Waterloo (song)

"Waterloo"
US single of the English version
Single by ABBA
from the album Waterloo
B-side
  • "Honey, Honey (Svensk Version)" (Swedish-language release)
  • "Watch Out" (English-language release)
Released4 March 1974[1]
Recorded1973
StudioMetronome, Stockholm, Sweden
Genre
Length2:42
Label
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Stikkan Anderson
Producer(s)
  • Benny Andersson
  • Björn Ulvaeus
ABBA singles chronology
"Nina, Pretty Ballerina"
(1973)
"Waterloo"
(1974)
"Honey, Honey"
(1974)
Audio sample
Waterloo (English version)
Music video
"Waterloo" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 1974 entry
Country
Artist(s)
As
Language
English
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)
Conductor
Finals performance
Final result
1st
Final points
24
Entry chronology
◄ "You're Summer" (1973)
"Jennie, Jennie" (1975) ►
Official performance video
"Waterloo" on YouTube
"Waterloo" (reprise) on YouTube

"Waterloo" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, with music composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and lyrics written by Stikkan Anderson. It is first single of the group's second album of the same name, and their first under the Atlantic 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 1815 Battle 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 the B-side.

In 1974, after winning the 14th edition of the Melodifestivalen, "Waterloo" represented Sweden in the 19th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest held in Brighton, winning the contest and beginning ABBA's path to worldwide fame. It topped the charts in several countries, and reached the top 10 in the United States.

In 2005, at Eurovision fiftieth anniversary competition Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest, "Waterloo" was chosen as the best song in the contest's history.

  1. ^ "Album waterloo « Waterloo | ABBA". Abbasite.com. 4 March 1978. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  2. ^ Shahriari, Andrew (28 September 2010). "Europop and Folk Fusions". Popular World Music. Routledge. ISBN 978-0136128984.
  3. ^ Raykoff, Ivan; Deam Tobin, Robert, eds. (2007). "Camping on the borders of Europe". A Song for Europe: Popular Music and Politics in the Eurovision Song Contest. Routledge. p. 1. ISBN 9780754658795.
  4. ^ "Waterloo - ABBA | Song Info | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 14 November 2021. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  5. ^ Ewing, Tom (19 October 2007). "ABBA – "Waterloo"". Freaky Trigger. Archived from the original on 24 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  6. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 11 May 1974. p. 20. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 11 December 2021.