One of Us (ABBA song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "One Of Us" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Single by ABBA | ||
| from the album The Visitors | ||
| Released | December 7, 1981 (Sweden) December 12, 1981 (UK) February 12, 1983 (US) |
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| Format | 7" Single | |
| Genre | Pop/Europop | |
| Length | 3:56 | |
| Writer(s) | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson |
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| Producer(s) | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson |
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| Certification | N/A | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| ABBA singles chronology | ||
| "Lay All Your Love on Me" (1981) |
"One of Us" (1981) |
"When All Is Said And Done"/"No Hay A Quien Culpar" (1981) |
"One of Us" is the first single from ABBA's final studio album The Visitors, their eighth album for Polar, and their seventh album for Epic and Atlantic.
[edit] The song
"One of Us" was one of the first songs recorded for ABBA's 1981 release The Visitors. It was one of only a handful of songs that explored the darker territory of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's songwriting as the two men's divorces were beginning to influence their musical output. Indeed, the message of the song was about a woman trying to revive a dead relationship. Despite the somewhat depressing context, and reservations by Benny Andersson and manager Stig Anderson, "One of Us" was released as the first single from The Visitors, and coupled with "Should I Laugh or Cry?" as the B-side.
[edit] Chart success
"One of Us" was ABBA's last major worldwide hit. It was the group's last British and Australian top ten hit. It topped the charts in Ireland, Belgium, Germany and The Netherlands, and reached the top ten in several European countries, peaking at number two in Sweden, number three in Austria, Switzerland and in the UK, number six in Norway, number seven in Spain, and number nine in France. Outside of Europe, it reached number four in South Africa. In the United States, "One of Us" reached a high of number 107, making the single ABBA's worst performing charting song ever in that territory. Nevertheless, "One of Us" was ABBA's swansong in terms of their hit-making career.
[edit] Parody
Following its success as a single in the UK, "One of Us" was parodied in a sketch on the BBC comedy programme, Not the Nine O'Clock News in 1982. Renamed "Supa Dupa", the sketch comprised a musical parody. It included the following satirical lyrics about Abba:
- One of us is ugly, one of us is cute
- One of us you'd like to see in her birthday suit
- Two of us write music, two have way a song
- Sorry, in translation, that line come out wrong
Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog were played respectively by Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, Rowan Atkinson and Pamela Stephenson.
