"If It Wasn't for the Nights" (working title: "Pandemonium") is a song recorded in 1978 by the 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 ...

for their sixth studio album, '' Voulez-Vous''.

History

The song was a reflection of Björn Ulvaeus's state of mind during his divorce, an uptempo song with despairing lyrics where the narrator dreads the end of the working day, when they will be all alone to deal with their own thoughts. Ulvaeus later stated: "There were times that last autumn I was with Agnetha that I had those nights myself. My lyrics were often based around fiction, but that must have been where that one came from."

Appearances

"If It Wasn't for the Nights" was considered by the band members to be one of the strongest songs recorded during the ''Voulez-Vous'' sessions, and was originally intended to be the lead single from the album. ABBA performed the song in Japan in November 1978, upon their promotional visit to the country (known as ''ABBA in Japan''). Although ABBA did not film an official video for "If It Wasn't for the Nights", their filmed performance on the Mike Yarwood Christmas Show in December 1978 serves as an "unofficial" music video. These filmed performances of the song differ from the original 5:11 version (lasting 3:42 and 3:50).
ABBA - If It Wasn't for the Nights (Japan). Retrieved 6 March 2018. In December 1978, a new song entitled " Chiquitita" was recorded, and it was ultimately decided that this would be released as the lead single from the ''Voulez-Vous'' album instead. As a result of this decision, "If It Wasn't for the Nights" remained an album track.

References

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