| "When All Is Said and Done" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byABBA | ||||
| from the albumThe Visitors | ||||
| B-side | "Should I Laugh or Cry" | |||
| Released | 31 December 1981 (U.S.) | |||
| Recorded | 16–19 March 1981; finished 14 November 1981 | |||
| Studio | Polar Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:20 | |||
| Label | Atlantic (U.S.) | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producers |
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| ABBA singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "When All Is Said and Done" onYouTube | ||||
| "No Hay a Quien Culpar" | ||||
.jpg) El Salvador single | ||||
"When All Is Said and Done" is a song by the Swedish recording groupABBA, recorded for their eighth studio albumThe Visitors (1981). Featuring lead vocals byAnni-Frid Lyngstad, the track was released as the second overall single from the album on 31 December 1981. It was released in North America byAtlantic Records as the lead single toThe Visitors in place of "One of Us", which had been released in Europe and Australia. The track details the divorce of Lyngstad andBenny Andersson.
The single placed moderately on the charts of North America, where it peaked at number 27 on the USBillboard Hot 100 and did not chart on the CanadaRPM Top Singles. However, it placed better rankings on theAdult Contemporary component charts of both countries, peaking at number four in Canada and ten in the United States. Internationally, it charted within the top twenty in Chile while barely made a dent in Australia.
ABBA constituted two married couples who later divorced. Similar to the group's 1980 track, "The Winner Takes It All", which could have been influenced by the split between band membersBjörn Ulvaeus andAgnetha Fältskog, "When All Is Said and Done" detailed the divorce betweenAnni-Frid Lyngstad andBenny Andersson.
Written during a time of emotional turmoil, Ulvaeus has admitted that the split between Benny and Frida was at the back of his mind during the songwriting process for "When All Is Said and Done". He sought approval from Benny and Frida before the group began working with the song. When recording began in March 1981, only one month had passed since their separation.[1]
"When All Is Said and Done" saw Frida giving words and emotions detailing all of her sorrow and pain, not only for herself, but for all of those who had been through a separation. The backing track the group had first recorded was completely changed after Frida had laid down her powerful and emotional vocals. As Frida herself later recalled: "All my sadness was captured in that song."
"When All Is Said and Done" was originally written in the key ofD major, with Lyngstad's main vocals ranging from A3–A4.[2]
ABBA also recorded a Spanish version of "When All Is Said and Done" (entitled "No Hay a Quien Culpar"), which was released as a single in Mexico and several South American countries. The Spanish title written by Buddy and Mary McCluskey translates as "There Is No One to Blame". The track was also slightly remixed, for example leaving out the double-tracked snare drum of the original English version and adding new synth overdubs, giving the song a warmer feeling than the original version. The Spanish interpretation reached No. 29 in Mexico.
In August 1981, a music video was filmed to promote the song, directed byLasse Hallström. Parts of the video that feature Lyngstad by thesea were filmed in theStockholm archipelago.[3] The scenes where the other ABBA members appear were filmed inStockholm. ABBA also filmed a video for "No Hay a Quien Culpar", theSpanish version of the song, in October 1981. This interpretation is an almost exact copy of the English version, the only difference being Frida's new hairstyle. As a result, with parts of the English version of the video being featured in the Spanish clip, "No Hay a Quien Culpar" includes both of Frida's different hairstyles.[4]
Billboard called it a "melodic, uptempo track" that has "pretty harmonies and a keen sense of accessible yet polished pop textures."[5] Editor Thomas Gabriel, inBillboard's review forThe Visitors, highlighted its "light-as-air childlike" chorus, which he found reminiscent of the vocals featured inThe Wizard of Oz.[6] Canadian newspaperThe Leader-Post named it one of the two best cuts of the album, calling it a "melodically strong, poignant item dealing with a retrospective couple in their twilight years."[7]
Although most countries released "One of Us" as the first single fromThe Visitors in early December 1981, ABBA's American record label,Atlantic Records, instead opted for "When All Is Said and Done", having more faith in it becoming a hit. It was a modest hit for the group in the US, peaking at number 27 on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming the group's 14th and final US top 40 hit to date. The track reached number 10 on theAdult Contemporary chart, giving the group their eighth and final top ten hit, and also charted on theBillboardDance/Disco chart, reaching number eight. "When All Is Said and Done" also achieved particular success in Canada, peaking at No. 4 on the Adult Contemporary chart in March 1982 (and spending nine weeks on the chart). The single was also released in Australia (with the album track "Soldiers" as the B-side). A minor hit there, the song peaked at number 81.[8]
All tracks composed byBenny Andersson, with lyrics byBjörn Ulvaeus, except where noted.
American, Canadian, and Brazilian 7-inch single[9]
Australian and New Zealand 7-inch single[10]
Mexican 7-inch single[11]
Salvadorean 7-inch single[12]
US Spanish 7-inch single[13]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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"When All Is Said and Done" was included in the 2008film version of the ABBA musical,Mamma Mia!, performed by Sam Carmichael (played byPierce Brosnan), with one line – "slightly worn but dignified, and not too old for sex" – also sung byMeryl Streep. The song is substantially different from the original release, not only in that it has been reworked into a ballad but also that a new second verse was written by Björn Ulvaeus specifically for the movie soundtrack and added to the song's original lyrics as recorded by ABBA:
"It's been there in my dreams, the scene I see unfold
True at last, flesh and blood, to cherish and to hold
Careless fools will suffer, yes, I know and I confess:
Once I lost my way when something good had just begun
Lesson learned – it's history – when all is said and done"
In the context of the movie, the lyrics also take on an entirely different meaning: as opposed to the original which describes a couple going their separate ways, it portrays two lovers finding their way back to each other and rekindling their romance. The song is sung when Sam decides to propose to Donna after he confesses to marrying another woman and then divorcing her; Donna ultimately accepts.
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