Knowing Me, Knowing You

"Knowing Me, Knowing You" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, released in February 1977 as the third single from the group's fourth album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson, with Anni-Frid Lyngstad 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"), 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'' reviewed the song and described it as a "melodically energetic but sad worded ditty about a romantic breakup." ''Cash Box'' 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'' 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 nominee Lasse Hallström, as were most of their other videos.

Track listing

Personnel

* Anni-Frid Lyngstad – 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, performed by younger versions of Sam ( Jeremy Irvine) and Donna ( Lily James), as well as the present-day Sam (Pierce Brosnan) 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

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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