Waterloo was recorded in Dec 1973. Abba chose it over Hasta Manana to be the Swedish entry for Eurovision 1974, as it was a happy uptempo rocking song with rhythm and energy, and all the group sing. Stig Anderson took a demo tape on holiday to the Canary Isles. Stig agonised for a week to find the right title, then produced the original Swedish lyrics in a few hours, constructing a story of Waterloo as a metaphor for a girl surrendering to the love of a suitor. The rest is history, it was the first time Sweden had won Eurovision. The song rapidly became a worldwide hit after this huge success in Brighton in April 1974, reaching no. 1 in England on May 4 1974. This tv performance is from November 1974. Lyrics:
My, my, at Waterloo Napolean did surrender
Oh yeah, and I have met my destiny
In quite a similar way,
The history book on the shelf,
Is always repeating itself,
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more,
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to,
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you,
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo,
My, my, I tried to hold you back but you were stronger
Oh yeah, and now it seems
My only chance is giving up the fight,
And how could I ever refuse,
I feel like I win when I lose,
Waterloo - I was defeated, you won the war
Waterloo - Promise to love you for ever more,
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to,
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you,
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo,
So how could I ever refuse,
I feel like I win when I lose,
Waterloo - Couldn't escape if I wanted to,
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you,
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo,
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you,
Waterloo - Finally facing my Waterloo,
Waterloo - Knowing my fate is to be with you
