"I Have a Dream"
Single byABBA
from the albumVoulez-Vous
B-side	"Take a Chance on Me" (recorded live atWembley)
Released	7 December 1979[1]
Recorded	March 1979
Studio	Polar, Stockholm, Sweden
Genre	Europop[2] schlager[3]
Length	4:45
Label	Polar Music
Songwriters	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producers	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"As Good as New" (1979) "I Have a Dream" (1979) "The Winner Takes It All" (1980)
Lyric video
"I Have A Dream" onYouTube

"I Have a Dream" is a song by Swedish pop groupABBA. It was released in December 1979 as the fourth international and final single from the group's sixth studio album,Voulez-Vous.Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang lead vocals. It was a major hit, topping the charts in many countries and peaking at No. 2 in the UK over the Christmas week of 1979. The single was in fact released after the non-album singleGimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) and after the release of the compilationGreatest Hits Vol. 2 – which didn't include "I Have a Dream".

Twenty years later, Irish pop groupWestlife released a version of "I Have a Dream" that reached No. 1 in the UK over the Christmas week of 1999.

"I Have a Dream" is included on theABBA Gold: Greatest Hits album as well as in theMamma Mia! musical.

The song is featured extensively in the Black Mirror episodeFifteen Million Merits where the character Selma Telse is propelled to superstardom after performing a rendition on the talent show "Hot Shots".

"I Have a Dream" was written byBenny Andersson andBjörn Ulvaeus circa March 1979 and was taken from the group's 1979 album,Voulez-Vous.Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang the lead vocals. The track was released as a single in December 1979 with a live version of "Take a Chance on Me" as the B-side.

The recording includes a final chorus by 28 children fromStockholm International School. The song was the only ABBA track to feature additional vocalists in addition to the members of ABBA, until "Little Things" in 2021, in which the choir participated again in the studio. Also notable is the extensive use ofelectric sitar (played byJanne Schaffer), an unusual instrument in their recordings.

In the UK, the single was issued in a lavish gatefold sleeve, intended as a souvenir for UK fans who had attended the Wembley concerts. The back cover featured a message from ABBA themselves regarding the Wembley concerts, together with their signatures. The front cover used the same live photo of ABBA as the worldwide release, but the layout and fonts were different. This was only Epic's second picture sleeve for an ABBA single.

As of September 2021, "I Have a Dream" is ABBA's 12th-biggest song in the UK, including both physical sales and digital streams.^[4]

The live version of "Take a Chance on Me" on the B-side was one of three mixes of the same recording to be issued. Released soon after the concerts, this version is thought to be the genuine recording. A very slightly extended version, featuring spoken introductions from the group, was used as the B-side in Australia. This extended version has been released internationally on the deluxe edition ofABBA: The Album. Finally, a third mix was included onABBA Live issued in 1986.

• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – lead vocals, backing vocals
• Agnetha Fältskog – backing vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus –acoustic guitar, backing vocals
• Benny Andersson – keyboards & synthesizers, backing vocals

• Janne Schaffer –electric sitar
• Rutger Gunnarsson – bass
• Ola Brunkert – drums
• Stockholm International School – choir vocals

"I Have a Dream"
Single byCristy Lane
from the albumI Have a Dream
B-side	"Rio Grande"
Released	December 1980 (1980-12)
Recorded	October 1980 (1980-10)
Studio	LSI Studio
Genre	Country[25] country pop[25]
Length	3:52
Label	Liberty LS
Songwriters	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producers	Jerry Gillespie Don Grierson
Cristy Lane singles chronology
"Sweet Sexy Eyes" (1980) "I Have a Dream" (1980) "Love to Love You" (1981)

Americancountry andChristian artistCristy Lane notably covered "I Have a Dream" in 1980. Lane had several years of commercial success in the country music market with songs like "Let Me Down Easy", "Penny Arcade" and "Simple Little Words". In 1980, she recorded the religious-themed "One Day at a Time", which became a number one hit and brought Lane to the attention of Christian music listeners.^[26] With a similar theme, Lane recorded "I Have a Dream" in October 1980, shortly after the success of "One Day at a Time". The track was cut at LSI Studios and was produced byJerry Gillespie, with assistance from executive producerDon Grierson. In the same recording session, the songs "Rio Grande" and "You Make It Easy" were also cut.^[27]

Lane's cover was released as a single in December 1980 viaLiberty Records andLS Records. It was backed by theB-side, "Rio Grande", and was released as a7" vinyl record.^[27] "I Have a Dream" spent multiple weeks on theBillboardHot Country Songs chart between December 1980 and early 1981 before peaking at number 17. It was Lane's final top 20 hit single on the chart in her music career.^[28] It also became her second single to chart inNew Zealand, where it reached number 34 in 1981.^[29] The song was later released on her 1981 studio album of thesame name. The album included the original single's B-side as well.^[25] Lane's cover received a positive review fromBillboard magazine in their December 1980 issue. Reviewers described the track as having "a rich south of the border undercurrent" while praising its production, calling it "crystalline."^[30]

7" vinyl single^[27]

• "I Have a Dream" – 3:52
• "Rio Grande" – 3:05

"I Have a Dream"
Single byWestlife
from the albumCoast to CoastandABBAmania
A-side	"Seasons in the Sun" (double A-side) "Flying Without Wings" (triple A-side, Australia)
Released	13 December 1999 (1999-12-13)[31]
Studio	PWL Studios (London)
Length	4:06
Label	RCA BMG
Songwriters	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producers	Dan Frampton Pete Waterman Trevor Steel John Holiday
Westlife singles chronology
"Flying Without Wings" (1999) "I Have a Dream" / "Seasons in the Sun" (1999) "Fool Again" (2000)
Music video
"I Have a Dream" onYouTube

Irishboy bandWestlife released a cover of "I Have a Dream" in December 1999, 20 years after ABBA's original release. The song became the group's fourth UK number-one single. The release was adouble A-side with "Seasons in the Sun" in the UK and Ireland and "Flying Without Wings" in the Netherlands, and a triple A-side in Australia with both "Seasons in the Sun" and "Flying Without Wings" included.^[32] The release became the UK's Christmas number-one single of 1999, beatingCliff Richard's charity single "The Millennium Prayer" into the No. 2 spot. Westlife's remix version of "I Have a Dream" was later included on their second studio albumCoast to Coast in 2000. It then extended its peak into January 2000, spending a total of 17 weeks on the UK chart.^[33] The song was the 26th best-selling single of 1999 in the UK and it was also the final number one single of the 1990s.

In 2001, as part of aUNICEF fund-raising campaign, the song was re-recorded with additional vocals by Indonesian child singer,Sinna Sherina Munaf. The song has received a platinum sales certification in the UK for over 707,000 copies (as of 30 November 2021) sold across physical, digital, and streaming equivalent sales. It is the band's second-best-selling single for both paid-for and combined sales.^[34]

The music video for the Westlife version of "I Have a Dream" features the band exiting out of a car and into a dark street where a group of children are. The children start singing with the band members and play with toys lying nearby before the band head back to the car and drive away.

• United Kingdom. Ireland

1. "I Have a Dream"(single remix) – 4:06
2. "Seasons in the Sun"(single remix) – 4:10
3. "On the Wings of Love" – 3:22

• Australia

1. "Flying Without Wings" – 3:35
2. "I Have a Dream" (remix) – 4:06
3. "Seasons in the Sun" (single remix) – 4:10
4. "Flying Without Wings" (video) – 3:40

• Netherlands

1. "Flying Without Wings" – 3:35
2. "I Have a Dream" (remix) – 4:06

• 1979 songs
• 1979 singles
• 1980 singles
• 1999 singles
• ABBA songs
• Bertelsmann Music Group singles
• Christmas number-one singles in the United Kingdom
• Cristy Lane songs
• Dutch Top 40 number-one singles
• European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
• Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
• Liberty Records singles
• LS Records singles
• Number-one singles in Scotland
• Number-one singles in Switzerland
• Polar Music singles
• Swedish protest songs
• RCA Records singles
• Songs about dreams
• Songs written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus
• Streaplers songs
• UK singles chart number-one singles
• Westlife songs

• CS1 Dutch-language sources (nl)
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