"Knowing Me, Knowing You" 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 ...
, released in February 1977 as the third single from the group's fourth album, ''
Arrival'' (1976). It was written by
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, composer and producer best known as a member of the pop group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and ''Mamm ...
,
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus (; born 25 April 1945) is a Swedish musician, singer, songwriter, and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA. He is also the co-composer of the musicals ''Chess (musical), Chess'', ''Kristina från Duve ...
and
Stig Anderson, with
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), also known simply as Frida, is a Swedish singer who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the pop band ABBA. Courtesy titles ''Principality of Reuss-Gera, Princess Re ...
singing the lead vocals.
Background
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was recorded in 1976 at the
Metronome Studios in Stockholm and was released as a single in February 1977, becoming one of the group's more successful hits. The
B-side, "Happy Hawaii", was an early version of another ABBA song, "
Why Did It Have to Be Me?", with a different lead vocalist and lyrics.
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" was one of the early ABBA songs to deal with the break-up of a relationship. It predates the divorces of the ABBA members as well as further break-up songs to come: "
The Winner Takes It All", "
One of Us" and "
When All Is Said and Done".
"Conociéndome, Conociéndote" is the Spanish-language version of the song. It was included on the compilations ''
Gracias Por La Música'' in 1980 ''
Oro: Grandes Éxitos'' in 1993.
Reception
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" proved to be one of ABBA's more successful singles, hitting #1 in West Germany (ABBA's sixth consecutive chart-topper there and had sold over 300,000 copies there by September 1979),
and the United Kingdom,
Ireland, Mexico and South Africa, and reaching the top 3 in Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It was a top 10 hit in Australia, Canada, France, New Zealand and Norway. In the United States, it became ABBA's sixth top 20 single, peaking at #14 on the Hot 100 and reaching #7 on Billboard's AC chart.
In the UK, "Knowing Me, Knowing You" was one of the biggest singles of 1977. It also began a second run of three consecutive #1 singles for ABBA (followed by "
The Name of the Game" and "
Take a Chance on Me
"Take a Chance on Me" is a song by Swedish recording group ABBA, released on 27 January 1978 in the United Kingdom, by Polar Music, as the second single from their fifth studio album, '' ABBA: The Album'' (1977). Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Fr ...
"), the group having had three consecutive #1 hit singles in 1976. As of September 2021, it is the group's third-biggest song in the country with 1.02 million chart sales, made up of pure sales and streams.
''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' reviewed the song and described it as a "melodically energetic but sad worded ditty about a romantic breakup." ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' called it "a softly rocking record that combines memorable pop hooks in their distinctive reverb-soaked ambiance" and said that it has "a sound agreeable to just about any top 40 station."
''
Record World'' said that "Its chorus is a mighty hook, capping another superb melody."
"Knowing Me, Knowing You" continues to be regarded as one of ABBA's finest songs. In 2017, ''Billboard'' ranked the song number four on their list of the 15 greatest ABBA songs, and in 2021, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked the song number two on their list of the 25 greatest ABBA songs.
Music video
The music video for "Knowing Me, Knowing You" depicts the band against various colored backdrops singing while facing each other, turning away as a new line is sung. At the end of the video, the band's female members are seen walking away through thick snow. The video was directed by future
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
nominee
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström (; born 2 June 1946) is a Swedish film director. He first became known for directing almost all the music videos by the pop music, pop group ABBA, but came to international attention with his 1985 feature film ''My L ...
, as were most of their other videos.
Track listing
Personnel
*
Anni-Frid Lyngstad
Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), also known simply as Frida, is a Swedish singer who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the pop band ABBA. Courtesy titles ''Principality of Reuss-Gera, Princess Re ...
– lead vocals
*
Agnetha Fältskog – backing vocals
* Björn Ulvaeus – guitar, backing vocals
* Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer
* Rutger Gunnarsson – bass, string arrangements
* Lasse Wellander – guitars
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
Cover versions and appearances in other media.
* Finnish eurodance act DCX recorded the song in 2007. Their single charted in fifth place in the Finnish charts.
* Brief clips from the original ABBA recording features in the film ''
ABBA: The Movie'' (1977) when Ashley is stuck in a traffic jam; it is presumably coming from the radio of another car.
* The song is performed in the musical ''
Mamma Mia!'' by the character of Sam. In the context of the musical, the song is used as Sam's description of his failed marriage.
* It is featured in the film adaptation's
sequel
A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...
, performed by younger versions of Sam (
Jeremy Irvine) and Donna (
Lily James), as well as the present-day Sam (
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan (born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He was the fifth actor to play the fictional secret agent Portrayal of James Bond in film, James Bond in the List of James Bond films, James Bond film series, starri ...
) and Sophie (
Amanda Seyfried).
*
Steve Coogan’s 1990s comedy radio show and TV series ''
Knowing Me, Knowing You with Alan Partridge'' was named after the song.
The song is also used as the theme tune.
References
External links
* https://www.songtexte.com/songtext/abba/happy-hawaii-63d63eeb.html
{{authority control
1970s ballads
1976 songs
1977 singles
ABBA songs
European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
Music videos directed by Lasse Hallström
Number-one singles in Germany
Number-one singles in South Africa
Polar Music singles
Pop ballads
Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
Songs written by Stig Anderson
UK singles chart number-one singles
Atlantic Records singles
Epic Records singles