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| "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Austrian picture sleeve | ||||
| Single byABBA | ||||
| from the albumRing Ring | ||||
| A-side |
| |||
| B-side |
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| Released | October 1973 (France) 1974 (Austria) | |||
| Genre | Europop | |||
| Length | 2:53 | |||
| Label | Polar Music,Polydor Records,Atlantic Records | |||
| Songwriters | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus | |||
| Producers | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus | |||
| ABBA singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio video | ||||
| "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" onYouTube | ||||
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" is a song recorded in November 1972 bySwedish pop groupABBA and released on their debut albumRing Ring.
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" is a third-person story song written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song describes a mundane lifestyle of a young woman who works at an office, but on a Friday night, she transforms and lives her dream on the dancefloor.[1]
The initial recording took place on 17 October 1972 alongside "He Is Your Brother" in Europa Film Studios, Stockholm, but the end result of this song was unsatisfactory.[2] The song was re-recorded in 2 November 1972 at Kungliga Musikhögskolan, Stockholm’s Royal College of Music.[2] This is considered to be the first ABBA song to have the ABBA sound, where Agnetha Fältskog and Frida Lyngstad have lead vocals in unison.[1]
Several sound effects are used including a train whistle and cheering.[1] Andersson and sound engineer Michael B. Tretow pioneered a technique similar to Vari-speed, where the song tape had been slowed down and the piano score had been overlaid.[1][2] With the song back in the original speed, this resulted in the instrument being sped up, so fast that it would not be possible to play.[1]
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina" was released on 7" vinyl record inFrance in October 1973 without any chart success. After radio success inAustria, the song was released in February 1974,[3] serving as the seventh and final single from the band's debut albumRing Ring. The single reached #8 on the singles chart in Austria.
| Chart (1973) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4] | 8 |
| Region | Date | Title | Label | Format | Catalog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Oct 1973 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "He Is Your Brother" | Vogue | 7-inch vinyl | 45. X. 3027 |
| Austria | 1974 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "I Am Just A Girl" | Polydor | 2040 111 | |
| Kenya | 1977 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "Dance (While The Music Still Goes On)" | 2001 736 | ||
| Philippines | 1977 | "Nina, Pretty Ballerina" / "So Long" | PRO-3512(2001 741) |
