Jun 16, 20212 min read

Fernando - ABBA (et al) (1976) 6/17/21

Oh my, do we have a lot of links today! Check 'em out below!

Calling today's blog entry a "Great Song of the '70s" is quite possibly the biggest understatement I have ever made.

It's a song that sold TEN MILLION copies worldwide...in THREE different languages...with DIFFERENT LYRICS for each language!

And then, just a few years ago, it became a Great Song" all over again--featuring one of the most unlikely duets of all time.

The song? "Fernando" by ABBA.

Did you know that "Fernando" was originally released in Swedish as a solo song by group member Anna-Frid Lyngstad?

Originally, ABBA's Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote "Fernando" as a story about about two old freedom fighters reminiscing about their battles during the war between Texas and Mexico.

For Anna-Frid, however, ABBA's manager Stig Anderson translated the lyrics into Swedish while completely changing the story. She became a woman trying to console her friend Fernando, who has lost the love of his life.

Anna-Frid knocked it out of the park, but Benny & Bjorn thought the English lyrics deserved to be heard, so the group as whole released the English version to a wider audience.

And then...because of the Latin flavor of the music, they decided to record a Spanish version...and they changed the lyrics yet again...to play down the Texas/Mexico War and play up the "freedom fighter" angle. (Mexico lost the war, after all.)

ALL THREE versions sold millions of copies...and with three language choices, it's no wonder the song went to #1 in 8 countries, including the US (Adult Contemporary Chart), Canada, the UK, and Australia--where it spent 14 weeks at at the Top!

"Fernando was also a Top 10 hit in 10 other countries, including places I didn't even know HAD charts, like Hungary and Rhodesia!

All of this happened in 1976, making it the biggest song of the year worldwide, and without a doubt: a "Great Song of the '70s!"

In 2008, when the film "Mamma Mia" was released, (featuring the music of ABBA), "Fernando" was nowhere to be found--most likely because they couldn't make the song work within the plot.

HOWEVER, with the release of "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again" in 2018, "Fernando' was front and center, sung by the unlikely duet of Cher...and Andy Garcia!

Their version was released as a single, and it reached #22 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart, giving Cher at least one hit record in each of the past 6 decades. Pretty amazing!

Anna-Frid Lyngstad (Swedish):