Released April 23, 1979 Genre Pop Label Polar Music | Recorded November 8, 1978 Length 5:11 | |
Writer(s) Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus | ||
"If It Wasn't for the Nights" (working title: "Pandemonium") is a song recorded by the Swedish pop group ABBA for their sixth studio album, Voulez-Vous. The song had been remixed, re-recorded, and edited by a total of four times; having been remixed twice for the group's appearance on The Mike Yarwood Show and the ABBA in Japan special, making it 3:42 and 3:50 from the original length, and 5:11, respectively.
Contents
It was re-recorded at Miami, Florida by Benny and Björn as an instrumental and was later edited for the Japanese single release of "Slipping Through My Fingers". Originally, the song would be the lead single for the album, Voulez-Vous, but finally, after "Chiquitita" was finished, the plans were shelved. "If It Wasn't for the Nights" became only an album track, remastered four times; first in 1997, then in 2001, and in 2005 as part of the Complete Studio Recordings box set, and yet again in 2010 for the Voulez-Vous Deluxe Edition.
History
The song was a reflection of Björn Ulvaeus's state of mind during his divorce, an uptempo song with despairing lyrics where the narrator dreads the end of the working day, when they will be all alone to deal with their own thoughts: "There were times that last autumn I was with Agnetha that I had those nights myself. My lyrics were often based around fiction, but that must have been where that one came from."
Appearances
Along with "Chiquitita", "If It Wasn't for the Nights" was one of ABBA's songs that has no custom-made music video. The performance on the Mike Yarwood Christmas Show serves as an unofficial music video. It was first performed for the special, ABBA in Japan, then on stage on The Mike Yarwood Christmas Show on December 1978.