"Lovers (Live a Little Longer)" is a song by

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

, released on their 1979 album '' Voulez-Vous''.

Production

The song premiered in the TV show ''ABBA in Switzerland'' in February 1979.

Synopsis

The song argues that a recent scientific study has shown that love is a factor in longevity. It then uses this to say "lovers live a little longer baby, you and me we got a chance to live twice".

Composition

The song contains "electric guitars and restless strings", which blend together to simulate the "dynamite drug" spoken of in the narrative. The song consists of a "vocal baton-changing" between

Frida ''Frida'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Julie Taymor which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Starring Salma Hayek in an Academy Award–nominated portrayal as Kahl ...

and Agnetha in the lead up to the chorus. The rhythm track of the song is very similar to that of "

Eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

". The string arrangement is by

Rutger Gunnarsson Johan Rutger Gunnarsson (12 February 1946 – 30 April 2015) was a Swedish musician, bass guitarist, guitarist, arranger and producer. He was closely associated with the pop group ABBA. Career Gunnarsson grew up in Ledberg parish. His career began ...

Critical reception

In his book ''Abba – Uncensored on the Record'',

John Tobler John Hugen Tobler (born 9 May 1943) is a British rock music journalist, writer, occasional broadcaster, and record company executive. With Pete Frame, he was one of the founders of ZigZag magazine in April 1969. The magazine focused on the " un ...

describes the song as "fairly frantic, but also fairly sexy". He adds that the song illustrates Frida's "thespian and theatrical inclinations". In an article by ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' about ABBA's "hidden gems", it offers the song's "slow, sexy, understated grooves with sweeping strings" as an alternative to The Name of the Game. ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' said it was a "steamy, even sensual number".

Times Online ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

listed "Lovers (Live a Little Longer)" and " Kisses of Fire" as "shoulda-been hits" that were passed over in favour of other lesser songs. ''ABBA: Let The Music Speak'' describes the song as "alternative and risqué". Internet reviewer Michael Lawrence gave the song a C+. ABBA the Blog said: "On "Lovers (Live A Little Longer)" and "Kisses of Fire," ABBA created an adult image of themselves by singing about sex". Internet reviewer George Starostin says of Voulez Vous: "There's also quite a bit of generic filler that shows far less concern for melody than usual, with three songs in a row built on simplistic rhythms, containing no hooks and simply being way too formulaic for ABBA: 'If It Wasn't For The Nights', 'Lovers Live A Little Longer', and 'Kisses of Fire' could have been written by just about any disco-abusing band at the time,

Boney M Boney M. was a German- Caribbean vocal group that specialized in disco and funk created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary songwriter. Originally based in West Germany, the four original members of the group' ...

included." Culture Fusion Reviews said ""Lovers (Live a Little Longer)" ... stands as the most complex song on the album. It has a slight disco feel but it moves through so many tempo, time signature and melody changes that it becomes a weirdo highlight of the album." BBC reviewer Sean Egan said "Lovers (Live a Little Longer), a would-be saucy anthem which is merely shrill", is one of the few "clinkers" of the album.

References

{{Authority control 1979 songs ABBA songs Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus