Me and I

"Me and I"

Album cover (Polar Music)
Song by ABBA from the album Super Trouper
Released November 3, 1980
Length 4:54
Writer Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Producer Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
Super Trouper track listing

Side A

  1. "Super Trouper"
  2. "The Winner Takes It All"
  3. "On and On and On"
  4. "Andante, Andante"
  5. "Me and I"

Side B

  1. "Happy New Year"
  2. "Our Last Summer"
  3. "The Piper"
  4. "Lay All Your Love on Me"
  5. "The Way Old Friends Do" (Live)

"Me and I" is a song from ABBA's 1980 album Super Trouper. As with much of ABBA's 80s output, the song features use of a synthesizer, and some have classified the song as synthpop. Never released as a single, the song is often regarded by ABBA fans as one of their best album tracks. The song was written by ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song can be considered to be an early electronic song. Anni-Frid Lyngstad handles the lead vocals.

Background

Recording began on 8 September 1980 and finished on 25 September 1980.[1] The track acquired the following two working titles: "Jackass" and "Piccolino". It is the last song on the first side of Super Trouper.

In the book Bright Lights, Dark Shadows by Carl Magnus Palm, he wrote the following:

"Bjorn's maturity as a lyricist was showcased in songs like 'The Winner Takes It All', and the hidden gem, 'Me and I', featuring an Eartha Kitt-inspired lead vocal by Frida, showed a hitherto secluded side of Björn's imagination. Its split personality theme - I am to myself what Jekyll must have been to Hyde - combined with Frida's forceful delivery put a welcome darker spin on ABBA's largely bright and wholesome universe. It was a more literal version of broodiness that colored songs like 'SOS' and 'Knowing Me, Knowing You'."

Critical reception

Abba - Uncensored on the Record described it as a "comparatively rarely heard song from the Super Trouper album".[2] Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba described it as "the hidden gem" of the Super Trouper album.[3]

Performances

The song has been performed on TV only once, on the ABBA TV Special, Dick Cavett meets ABBA, when ABBA performed this song live. The live rendition is included on the Thank You For The Music boxset released in 1994.

References

  1. Palm, Carl Magnus (2000-09-01). "From Abba to Mamma Mia!: The Official Book". ISBN 9780823083176. Retrieved 11 March 2014.
  2. Tobler, John (2012-01-04). "Abba - Uncensored on the Record". ISBN 9781908538239.
  3. Palm, Carl Magnus (2008-09-01). "Bright Lights Dark Shadows: The Real Story of Abba". ISBN 9781847724199.
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