"Elaine" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

. It was used as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

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".

Composition

''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". At the end of the second verse, the synths mimic the girls' voices.

Analysis

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

Critical reception

''Abba - Uncensored on the Record'' says the song is "OK, in a rather frantic way", and adds that it "paled in comparison," in the author's opinion, to the song it was paired with in the single "The Winner Takes It All".

References

{{ABBA songs 1980 singles ABBA songs