) is a song written by Bengt Sten and Matteo Chiosso. ''En ledig dag'' is the debut single released by Swedish singer

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Princess Anni-Frid Synni Reuss, Countess of Plauen (born Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad on 15 November 1945), also known by her nickname "Frida", is a Norwegian-born Swedish singer, songwriter and environmentalist, who is best known as one of the foun ...

. The melody is based on another song titled "Weekend in Portofino", composed by Bruno de Filippi. This single was originally released as a non-album single in September 1967, but has been included on her compilation albums,

, " Tre kvart från nu" and "

Frida 1967–1972 ''Frida 1967–1972'' is a compilation album by Swedish singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad, released in 1997 by EMI Sweden. The album features Lyngstad's anthology of her solo recordings prior to ABBA, which includes the A and B sides of ten 7" singles, ...

Background

Dagen-H performance, recording session

After winning the Swedish talent competition called "New Faces" on 3 September 1967, Lyngstad performed the song live on TV, at the day of "

Dagen H (H-day), today usually called "" (), was 3 September 1967, the day Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right.

", where Sweden changed their traffic from left-hand road to their right-hand road. Lyngstad's recording took place at

Europafilm Europafilm was an influential Swedish film company established in 1929 by Schamyl Bauman and Gustaf Scheutz. The office was located at Kungsgatan in central Stockholm, while the film studio was located in Mariehäll, Bromma, northwest of Stock ...

Studio,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

and recorded her vocals in a single take.

Legacy and impact

''En ledig dag'' did not chart at the time of the release but is said to be circulated in

Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing at Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982-1985. The last years before the January 2003 cha ...

's charts, along with Lyngstad's continuous singles. She did not reach to her breakthrough until two years later, she appeared as a contestant for

Melodifestivalen Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...

, singing "Härlig är vår jord" and toured with Charlie Norman's cabaret shows. Nonetheless, this single marked the turning point of Anni-Frid's life that her singing career would become successful in the future.

References

{{authority control 1967 songs Anni-Frid Lyngstad songs