"Waterloo" is a song recorded by Swedish pop groupABBA, with music composed byBenny Andersson andBjörn Ulvaeus and lyrics written byStikkan Anderson. It is the first single of the group's secondalbum of the same name, and their first under theAtlantic label in the United States. This was also the first single to be credited to the group performing under the name ABBA. The title and lyrics reference the 1815Battle of Waterloo, and use it as a metaphor for a romantic relationship. The Swedish version of the single was backed with the Swedish version of "Honey, Honey", while the English version featured "Watch Out" on theB-side.
Recording of the song commenced in 1973, with instrumental backing fromJanne Schaffer (who came up with the main guitar and bass parts),Rutger Gunnarsson, andOla Brunkert. The song's production style was influenced byPhil Spector's "Wall of Sound": prior to recording "Ring Ring", engineerMichael B. Tretow had readRichard Williams's bookOut of His Head: The Sound of Phil Spector, which inspired him to layer multiple instrumentaloverdubs on the band's recordings, becoming an integral part of ABBA's sound. Furthermore, ABBA had also originally cited the song "See My Baby Jive", by Englishglam rock bandWizzard, as a major influence (it was produced in the same style and has a similar structure); in the wake of their Eurovision victory, they were quoted as saying that it would not surprise them if artists such as Wizzard would consider entering the Eurovision in the future.[7][8]
The song's lyrics begin with:"My, my, at Waterloo, Napoleon did surrender. Oh yeah, and I have met my destiny in quite a similar way.... Waterloo, I was defeated, you won the war, Waterloo, promise to love you forevermore", using the metaphor ofNapoleon's defeat at theBattle of Waterloo for a famous failure and major turning point in history. The fighting took place about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) away from the town ofWaterloo, Belgium, where the British had set up quarters, naming the events after it, literally writing history. French forces and Napoleon never reached Waterloo itself, and Napoleon did notsurrender personally to become a prisoner of war, but he had tosurrender control over the battlefield, and chased by Prussian cavalry,the remaining forces under his command retreated in disarray back towards Paris where heabdicated, surrendering aspirations and putting an end to hisHundred Days. Failing to escape to America, he finally surrendered in person to the British Royal Navy at the French Atlantic coast, about 700 km away from Waterloo, and four weeks later.
In 1974, the group considered submitting "Hasta Mañana" to the 14th edition of the Melodifestivalen, but decided on "Waterloo" since it gave equal weight to both lead vocalistsAgnetha Fältskog andAnni-Frid Lyngstad, while "Hasta Mañana" was sung only by Fältskog.
On 9 February 1974, ABBA competed with the Swedish-language version of "Waterloo" in the Melodifestivalen final. The song won the competition with 302 points, beating the 211 points of the runner-up. As that Melodifestivalen was organised bySveriges Radio (SR) to select its song and performer for the19th edition of theEurovision Song Contest, the song became theSwedish entrant, and ABBA the performers, for Eurovision.[9]
Subsequently, the group recorded the German and French versions of the song in March and April 1974, respectively: the French version was adapted byAlain Boublil, who would later go on to co-write the 1980 musicalLes Misérables,[10] and the German version was adapted by Gerd Müller-Schwanke.[11] During ABBA's promotional visit to Spain, in May 1974, newspaper reports said that the group would be recording a Spanish version of the song while in the country. Because it was never released, it is not certain whether the recording for this version ever existed or if it remains unreleased.[12]
SR released a promo video for "Waterloo", directed byLasse Hallström, that was recorded at SVT Studios in Stockholm at the same time as that forRing Ring. The group appears performing the song with its four members dressed in the same outfits they wore in the Melodifestivalen and would wear at Eurovision. The video clip was incorporated into Abba's DVDsThe Definitive Collection,ABBA Number Ones,ABBA: 16 Hits,ABBA Gold, andThe Last Video.[13]
On 6 April 1974, the Eurovision Song Contest was held atThe Dome inBrighton hosted by theBritish Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), and broadcast live throughout the continent. ABBA performed the English-language version of "Waterloo" eighth on the evening, following "Generacija '42" byKorni Grupa fromYugoslavia and preceding "Bye Bye I Love You" byIreen Sheer fromLuxembourg.Sven-Olof Walldoff, dressed as Napoleon, conducted the event's live orchestra in the performances of the Swedish entry.[14]
At the end of voting, the song scored 24 points placing first and winning the contest, beating runner-up "Sì" byGigliola Cinquetti fromItaly by six points.[15] British panelist Basil Herwald famously gave the song nul point. Reflecting on the events 47 years later, Abba songwriterBjörn Ulvaeus suggested the UK might have given his group the lowest possible score as they viewed them as the biggest possible threat toOlivia Newton-John, who was representing the UK and was considered the favourite to win.[16]
The song differed from the standard "dramatic ballad" tradition at the contest by its flavour and rhythm, as well as by its performance. ABBA gave the audience something that had rarely been seen before in Eurovision: flashy costumes (including silver platform boots), a catchy uptempo song and simple choreography. It was the first winning entry in a language other than that of their home country; prior to1973, all Eurovision singers had been required to sing in their country's native tongue, a restriction that was lifted briefly for the contests between 1973 and1976 (thus allowing "Waterloo" to be sung in English), then reinstated before ultimately being removed again in1999. Compared to later ABBA releases, the singers' Swedish accents are decidedly more pronounced in "Waterloo".[citation needed]
"Waterloo" was re-released in 2004 (with the same B-side), to celebrate the 30th anniversary of ABBA's Eurovision win, reaching No. 20 on the UK charts.
On 11 July 2023, at the celebrations for the 175th anniversary ofLondon Waterloo station, where ABBA were photographed following their win at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, a choir performed Waterloo as part of a selection of songs.[20]
Cash Box said that this "is not a brash rocker, it's just solid rock with a very competent lady up front."[5]Record World said that "Napoleon's downfall shall be this act's victory."[21]
Harry Witchel, physiologist and music expert at theUniversity of Bristol, named "Waterloo" the quintessential Eurovision song.[22]
In 2017,Billboard ranked the song number 9 on their list of the 15 greatest ABBA songs,[23] and in 2021,Rolling Stone ranked the song number 10 on their list of the 25 greatest ABBA songs.[24]
The song shot to No. 1 in the UK and stayed there for two weeks, becoming the first of the band's nine UK No. 1's, and the 16th biggest selling single of the year in the UK.[25]It also topped the charts in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, West Germany, Ireland, Norway, South Africa, and Switzerland, while reaching the Top 3 in Austria, France, the Netherlands, Spain, and ABBA's native Sweden. (The song was immensely popular in Sweden, but did not reach No. 1 there due to Sweden having a combined Album and Singles Chart at the time: at the peak of the song's popularity, its Swedish and English versions reached No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, while the No. 1 spot was held by the albumWaterloo.) The song also spent 11 weeks onSvensktoppen (24 March – 2 June 1974), including 7 weeks at No. 1.[26]
As of September 2021, it is ABBA's eleventh-biggest song in the UK, including both pure sales and digital streams.[27]
Atlantic Records had acquired the rights to release "Waterloo" which involved a rush-release in May 1974 and a heavy promotional campaign in the USA and Canada.[28]
Unlike other Eurovision-winning tunes, the song's appeal transcended Europe: "Waterloo" also reached the Top 10 in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Rhodesia, and the United States (peaking at No. 6, their third-highest-charting US hit after No. 1 "Dancing Queen" in 1977 and No. 3 "Take a Chance on Me" in 1978). TheWaterloo album performed similarly well in Europe, although in the US it failed to match the success of the single.
In 1986,Doctor and the Medics covered the song, reaching number 45 in the UK charts; Roy Wood, the lead singer and writer of "See My Baby Jive" performed saxophone and backing vocals.[80]
The song is featured in the encore of the musicalMamma Mia! The song does not have a context or a meaning within the musical; rather, it is merely performed as a musical number in which members of the audience are encouraged to sing, dance and clap along.[84]
ABBA perform parts of the song live in the 1977 filmABBA: The Movie.
The Australian filmMuriel's Wedding (1994), features "Waterloo" in a pivotal scene in which leadToni Collette bonds with the character played byRachel Griffiths. The film's soundtrack, featuring five ABBA tracks, is widely regarded as having helped to fuel the revival of popular interest in ABBA's music in the mid-1990s.[86]
"Waterloo" features prominently in the 2015 science-fiction filmThe Martian.[87] The song plays as the film's lead, played byMatt Damon, works to ready his launch vehicle for a last-chance escape from Mars.[88]
"Here I Go Again", the 11th episode of the third season ofLegends of Tomorrow (19 February 2018), beginsin medias res, with the titular time-traveling team having apparently just restored a time-transplanted Napoleon from the 1970s, where he had come into possession of a copy of the record.[89] The song is also stuck in the head of one member of the team, until he erases his own memory to get it out.
In "Mother Simpson", the eighth episode of the seventh season ofThe Simpsons, Mr. Burns plays "Ride of the Valkyries" from a tank about to storm the Simpson home, but the song is cut-off and "Waterloo" is played, to which Smithers apologizes, advising he "must have accidentally taped over that".[90][non-primary source needed]
