| "Thank You for the Music" | |
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| Song by ABBA from the album ABBA: The Album | |
| Released | December 12, 1977 |
| Recorded | 21 July 1977 at Glen Studio |
| Genre | Pop, europop |
| Length | 3:52 |
| Label | Polar (original release) |
| Writer | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus |
| Producer | Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus |
| "Thank You for the Music" | ||||||||
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| Single by ABBA | ||||||||
| from the album Thank You for the Music | ||||||||
| B-side | "Our Last Summer" | |||||||
| Released | November 6, 1983 | |||||||
| Format | Vinyl | |||||||
| Genre | Pop, europop | |||||||
| Length | 3:52 | |||||||
| Label | Epic | |||||||
| ABBA singles chronology | ||||||||
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"Thank You for the Music" is a song by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally featured on the group's fifth studio album ABBA: The Album (1977) and was released as a single on November 6, 1983, to promote the Epic Records compilation album Thank You for the Music (similar compilations were released in other countries). The song "Our Last Summer", which was originally featured on the group's seventh studio album Super Trouper (1980), was the B-side. The was simultaneously released in Ireland (as Epic were the licensees for both UK and Ireland), and later released in France (by Disques Vogue), with the same B-side but different artwork, and the Netherlands (by Polydor Records), with "Medley" as the b-side (and again, different artwork).
"Thank You for the Music" was also the b-side to the single "Eagle" in 1978, which itself was only released in limited territories, namely Belgium, The Netherlands, West Germany, France, Austria, Switzerland and Australia (though in some territories, such as the Netherlands, it was released as a double A-side). "Thank You for the Music" also formed part of ABBA: The Movie. It was however released as an A-side single in South Africa where it peaked at number 2 in August 1978 and became the eighteenth best-selling single of that year.
Agnetha Fältskog performed lead vocals, with Anni-Frid Lyngstad joining in on the chorus. "Thank You for the Music" was intended to form part of a "mini-musical" called The Girl with the Golden Hair (a phrase which is featured in the song) that songwriters Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson included in ABBA's 1977 tour. It was the opening track in the four-song musical, along with "I Wonder (Departure)", "I'm a Marionette" and "Get on the Carousel". These tracks from the musical were featured on ABBA: The Album, with the exception of the latter, which remains unreleased. "Thank You for the Music" is more well-known in its own right these days: it did make its way into the worldwide musical Mamma Mia!.
The album version was recorded on 21 July 1977 at Glen Studio after a complete alternate version (known as "Thank You for the Music" (Doris Day version)) was recorded on 2 June 1977 at Marcus Music Studio. The Doris Day version was first released on the box set Thank You for the Music.
"Gracias por la Música" is the Spanish-language recording of "Thank You for the Music", with lyrics by Buddy and Mary McCluskey. The B-side was the Spanish-language version of "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" entitled "¡Dame! ¡Dame! ¡Dame!". The song was released in 1980 to promote the band's Spanish-language album/compilation Gracias Por La Música. It was the group's seventh best-selling Spanish single, and also peaked at number 4 in Argentina.
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"Thank You for the Music" was released in the United Kingdom and Ireland at the time, peaking at a lowly number 33, despite being released in both a poster sleeve and a picture disc in addition to the regular version. The low chart placing could be attributed to ABBA's declining popularity since their last Top 10 hit in 1981. But also, because of the song's inclusion on ABBA: The Album and Greatest Hits Vol.2 (both of which topped the UK charts), as well as being performed by the band during their world tours, it can be said that "Thank You for the Music" had been heard by fans and the like many times up to this point. The title itself is often also taken to signal the end of ABBA, leading it to be considered a farewell song. In Ireland, the single did a bit better, peaking at number 17. In the Netherlands, it peaked a number 38, but in France it could only manage number 58.