Waterloo

“Waterloo” was written specifically by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson (ABBA’s manager) to be entered into the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. “Waterloo” ended up being the hit that sent ABBA straight into the spotlight, as the song ended up winning the contest.

“Waterloo” is a Europop song that tells the story of a woman who “surrenders” to her lover and promises to love them, while using Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 as a reference. The song was originally called “Honey Pie” and was also first written to rock and jazz beats, which wasn’t ABBA’s original sound.

The music video for “Waterloo” was released in 1974 and directed by Lasse Hallström. The video starts off with a bust of Napoleon, and then shows the group performing the track in a plain white room. Since its upload to YouTube in February 2010, the video has 52.8 million views and 206 thousand likes.

Release Date: 4th March 1974

Songwriter/s: Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus & Stig Anderson

Producer/s: Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus

Label/s: Epic / Polar / Polydor / Atlantic

Music Video Release Date: 1974

Music Video Director: Lasse Hallström

Chart Rankings & Certifications: “Waterloo” charted at #4 in Australia, #2 in Austria, #1 in Belgium, #7 in Canada, #1 in Denmark and Finland, #4 in France, #1 in Germany and Ireland, #14 in Italy, #1 in the Netherlands and Norway, #3 in New Zealand, #1 in South Africa, #3 in Spain, #2 and #3 in Sweden; #1 in the UK, #6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and #10 on the US Cashbox Top 100. “Waterloo” is certified Silver in the UK.

The lyrics to “Waterloo” can be viewed here: LINK